Meringues are made by beating egg whites into a foam and adding sugar. There are different types of meringues depending on the amount of sugar used and how it is incorporated. Cold meringues use less sugar added after foaming. Hot and boiled meringues add more sugar, with hot meringues adding warmed sugar and boiled/Italian meringues cooking the sugar into a syrup before adding. Proper technique and ingredient quality are important for achieving stable meringue foam.

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MERINGUES
The foam

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Definition
It is nothing but the foam.
Foam is a dispersion of gas bubbles in a
liquid or semi solid phase.
Egg white has a unique property of forming a
foam when beaten.
This property is applied in the preparation of
cake, meringues etc.
As a whole when egg is beaten with sugar a
meringue is formed.

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A meringue is a mixture of
composed egg whites and
sugar beaten together until
very light.

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Purpose of sugar
When sugar is added to the egg
white the mixture on beating yields a
PLIABLE FOAM.
It increases the STABILITY of the
egg white foam.
RETARDS THE COAGULATION of
egg white proteins.

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Purpose of acid
Small amount of acid e.g. cream of
tartaric, acetic acid, citric acid increases
the stability of the egg white foam.
Greater amount of acid on the other
hand will alter the PH there by reducing
the stability of the foam.

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As the areas of the film increases the elasticity is
decreased and the foam becomes more rigid.
Stages of beaten egg whites
The enclosed air bubbles becomes progressively smaller.
The colour changes from pale yellow to opaque
white.
The volume and the stiffness of the foam increases.
The egg white on the surface tends to solidify
showing a dull dry appearance.

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character
The quantity of sugar used in proportion
to the amount of egg whites determines,
the large extent the character of the
meringue as
Heavy
Medium
Light

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Types
The meringues are classified according
to the amount of sugar and the method
of incorporation of the sugar as
Cold meringues.
Hot meringues.
Boiled or Italian meringues.

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Cold meringue
Fairly light quantities of sugar are used
in preparing cold meringue.
The ratio of egg white to sugar is 1
: 2.5, cream of tartare is used to
increase the stability.

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Method
Whisk egg white with cream of tartar.
At first the egg whites forms a voluminous
snow or froth composed of large bubbles.
As whisking continuous the bubbles become
smaller in size.
Add the sugar slowly whisking continuously.
A very firm meringue of tinny bubble size will
be produced.
This is then piped greased trays and dried in
the oven.

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Soft
meringues

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Soft meringues
Soft meringues, also called
regular or ordinary meringues,
are uncooked.
Soft meringue is used to top pies
and in the dessert known as
Floating Island

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Hot meringue
It consists greater percentage
of sugar.
The ratio of egg white to sugar
is 1 : 3.

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Method
Spread the sugar in a baking tray and cover it
with a grease paper.
Put the tray in the oven till the sugar gets
warm, don’t allow the sugar to caramelize.
Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar.
Add the warm sugar into the whites in a
steady stream and continue to whip to a very
stiff meringue.
The mixture is ready to use.
E.g.s are coconut meringue, meringue
mushroom.

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Cooked meringue

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Cooked meringue
Cooked meringue is also made by
beating sugar into egg whites.
The meringue is then baked for about
two hours, then left in the turned off
oven to cool and dry out for another
two hours.
The result is a crisp, not soft meringue.
Cooked meringues cannot be
refrigerated or else they will become
soggy.

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Boiled or Italian meringue
In this case the sugar is added to the
egg white in the boiled state.
The cooking of sugar is responsible for
the characteristic of the meringue.
The ratio of egg white to sugar is 1
: 2.5.

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Method
Place the sugar and water in a suitable
sauce pan and heat slowly until all the
sugar is dissolved and the sugar boils
to 225 F.
Add corn syrup or cream of tartar
moistened with water.
Start beating the egg to the soft peak
consistency.

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If the whipping is commenced too soon
the whites will be whipped too much
and may curdle.
Take the syrup off the fire at 245 F. add
the egg in a study manner.
Continue whisking till the mixture is of
the desired consistency, used for
fillings.

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Boiled or Italian meringue

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Italian meringue incorporates a
hot sugar syrup into the egg
whites, so that the egg is cooked
as it is whipped.
Italian meringue is good for
topping pies or Baked Alaska

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Swiss Meringues
Swiss meringues are made by
whipping the egg whites and sugar
together over a hot water bath or
double boiler.
The meringues are then baked until
dry.
Swiss Meringues are used to make
cookies.

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Precautions to be taken while
making meringues
Egg whites used in making the meringue
should be strong in character.
Utensils used should be free from grease and
moisture.
No egg yolk should be present in the whites.
Eggs used should be fresh.
Sugar should be free from dirt and of a hard
grain.