How to Make Meringue
Meringue (also known as French meringue) is a type of cream that's made from very few ingredients: egg whites, sugar and a pinch of salt; but tastes delicious. There are other types of meringue, such as the Italian meringue, which is made with syrup, or the Swiss meringue, which is made in a bain-marie. It can be baked to make meringues or many other desserts, such as lemon meringue pie. So what are you waiting for? Follow the OneHowTo step-by-step guide to discover how to make meringue.
Ingredients:
You'll need:
- Bowl
- Whisk
Steps to follow:
You should know that to make meringue is very simple. However, it's important to take technique into account to get the meringue to stand adequately, serving it as decoration for your desserts.
Place the egg whites in a large enough bowl; they will increase substantially in size. Eggs should be at room temperature for this so be sure to remove them from the fridge beforehand.
Add the salt and beat the eggs vigorously with the salt using an electrig whip or a blender until they become frothy, that is until peaks form.
Leave the meringue to rest for a few minutes and ensure that no unbeaten egg white remains in the bottom of the bowl to prevent the peaks from collapsing.
Add the castor sugar a little at a time and keep on stirring so its perfectly blended. If you sue normal white sugar, you'll need yo beat for longer to let it dissolve completely and it doesn't form any granules.
Once you've added all the sugar, continue beating until the mixture is glossy and fluffy. You will know the meringue has reached the right consistency when its peaks start to get hard or what is known as "bird beak", due to its similarity with this part of birds.
You can also add vanilla or lemon to give it more flavor. You can also make this recipe sugar-free. Take a look at our article on how to make sugar-free meringue.
If what you're after is to make baked meringues or so-called meringue kisses, you should bake them at low temperature (100-120°C/210-250°F) for at least an hour and a half. If your oven allows it, bake them with the door ajar so that they can dry faster.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Make Meringue, we recommend you visit our Recipes category.
Tips
- You'll need to be patient to get the right meringue texture.