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Italian meringue

Servings:
Makes 2 ½ to 3 cups Servings
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 cup egg whites

Preparation

Baking Directions:

This is the second method of making meringue; it requires you to pour hot sugar syrup into whisked egg whites.

Some pastry chefs believe that Italian meringue is marginally more stable than Swiss and that it holds up better to heat.

There’s no definitive proof to resolve this matter, but I tend to work with Italian meringue more often than not.

Bottom line is, there are two ways and now you know them both.

All egg whites are not created equal.

When I see a recipe that calls for a specific number of egg whites, I look at my bowl of fresh eggs courtesy of our backyard hens.

Kiki lays dark-brown monster eggs, Bertie lays extra-large tan eggs, Moussie lays very long, large, robin’s-egg-blue eggs, and Helga’s are light-green, oblong golf balls.

Moussie’s very first attempt was the size of an ostrich egg and it’s no surprise that she refused to lay another for two weeks.

Four hens laying four very different-size eggs means that each egg will contain a yolk and a white that are totally different sizes and weights from the others’.

Obviously, a recipe that simply calls for “five egg whites” sometimes doesn’t cut it.

So I go by the baker’s weight standard for eggs: 1 egg white equals 1 ounce (30 g), and 1 yolk equals 0.6 ounce (18 g).

If you find yourself with eggs in a variety of sizes, weigh them for complete accuracy.

Directions:In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water.

Make sure that the sugar is saturated with the water and that there aren’t any dry clumps remaining before you start heating it up.

Stir the water and sugar over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.

With a damp pastry brush, wipe down the sides of the pan to prevent stray sugar crystals from forming.

Turn the heat up to medium-high, clip on a candy thermometer, and heat to 240 degrees F.

Meanwhile, put the egg whites and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

When the sugar gets to 230 degrees F, start the mixer on medium-high so that the egg whites start to lighten and get foamy before you add the sugar syrup.

Once the syrup reaches temperature, carefully carry the saucepan to your work table and ratchet the speed of your mixer down to medium.

With the mixer running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl.

(By pouring the sugar down the side of the bowl instead of straight into the egg whites, you keep them from turning into sweet scrambled eggs.

This also prevents the hot sugar from splashing onto your person.

Safety first!) Turn the mixer to high and whisk until the meringue is light and fluffy and holds a stiff peak.

Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fit with an open star tip and pipe perky peaks onto pie or ice cream.