Meringue.

Meringue is not as easy as people thing but also when you look at it what could go wrong, its egg whites and sugar right.

Well basically that is correct but there are three things that I would say. First is make sure that the equipment that you use id as clean as it can be. Second make sure that you have nothing but egg white in your egg white, no yolk or shell. Third use eggs that are at room temperature and not chilled.

I do not know how true this is or if there are any facts to back this up but I was told that if you have any impurities in the mix it makes it harder to work with and the egg white does not set properly. And if you use chilled eggs you do not get the full volume of air in the egg. Now I have never put this to the test as far as I know but it seems to make good sense to me and the pastry chef that told me that had been making meringues before I was born so I kind of believed him.

The second is deciding what kind of meringues that you want to make.

French Meringue.

115g/4oz of cater sugar to every 2 egg whites.

Beat your eggs to get some air in to them so that they become stiff. Then a little sugar, a little at time until about half of the sugar has gone and then fold in the rest of the sugar. This is the most simple and easy to make.

Swiss Meringue.

152g/4½oz caster sugar to every 2 egg whites.

Mix the egg whites and the sugar in a blow over a pan of simmering water. I suggest that you use a electric hand whisk for this as you want to be quick and not cook the egg. Keep turning the bowl and lifting it every now and then to prevent the egg white from cooking. This will give you a much firmer result compared to the French and is very good for decorative piping effects.

Italian meringue.

250g/9oz sugar
60ml water
5 egg whites.

Take your egg whites and put them in a mixer. You can make this by hand but trust me a little professional tabletop mixer or bowl mixer is best. Put your egg white in to the mixer and start them of slowly. You want to whisk them but not to fast and all at once.

Then take the sugar and the water and mix together and start to heat them. You need to bring them to a boil and boil them for about a minuet or so. You are looking for what is called the soft ball stage.

By boiling the water and the sugar the water evaporates leaving the sugar. First add the sugar and water on a low heat allow all the sugar to dissolve. Then turn up the heat and allow to boil. Once boiling do not stir, but use a wet pastry brush to go round the edge of the pan and stop crystals from forming. The sugar makes the boiling temperature much higher. You need a temperature of 116ºc 118ºc. Now if you do not have a thermometer at and that you use for sugar work just drip some on a cold plate. If it holds its shape but is soft when pressed

So once you have got your sugar syrup at the right temperature make sure that you egg whites are stiff and turn the mixer down to its lowest setting ad drizzle the sugar in to the mix. This helps cook the meringue and helps in setting it.

And that is all there is to making meringues .