Meringue (from French meringue) is a confectionery cream made from whipped egg whites and sugar, beaten to a stable peak. Almost all types of meringue consist of just these two ingredients, but the methods of preparation vary. Their characteristics (shine, stability, application) also change somewhat. It is customary to distinguish three classic types of meringue:
French
Italian
Swiss.
There are also some “exotic” types: vegan, which uses potato starch instead of egg white, and albumin meringue. In this type, the role of the protein is taken by dry confectionery albumin, made by drying the same egg white.
All these types are prepared by whipping the egg-sugar mixture with a mixer, blender, or food processor with a whisk attachment. Doing it by hand would take too long, be complicated, and not ideal.
What types of peaks are there?
Before diving into the nuances of each type of meringue, it is worth stopping to discuss what peaks are and what types exist.
давай вже розказуй про меренгу, не тягни кота за хвіст!
One can attempt to formulate the statement that peaks are the state of the foam mass during the whipping of the egg whites. When air enters their structure, and their chemical structure changes during mechanical action, they can increase in volume up to eight times. Peaks are also a kind of indicator of the foam mass. They can be soft, medium, and stiff.
Soft peaks are the state of the foam mass when the peaks formed on the surface bend gently and fall back down when we turn off the mixer or food processor. Whipped to soft peaks, egg whites are most often used to make soufflés.
Medium peaks are the state of the foam mass when the peaks formed on the surface hold their shape and do not bend, but at the same time are not completely stiff. This is an intermediate stage between soft and stiff peaks. The egg white mass has already become stable and capable of holding its shape, but has not yet reached the maximum degree of stability. They are ideal for creams and batter preparation. We whipped the meringue to medium peaks when making apple and cherry charlotte.
Середні піки
Meringue whipped to stiff peaks holds its shape best. You can simply turn the container upside down in which it was whipped, and the mass will not budge. Such meringue is suitable for decorating cakes and other pastries. It is easy to work with using pastry tips. It is easiest to form meringue into meringues when whipped to stiff peaks.
декорування меренгою цитрусового тарта
Now we can move on to the meringues themselves.
French Meringue
The easiest to prepare. Detailed instructions on how to make it were provided in the post about “Angel's Tears” cheesecake.
In short – first, the egg whites are whipped until foam forms (this is not yet peaks), and then sugar is gradually added, and the mixture is whipped to the desired peaks.
Swiss Meringue
The second in our ranking in terms of difficulty of preparation. The nuances of working with it are detailed in the post about citrus tart.
The feature of this type of meringue is that it is prepared in a water bath, mixing the egg whites with the sugar right away. They need to be heated to a maximum temperature of 60 degrees, constantly whisking, after which whipping continues with the help of electric devices.
глянцева поверхня швейцарської меренги
Italian Meringue
The most difficult to prepare, but it yields the most stable peaks.
To prepare it, you first need to whip the egg whites and cook the sugar syrup. It is advisable to do these processes simultaneously because later you will need to add syrup at a temperature of 115 degrees to the whipped egg whites.
Life Hacks and Tips
When preparing any of the described meringues, it is worth starting to whip the egg whites at low speeds of the devices, gradually increasing the speed.
All tools must be clean and dry. The egg white must be well separated from the yolk. There should not be a drop of water in the bowl in which you will whip the meringue!
If possible, prefer deep and narrow containers. The smaller the area of mass distribution, the better it whips.
The most stable meringue comes from fresh eggs. Cold egg whites take longer to whip, but they yield more stable and firmer peaks. Egg whites at room temperature allow for greater volume of meringue in a shorter time, but their stability will be somewhat less.
