Meringue (from French meringue) – is a confectionery cream made from whipped egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form. Virtually 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” varieties: vegan, which uses potato starch instead of egg white, and albumin meringue. In this type, the protein is actually dry confectionery albumin, which is 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 be long, complicated, and not ideal.
What types of peaks are there?
Before delving 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 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 - this is the state of the foam mass when the peaks formed on the surface bend softly and fall back down when we turn off the mixer or food processor. Whipped to soft peaks, egg whites are most often used for making soufflés.
Medium peaks – this is 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 do not remain 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 making dough. We whipped the meringue to medium peaks when preparing 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, whipped to stiff peaks, into meringues.
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 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 gives the most stable peaks.
To prepare it, you need to first whip the egg whites and cook a sugar syrup. It is advisable to do these processes simultaneously because then 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 advisable to start whipping the egg whites at low speeds of the devices, gradually increasing it.
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 give more stable and firmer peaks. Room temperature egg whites allow achieving greater volume of meringue in a shorter time, but its stability will be somewhat lower.
