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Step 6Meringue 101
A meringue is a delicate beast.
Or is it?
Conventional wisdom holds that egg foams are temperamental creatures, which will flounder, fail, and collapse faster than a mortgage bank in the face of a negative wall street rumor.
That's not really the case.
You'll hear lots of chatter about new versus old eggs, plastic versus glass versus copper bowls, room temperature versus refrigerated whites, and the like. The truth is, pretty much any clean bowl, whisk, and egg will work.
Though I would use a hand mixer instead of a whisk, for the sake of speed.
When you beat egg whites vigorously, the shear generated by the whisk starts denaturing the egg white proteins, while simultaneously introducing air bubbles. The hydrophilic (water-loving) portions of the proteins want to remain in the water, but the hydrophobic (water-hating) parts protrude into the interior of the air bubbles, stabilizing them. The proteins not tied up in the water/air interface tangle with each other, eventually producing a stiff light foam.
The quick meringue is a basic meringue - no frills, easy to prepare, but it will collapse after a night in the refrigerator. It needs a go in the oven to be safe to consume.
The swiss meringue is whisked until it reaches 130 degrees. It is safe to eat after this, since it has been precooked! This also greatly helps stabilize the finished product, and results in a stiffer, denser meringue.
The meringue you choose is up to you. I like a firmer meringue, so I prefer the Swiss. If you're just interested in fixing this quickly, for you or for friends, the other meringue is considerably easier.
Or is it?
Conventional wisdom holds that egg foams are temperamental creatures, which will flounder, fail, and collapse faster than a mortgage bank in the face of a negative wall street rumor.
That's not really the case.
You'll hear lots of chatter about new versus old eggs, plastic versus glass versus copper bowls, room temperature versus refrigerated whites, and the like. The truth is, pretty much any clean bowl, whisk, and egg will work.
Though I would use a hand mixer instead of a whisk, for the sake of speed.
When you beat egg whites vigorously, the shear generated by the whisk starts denaturing the egg white proteins, while simultaneously introducing air bubbles. The hydrophilic (water-loving) portions of the proteins want to remain in the water, but the hydrophobic (water-hating) parts protrude into the interior of the air bubbles, stabilizing them. The proteins not tied up in the water/air interface tangle with each other, eventually producing a stiff light foam.
The quick meringue is a basic meringue - no frills, easy to prepare, but it will collapse after a night in the refrigerator. It needs a go in the oven to be safe to consume.
The swiss meringue is whisked until it reaches 130 degrees. It is safe to eat after this, since it has been precooked! This also greatly helps stabilize the finished product, and results in a stiffer, denser meringue.
The meringue you choose is up to you. I like a firmer meringue, so I prefer the Swiss. If you're just interested in fixing this quickly, for you or for friends, the other meringue is considerably easier.
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