Types of Meringues

Is there anything more fancy than a lovely meringue? The gleaming white surface, and the delectable sweetness make this sugary treat a rare sight to behold.

Surely such a divine food is made only by french culinary experts, constantly studying the arcane ways of shaping the most difficult and rare ingredients into eldritch forms, right? Actually, meringue is one of the easiest desserts I have ever made. It is a surprisingly simple recipe that is actually somewhat hard to mess up.

Types of Meringue

• French Meringue: Fine white sugar is beaten into egg whites. It is considered an “uncooked meringue” because the eggs are not heated when the meringue is being prepared. To cook the meringue, it is usually then baked.
• Italian Meringue: A hot sugar syrup is made first and then whipped into softly whipped egg whites till stiff and until the meringue becomes cool. Although Italian meringues are considered “cooked meringues,” there is no consensus as to whether or not the hot sugar will bring the eggs up to the required temperature for pasteurization. This type of meringue will not deflate for a long while and can be either used for decoration on pie, or spread on a sheet or Baked Alaska base and baked.
• Swiss Meringue: Considered a “cooked meringue” because the sugar and egg whites are heated over a double boiler and then whisked together. It is not considered “fully cooked” enough to be safe without bringing the egg/sugar mixture to 160 °F to pasteurize the eggs. If doing so, do not over-heat the eggs or they may scramble. This forms a dense, glossy marshmallow-like meringue.

Meringue Structure

Creating the structure of the meringue is the key factor, and the part that intimidates most people. Whipping egg whites does two things: it stretches the proteins and makes it capture air. As you are whipping the eggs, you add the sugar bit by bit to coat the egg white proteins. When the meringue is baked, the sugar will harden and give the meringue a solid structure.

There are points in the process where it is possible to mess up a meringue, and sadly this is what intimidates most people.

Make it fat-free: Make sure there is no sign of fat anywhere. Fat will prevent the whites from whipping properly. Clean your equipment with vinegar to remove any oil or fat. When separating your eggs, make sure that no trace of egg yolk is in the whites.

No Cold Eggs: Use room temperature eggs. The best way to do this is to:

• Use three bowls to separate the eggs (1 to separate each egg, 1 to hold all the whites, 1 to hold the left over yolk)
• Separate the eggs while they are cold
• Put the egg yolks back in the fridge right away
• Allow your egg whites to come to room temperature or place the bowl of egg whites in a small amount of water to warm them quickly

The Right Bowl: Use a glass or metal bowl when whipping egg whites. Plastic bowls can harbour oil and odour, which will ruin your meringue.

Don’t Over-Beat: You can stretch the egg white proteins to their literal breaking point, and the egg white proteins will physically break apart. This will give the whipped egg whites a “cottage cheese” consistency. You can limit the chance of over-beating by adding a stabilizer (like vinegar, or cream of Tartar). If you do over-beat, this is actually reversible by adding another egg white and mixing briefly. Watch this video to see it in action.

Once you are past these hurdles, meringues are actually almost impossible to mess up.

I recently made meringue cookies and followed our recipe which calls for baking the meringues at 250 °F’ for 40 minutes then turning off the oven and letting the meringues rest for an hour. I did that, but forgot to turn off the oven while the meringues were resting. They cooked for a total of an hour and 40 minutes. The end result? They were crispy all the way through, and that was it. Because of the low temperature, they did not brown or burn.

A Word About Sugar

Sugar is a key element that determines the volume, density and crispness of a meringue.

• More Sugar:
  • Creates denser meringue with less volume
  • Creates a more flexible structure, which makes it harder to ruin by over-beating
  • Creates more crispiness in baked products
• Less Sugar:
  • Creates light meringue with more volume
  • Easier to fold into other batters
  • Creates a less flexible structure, which makes it easier to ruin by over-beating

Flavour and Colour

Flavouring your meringue can be done with liquid extracts such as vanilla, almond, etc. Just be careful how much you add. Extracts have a high water content, which can cause problems for your meringue.

There are also powdered flavorings available that will add flavour without the liquid. Extracts tend to be more concentrated than liquids and are good for flavouring meringues.

An excellent option for flavouring meringues is adding cocoa powder or instant espresso powder.

If you want to create colourful meringues, “Gel” food colouring, or powdered colouring is the way to go. Regular liquid food colouring usually does not work because so much is needed to even add a hint of colour. That much extra liquid can easily ruin your meringue.

Storing Baked Meringues Cookies

When you’ve made your meringues, all you have to do is store them. The best place to store them is in an airtight container, either in the fridge, pantry or freezer. Although the fridge is a humid environment, your meringues will not be affected as long as the container used is airtight.

The biggest enemy of meringues is moisture, as that will essentially dissolve the sugar and destroy the structure. If you can keep them in an airtight container, you can store your fresh meringues for up to two weeks before they start getting stale.

Freezing baked meringues is also a great option. Since meringues are fragile, use a freezer safe hard-sided container to store them.

To thaw, allow to sit on the counter for several hours.

Storing Meringue Topped Pies

Searching for the best way to store a meringue topped pie, yield very little consensus. Not only that, most advice is completely contradictory. That is frustrating at best. The biggest problems that arise when trying to store these pies is; weeping meringues and meringues that separate from the crust and filling.

These issues usually result in recommendations to just make the meringue topping right before serving and to avoid storing it altogether.

After going through my past recipe notes and doing more research, I have some tips that will actually allow you to store a pie for at least 24 hours:

• Cover the filled pie immediately after baking with plastic wrap and allow it to cool to room temperature on the counter
• Do not add the meringue topping until the pie is completely cooled
• Be sure to beat the meringue to stiff peaks, but do not over beat
• Pipe the meringue onto the pie starting at the outer edge instead of dumping the meringue in the centre of the pie and spreading it out. Piping makes sure there are no gaps between the filling and the meringue
• Quickly bake the meringue topped pie using the oven broiling instead of slowly in a preheated oven. Place the pie on an oven rack positioned lowest in the oven. It will only take a minute or two to brown the top of the meringue
• Allow the pie to cool before putting it in the fridge. Protect the top using a tent of foil, not plastic wrap (which encourages moisture development)

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So, there you have it. Meringues are not so complicated. There are so many recipes using meringues, there is no need to avoid them. Practice making different kinds of meringues – including these cookies – so that you can confidently create desserts and treats that will truly impress your friends, family, and yourself.