Thursday 12 January 2017

Meringues



I am frequently left with four egg whites in a jar, after I've made a pint of custard, which uses four egg yolks. Meringues are the quickest and simplest thing I know to use up egg whites. 

Turn on your oven to 100°C and line oven trays with silicone sheets. For each egg white you need 50 g sugar. Whip the egg whites until stiff then slowly pour in the sugar whilst still beating. The whole process should take 2-3 minutes. Using spoons, place dollops of meringue on the oven trays, pulling them up so they form attractive peaks. Put the meringues in the oven for 40 minutes. Check after 20-30 minutes and if they are starting to brown open the oven door for a minute to cool it down. At the end of the cooking time turn the oven off, but leave the meringues in there until the oven is cold (many people leave meringues in overnight, which works well). 

Four egg whites will make about 30 meringues.


10 comments:

Le Pré de la Forge said...

Thank you... thank you mightily!
You have just published something I have never found...
a weight in grams per egg white for sugar!!

Susan said...

The truth is that the ratio is fairly flexible.

Le Pré de la Forge said...

I have always used my mother's recipe... three egg whites to four ounces of sugar... so I have always tried to collect three whites!
Now I have one to fifty in my mind... that will stick....one to fifty!
That is the only reason I have commented in two halves.... so that I can write one to fifty three time and lock it in the little grey cabinet!
One egg white to fifty grams of sugar.... one to fifty....
one to fifty....
one to....
fifty!

chm said...

Tim, what about fifty to one? Or is that confusing? :-)

melinda said...

love meringues....sometimes add chocolate chips & always some vanilla

Jean said...

I have never made meringues, believing them to be difficult!
Now I shall give them a try!
Would the cooking time and temperature be the same if I formed them into little nests, like mini pavlovas?

Susan said...

I like to add red fruit coulis, and I always use vanilla sugar.

Susan said...

Yes, if you do the leaving overnight thing, you could do the same cooking time, or maybe 5 minutes more if your nests are thick based. If you want them to dry right out, rather than have a squidgy middle, cook for an hour plus the overnight cooling. The temperature is important. 100C is just right, and any sign of browning, open the door for a couple of minutes. A lot of recipes don't get the temperature right.

Le Pré de la Forge said...

Fifty egg whites... to one sack of sugar....
I know our hens are back on lay, but...........

chm said...

LMAO!t

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