All About Meringue
a little deep dive
what is meringue?
First off, what exactly is meringue? Simply put, meringue is the combination of egg whites and sugar, whipped to create semi-stable air bubbles. It can be baked, piped, buttercreamed, torched…really, the possibilities are endless. Egg whites are made up of water and protein. When they are whipped, the protein strands begin to unravel and they create little stretchy networks that capture the water and air bubbles. (This is what happens when you whip egg whites without sugar for folding into a batter. When baked, those air bubbles create steam and function as a leavening agent.) When sugar is added to the mix, it helps to stabilize the foam and create elasticity, giving us swoopy, glossy meringue. Occasionally, an acid such as cream of tartar or lemon juice is added to give an extra bit of stability insurance (these ingredients are called ‘doctors’ when used this way), but they aren’t required ingredients in the meringue-making process.
While there are a multitude of meringue processes and methods, the three most common types of meringue are French, Swiss, and Italian. Each use the same base ingredients (egg whites + sugar), but each have a slightly different methodology which results in different levels of stability and different usages.
