Serves: 5
Meringue, a froth of egg white, sugar and air, can make a melt-in-your-mouth soft topping for pies, such as Lemon Meringue Pie, or a hard, crispy shell to cradle cream fillings, fruit or ice cream, such as for Lemon Meringue Torte. Here are tips for making successful meringues every time:
Pick a cool, dry day to make meringue. If it’s humid or rainy, the sugar in the meringue will absorb moisture from the air and make the meringue sticky and spongy. The meringue also may get beads, or drops, of sugar syrup on the surface.
Start with cold eggs. You’ll want to separate them very carefully, because even a speck of yolk in the whites will keep the whites from fluffing up fully during beating. To prevent contamination from the outside of the shell, don’t pass the egg yolk back and forth between the shell halves. To separate eggs, use an egg separator.
So that the egg whites will really fluff up during beating, let them stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before beating. Or put the whites in a microwavable bowl and microwave uncovered on High for about 10 seconds per egg white to bring them to room temperature. Don’t heat them for more time in the microwave if you heat them too long they’ll cook through.
Beat in sugar slowly, about 1 tablespoon, at a time so that your meringue will be smooth and not gritty. Continue beating until the meringue stands in stiff, glossy peaks when you lift the beaters out of the mixture.
Soft Meringue
Spread the meringue over the hot pie filling right up to the crust all the way around so that it will "seal." If the meringue is sealed, it won’t shrink or weep, or ooze, liquid after baking. With a table knife or metal spatula, swirl the meringue into points to make it look light, fluffy and pretty.
So the meringue won’t shrink as it cools, make sure the pie isn’t placed in a draft.
Hard Meringue
A hard meringue shell should be thoroughly dry after baking. If not baked long enough, it will be limp and gummy.
Cool hard meringue shells in the oven--with the heat turned off--for as long as the recipe suggests so they will be dry and crisp. To keep them crisp, store meringue shells in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Fill hard meringue shells just before serving so they don’t absorb moisture from the filling and become chewy, unless the recipe gives other directions.
From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This TIPS FOR MERINGUES recipe is from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 9th Edition Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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