Meringue is a component of sweet
deserts. It’s made from baked foamed-
egg white. Meringue is often an ingredient in
trifle, it also forms the base of a
pavlova and the topping of that 70’s favourite, the
lemon merangue pie.
Choose fresh cold eggs. Separate out and discard the yolks. Empty the egg-white into a perfectly clean metal mixing bowl.
Beat or Fold the Egg-whites until they become a stiff foam. Many chefs still do this by hand because the rotary action of most mixing machines can destroy the unstable foam. When the foam is stiff enough to form pointed peaks on it’s surface, you can slowly fold in the sugar or any flavourings / colourings that are required. This is a tricky process as most impurities have a tendency to weaken the foam.
The foam should be placed on rice-paper and cooked at a medium heat in a fan assisted oven. If made perfectly, it should be snow white, and soft on the inside. Even expert chefs find this difficult. When home-made, it will normally have creamy – brown discolorations because most ovens cant cook them evenly enough.
Commercially made merangue normally looks perfect, but has a substance something like sweet chalk. It’s only nice in small quantities, because it’s hard and brittle all the way through.