Meringue Topping help.

On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 10:06:53 GMT, "Jen" <[email hidden]>
wrote:
It's only been in the fridge a couple

Quoted message said:

of hours, but it's the meringue's already seeping. I think I heard
somewhere that it's from not beating enough,

I started doing this procedure about five years ago and never have had
it seep any longer

Combine 7 egg whites and remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar in
the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of
simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and
the whites are hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer to mixer and finish whipping to desired stiffness.

Ward Abbott said:

Jen said:

It's only been in the fridge a couple of hours, but it's the
meringue's already seeping. I think I heard somewhere that it's
from not beating enough,

I started doing this procedure about five years ago and never have
had it seep any longer

Combine 7 egg whites and remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of
simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and
the whites are hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer to mixer and finish whipping to desired stiffness.

Or make an Italian meringue. Google.

Pastorio

On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 13:13:02 -0400, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Ward Abbott said:

Jen said:

It's only been in the fridge a couple of hours, but it's the
meringue's already seeping. I think I heard somewhere that it's
from not beating enough,

I started doing this procedure about five years ago and never have
had it seep any longer

Combine 7 egg whites and remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of
simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and
the whites are hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer to mixer and finish whipping to desired stiffness.

Or make an Italian meringue. Google.

I guess I was making the same thing and didn't know it!!

Italian Meringue
From Brilliant Food Tips & Cooking Tricks (Canada, UK), by David
Joachim.

Also known as boiled icing, this type of meringue is traditionally
made by beating hot sugar syrup into beaten egg whites. This version
combines all of the ingredients in one bowl to save time. It should be
made over a saucepan of simmering water so that the egg whites reach a
temperature of at least 160°F (70°C) to kill any harmful bacteria.

Ingredients:

3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp cold water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions:

Combine the ingredients in a metal bowl. Place over a saucepan of
gently simmering water and beat with an electric mixer on low speed, 4
to 5 minutes. Increase speed to high and beat until very thick, about
4 minutes more. Remove bowl from saucepan and beat off the heat until
light and fluffy, another 4 minutes.

Yield: Makes about 4 cups

The Fine Art of Cooking involves personal choice.
Many preferences, ingredients, and procedures
may not be consistent with what you know to be true.
As with any recipe, you may find your personal
intervention will be necessary. Bon Appetit!

Ward Abbott said:

On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 13:13:02 -0400, "Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Ward Abbott said:

On Sat, 08 Oct 2005 10:06:53 GMT, "Jen"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

> It's only been in the fridge a couple of hours, but it's the
> meringue's already seeping. I think I heard somewhere that
> it's from not beating enough,

I started doing this procedure about five years ago and never
have had it seep any longer

Combine 7 egg whites and remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
sugar in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over
a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar has
dissolved and the whites are hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer to mixer and finish whipping to desired stiffness.

Or make an Italian meringue. Google.

I guess I was making the same thing and didn't know it!!

Actually, neither of you has made Italian meringue. The recipe below is
for something else. He hints at the correct way to do it, but the method
he posed here won't get the same results.

Italian meringue is made by boiling a sugar syrup to the soft ball stage
and whipping that 240°F syrup into whipped egg whites. It cooks the egg
whites almost instantly.

Quoted message said:

Italian Meringue From Brilliant Food Tips & Cooking Tricks (Canada,
UK), by David Joachim.

Also known as boiled icing, this type of meringue is traditionally
made by beating hot sugar syrup into beaten egg whites. This version
combines all of the ingredients in one bowl to save time.

Saving time is admirable, when the results are the same and time is
actually saved.

Quoted message said:

It should
be made over a saucepan of simmering water so that the egg whites
reach a temperature of at least 160°F (70°C) to kill any harmful
bacteria.

You can be pretty sure that any significantly harmful bacteria will be
sufficiently reduced in number by the time you get to 140°F that this
isn't much of an issue. But if the temperature should be at least 160°F,
how about at most? Given the technique, heating it too much is a
possibility. In that case, the meringue would "sugar" or become gritty.
It could be fixed (maybe) by beating in a little boiling water. If not
cooked enough, it would be thin and runny, but you wouldn't know that
until the end. I suppose the meringue could be put back over the
simmering water, but, in either case, there goes the saved time and
results will vary.

Quoted message said:

Ingredients:

3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp cold water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

The balance of ingredients for a real Italian meringue would be:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 egg whites (at room temperature)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar (or several drops lemon juice)
1 teaspoon vanilla

The technique is to combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook
maybe 4 minutes, covered, so the steam will wash down any crystals on
the pan sides. Remove the cover and cook to 238°-240°F. Meanwhile, whip
the egg whites and salt until frothy, and, whipping constantly, pour the
syrup into the mixing bowl in a thin stream until it's all in the bowl.
Mix for another minute or two until it's fully thickened. Add the cream
of tartar and vanilla and whip in thoroughly, another minute or so.

That's an Italian meringue as a boiled icing.

An Italian meringue for topping pies would be even more dense and have
these ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Same technique as above. This gives about 1/2 cup finished meringue per
egg white. In this case, beating continues until the meringue is cooled
enough to spread on the pie filling, mousse or pudding.

I'm sure the recipe here would make something good, but I don't like it
when classic names are used for something else. Not that I'm a purist
about how to function in a kitchen. Just that words mean things and when
people use the old word for something very different than that which has
been described by the old word, it dilutes meanings. Creates confusion.

Like going into a restaurant and seeing on the menu, "A Napoleon of
smoked salmon, grilled fillo sheets, caramelized Maui onion, sour cream
and caper berries." A Napoleon is a very specific dessert pastry. Using
it to simply be a substitute for "stack" or "pile" of food devalues both
descriptions.

So while this is a meringue, it just isn't an Italian meringue.
Language and communication issue.

Tomorrow's issue will concern window screen repair: Plastic screening...
threat or menace?

Quoted message said:

Instructions: Combine the ingredients in a metal bowl. Place over a
saucepan of gently simmering water and beat with an electric mixer on
low speed, 4 to 5 minutes. Increase speed to high and beat until
very thick, about 4 minutes more. Remove bowl from saucepan and beat
off the heat until light and fluffy, another 4 minutes.

Italian meringue isn't light and fluffy. It's rather dense and pipes a
very sharp line. The general rule of thumb is one scant cup of finished
icing per egg white.

Quoted message said:

Yield: Makes about 4 cups

The Fine Art of Cooking involves personal choice. Many preferences,
ingredients, and procedures may not be consistent with what you know
to be true. As with any recipe, you may find your personal
intervention will be necessary. Bon Appetit!

Funny sort of declaration to put at the end of a recipe. Almost
anticipating/expecting the several possible valid questions raised.
Could have avoided it just by saying it was *like* an Italian meringue
rather than to have posited a different technique that will yield a
different result, but still retaining the old name.

Pastorio

Jen,

Use an Italian meringue. Recipes are all over the net for this. An
Italian meringue is cooked, as 240-degree sugar syrup is slowly poured
into the meringue as it mixes in the bowl. Italian meringue is
impervious to humidity and because the sugar is dissolved in boiling
water, there is no grittiness to it.

Your refrigerator is a humid environment, and humidity destroys French
meringues. If you insist on using a French meringue, apply it at the
last minute, before service. Refrigerate only the pie and its filling
until then.

A third option is a Swiss meringue which is somewhere between the two
others, but Italian is absolutely the way to go.

-Ron

MasterChef said:

Jen,

Use an Italian meringue. Recipes are all over the net for this. An
Italian meringue is cooked, as 240-degree sugar syrup is slowly poured
into the meringue as it mixes in the bowl. Italian meringue is
impervious to humidity and because the sugar is dissolved in boiling
water, there is no grittiness to it.

That's not why it's not gritty. Grittiness or "sugaring" happens when
sugar returns to a granular crystalline state or is incompletely
dissolved to begin with. Sugar cooked to the soft ball state won't
"sugar" very quickly. It's the cooking that makes the process work.

Italian meringue will hold up better than a French meringue, but it's
not impervious. The sugar in it will take moisture out of the air and
the meringue itself over time and cause it to break down. The sugar is
hygroscopic. That process makes Italian meringues chewy.

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

Your refrigerator is a humid environment, and humidity destroys French
meringues. If you insist on using a French meringue, apply it at the
last minute, before service. Refrigerate only the pie and its filling
until then.

A third option is a Swiss meringue which is somewhere between the two
others, but Italian is absolutely the way to go.

Thankyou all for your help.

--
Jen
"Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MasterChef said:

Jen,

Use an Italian meringue. Recipes are all over the net for this. An
Italian meringue is cooked, as 240-degree sugar syrup is slowly poured
into the meringue as it mixes in the bowl. Italian meringue is
impervious to humidity and because the sugar is dissolved in boiling
water, there is no grittiness to it.

That's not why it's not gritty. Grittiness or "sugaring" happens when
sugar returns to a granular crystalline state or is incompletely dissolved
to begin with. Sugar cooked to the soft ball state won't "sugar" very
quickly. It's the cooking that makes the process work.

Italian meringue will hold up better than a French meringue, but it's not
impervious. The sugar in it will take moisture out of the air and the
meringue itself over time and cause it to break down. The sugar is
hygroscopic. That process makes Italian meringues chewy.

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

Your refrigerator is a humid environment, and humidity destroys French
meringues. If you insist on using a French meringue, apply it at the
last minute, before service. Refrigerate only the pie and its filling
until then.

A third option is a Swiss meringue which is somewhere between the two
others, but Italian is absolutely the way to go.