On 12 May, 07:16, "Brian Christiansen" <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:The other day, I made some mayonnaise and had several egg whites left over.
I searched the internet and found several recipes for meringue cookies,
angel food cakes, egg-white omelets, and some various other things. I ended
up making meringue cookies with chocolate chips (my mom thinks too many, but
I don't) and pistachio nuts.
I had this idea for savory cookies. Instead of beating sugar into the egg
whites, beat in something like chili powder or some other spice. Then,
instead of folding in chocolate chips and nuts, fold in something like diced
ham, onions and mushrooms, then bake.
I really don't know enough about cooking with egg whites to know if this is
a viable idea. I really can't believe that I am the first person ever to
have this idea, though.
The closest recipes I could find were recipes for egg white omelets, but my
idea is more for a "savory cookie," I suppose. Perhaps they could be a type
of h'ordouerve (or however it is spelled) Next time I make mayonnaise and
have some egg whites I might try this and report if I get something good, a
big mess, or something in between.
Brian Christiansen
I have made savoury meringue before (curry actually), although my way
didn't work very well. The problem is that meringue is actually quite
complex chemically. When you whisk egg whites you break down the
protien bundles, allowing them to stretch out and then re-bond with
other protiens. This is what makes egg whites white and what makes the
whisked egg whites firm. The problem is that it's not firm enough, if
you whisk egg white and then just leave it, it collapses. This is
where the sugar comes in. When you whisk the egg white with sugar it
stiffens more, and then when you cook the meringue mixture the sugar
caramelises and holds the shape of the meringue. It is this effect of
the sugar which needs to be emulated and I don't know of anything else
which works in quite the same way. I tried it with cornflour, hoping
it would work as a thickening agent in a slightly different way but it
didn't really work. They didn't completely collapse but they did a bit
so the final meringue wasn't as fluffy as I was hoping. Also, the
sugar gives it a slightly gummy texture which I think is very
important, the curry meringues had a dry, almost chalky texture which
made them quite unappealing on their own - they were very good with a
dollop of mango chutney though 😉 I have used sweet meringue in
savoury dishes before - think sweet chilli, sweet and sour etc.
If you find a good replacement for sugar I would be very interested, I
think this may be a tricky one though.
