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Your Guide to French, Swiss and Italian Meringue

Meringue is an essential when it comes to making pastry. Although it tends to be made exclusively of whipped egg whites and sugar, you need to understand the variations well to make them successfully. Here’s an overview of the different types of meringue and how to prepare each of them.

Types of meringue

There are two main types of meringue and three ways to make it. Hard meringue is baked in the oven for a long time at a very low temperature until it dries out. It’s mostly used to make cookies and desserts like vacherin or pavlova. Soft meringue is light and fluffy. It’s normally baked in a very hot oven for a short time.

Soft meringue for pies: requires 2 tbsp (30 ml) of sugar per egg white.

Hard meringue: requires 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60 to 75 ml) of sugar per egg white.

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How to proceed

French meringue: Simply whisk granulated sugar into the egg whites. This easy and popular technique results in a light meringue, but one that’s not very stable while unbaked.

Swiss meringue: Beat egg whites and granulated sugar in a double boiler. Whisk until a temperature of 122°F to 130°F (50°C to 55°C) is reached, partially cooking them. This technique results in a satiny, fine, relatively stable meringue. It makes for a classic 7-minute icing!

Italian: Depending on the recipe, beat a hot sugar syrup (cooked to between 236°F and 248°F / 112°C and 120°C) into egg whites. This technique results in a shiny, very fine meringue with lots of volume. It is the most stable of the three because it is cooked thanks to the hot syrup. It is often used in recipes that do not require any baking afterwards (buttercreams, mousses, marshmallows, frozen soufflés, etc.) or to top French meringue pies or other desserts. It is ideal for dried meringues that are baked in the oven and stay white.

What happens when making a meringue?

An egg white is composed of water and various proteins. These proteins resemble long, rolled-up strings wrapped around one another. When you whisk an egg white, the quick movement unravels the protein and incorporates air bubbles at the same time.

 

Air bubbles are large and sparse when you start to beat an egg white, and the foam is still clear and liquid. The more you whisk, the more air bubbles start to form and divide. An egg white turns white because its millions of small bubbles reflect light. At the same time, long proteins unfold and form a film that coats the air bubbles. Protein and air bubbles also trap water contained in the egg white; this is why it becomes firm.

What role does sugar play in a meringue?

It helps to stabilize egg whites in two ways. Small sugar molecules insert themselves between long protein molecules, preventing the latter from becoming too stuck together. Then, since sugar is hygroscopic (meaning it attracts moisture), it prevents water in the egg whites from sinking to the bottom of the bowl. The amount of sugar required depends on the recipe.

When to add the sugar

Hard meringue contains twice as much sugar as a soft meringue. In both cases, the secret to success is waiting to add the sugar until the egg whites have risen well and formed soft peaks. In fact, if you add sugar too soon, the meringue will take longer to form stiff peaks, and will therefore have less volume.

Read the articles below for more tips and tricks on meringue:

Christina Blais

For Christina Blais, explaining food chemistry to the masses is as simple as making a good omelet. Holding a Bachelor and Master degree in Nutrition, she has been a part-time lecturer for over 30 years in the Department of Nutrition at the Université de Montréal, where she teaches food science courses. She has been sharing the fruits of her experience with Ricardo since 2001, during his daily show broadcast on ICI Radio-Canada Télé. And diehards can also read her Food Chemistry on our website. You can follow her on Facebook at @Encuisineavecchristinablais.