Meringue can be safely called a culinary paradox - being a very simple confectionery product from only two components (protein and sugar), it manages to look like a real delicacy. And sometimes it requires considerable culinary skills, as well as knowledge of a large number of nuances. Today's guest post from the Manif TV project presents to your attention something that will be interesting and useful for all sweet lovers to learn.

Meringue or meringue?

There is an opinion that meringue and meringue are not the same thing. According to this opinion, meringue is an egg cream made from whipped whites with sugar, and meringue is a crispy product made from meringue in a specific shape. Whether this opinion is legitimate or not is a matter for a separate discussion. Further in the article, the word "meringue" will mean exactly the protein cream, and the word meringue - baked crisp.

The very same word "meringue" (fr. Baiser) came to us from the French language, and is translated as "kiss". The origin of the word "meringue" is not so unambiguous. According to one version, it also came from the French language, which came from German, namely from the name of the Swiss city of Meiringen (German Meiringen), where the treat was first invented and baked by the pastry chef Gasparini. Date of appearance - XVII century. Like a lot of other ingenious inventions, meringue was born purely by accident - Gasparini once got so carried away by whipping proteins that they turned into a cool foam. Since this gentleman loved culinary experiments, he, without hesitation, sent the foam to the oven. The result was a crispy cake that quickly gained popularity among the local nobility, and then among the common people.

At the end of the 17th century, the meringue recipe in the form in which it is used today appeared in the cookbook of the famous chef François Massialo. There is a version that Massialo developed this recipe on his own so as not to throw away the egg whites, which were often unnecessary. And he also introduced the term "meringue" into use. Whether he created this recipe himself or relied on the experience of his Swiss colleague is not known for certain. However, the fact that meringue quickly gained popularity due to its taste and ease of manufacture is a fact.

Meringue recipes

There are three meringue recipes:

• French (the one we are used to)
• Swiss
• Italian

French meringue

Average

3.5 hours

Ingredients

2 servings

2 chicken eggs

150 g icing sugar

if desired - 1/3 tsp. instant coffee

Separate the egg whites from the yolks, then beat the whites until they are slightly stiff. Then continue whisking until a thick, standing foam, gradually adding sugar. Squeeze meringue of any shape from the finished meringue, put it on paper and send it to the oven, preheated to 100-110 degrees. Leave the oven door ajar while baking. After two to three hours, remove the leaf from the oven and voila - you have sweet crispy meringues in front of you.

You can add coffee to the meringue to give it a beautiful shade and a more sophisticated taste: unlike cocoa, it does not precipitate proteins. It is not necessary to scrape off the meringues at all - after cooling, they peel off the parchment by themselves.

Swiss meringue

Average

1,5 hour

Ingredients

2 servings

2 chicken eggs

150 g icing sugar

Prepare a container of hot water and place a bowl for beating eggs in it. Pour the egg whites and powdered sugar into a cup, then whisk. The peculiarity of this method is that all the sugar can be added to the proteins at once. Having received a thick homogeneous standing foam, squeeze the meringues out of it, and send it to the oven preheated to 100-110 degrees.

Swiss meringue is much thicker and denser than classic meringue, and also prone to quick drying. Molds from it can be baked in an hour, or even less, and being hard on the outside, they will remain soft on the inside.

Swiss meringue is quite elastic and keeps its shape perfectly. From it you can make meringues with ornate patterns that will not spread and will not sag. Some cooks put a water bath on the stove and beat right there, but we do not recommend doing this, since the water can easily overheat on the stove. The water temperature for heating should not exceed 42-43 degrees.

Italian meringue

Average

1,5 hour

Ingredients

2 servings

2 chicken eggs

200 g sugar

100 g of water

Truly light and airy is the Italian meringue. To prepare it, first pour sugar into a saucepan, and cover with water, bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly. Then remove the syrup from the burner. Beat the whites into a slightly standing foam, then pour hot syrup into it very slowly in a thin stream (it should not have time to cool down too much, but at the same time, it should not be boiling). When pouring the syrup, beat the mass vigorously until it is completely thickened.

In the first moments, it may seem that the mixture is too liquid and will not whip at all - do not give in to this impression, because with due persistence, the meringue is whipped very successfully. From such a cream, you can make light air meringues that melt in your mouth (baked in the same way as the two previous varieties). However, it is better to use it for coating cakes, because it does not dry for a long time and does not exfoliate, unlike its French and Swiss counterparts.

General rules for making meringues

• The container in which the eggs are beaten must be absolutely dry, without droplets of water and fat. Just one crazy drop of water left on the sides of the pan for beating eggs - and you can forget about the thick, standing foam. Even if the foam almost churns, a liquid syrup will accumulate at the bottom, preventing the proteins from whipping to sharp peaks (this is usually called a steep, almost stationary foam).
• Sugar should be added only after the whites have been whipped into a light foam - otherwise, the same effect may be observed as if there are droplets of moisture or fat on the walls of the container. The exception is Swiss meringue.

This is how to beat the froth before adding sugar.

• Even one drop of yolk will put a fat cross on the thick foam. To prevent this, you can use this trick: break the egg at both ends - the white will come out on its own, and the yolk will remain in the egg. Leftover protein can be scraped out by breaking the broken egg lengthwise. And if a drop of yolk nevertheless slipped into the protein mass, it can be pulled out by prying it with an eggshell.
• Merengi are rather dried rather than baked. That is why, throughout the entire cooking process, the oven must be kept slightly open (1-1.5 cm). In a closed oven, the meringues will remain soft (due to incomplete drying) and may burn.
• You should not use stale powdered sugar for whipping proteins - it should only be freshly prepared. Otherwise, the effect will be the same as in the first paragraph, because the powdered sugar after a short time is saturated with moisture, absorbing it from the air.

Foam holding firmly on the whisk is a sign of a job well done.

• Store the meringues in a sealed container or in a tightly tied bag, otherwise they will absorb moisture from the air and soften. However, there is an interesting point here - if you manage to put very slightly softened meringues in a closed container for a while, they will restore their hardness and dryness. True, with the meringues, which are softened to a greater extent, such a number will not work.

A type of Latin American dance is also called Merengoy. And it should be noted that the rhythms of this dance are very similar to the rhythms of a mixer whipping proteins.

In tsarist Russia, the term “Spanish wind” was used instead of the word “meringue”. It was believed that their lightness and rustling are very similar to the warm summer breeze.

In dry weather with low humidity, it is much easier to beat eggs into a thick, standing foam than in high humidity. The consistency of the egg cream will be extremely thick without adding the proverbial pinch of salt or citric acid.

The largest meringue was baked in 1985 in Frutal (Switzerland). It took 120 kg of sugar and 2500 eggs to make it. The record-holder meringue length was more than 100 meters, and the weight was over 200 kg. To bake it, a separate oven was built, and such a meringue was served with 80 liters of confectionery cream (which one is not reported).

To achieve the maximum air mass, professional chefs use a hand whisk, and beat the foam with scooping (and not smearing) movements, trying to rake in as much air as possible. Thus, the foam is abundantly filled with bubbles, giving it lightness and airiness.

The spiral whisk rakes in air better than others, making the foam as lush and standing as possible

P.S. Such "kisses" (meringues) will be an excellent gift for the fair sex, especially since March 8 is just around the corner. Delight your ladies with delicious air meringues. How to make them truly festive and romantic is described in

Word Meringue comes from fr. baiser - kiss... For the word Meringue there are two hypotheses regarding its origin. According to the first, the meringues were invented in the Swiss city of Meiringen by the Italian chef Gasparini. However, another point of view is considered more probable: the first word “meringue” was used by François Massialo in a cookbook published in the year.

There are several types of meringues that are used as a top layer for other desserts (French Floating Island, lemon meringue pie, etc.) or as a stand-alone dish. Meringues also differ in the way they are cooked. The so-called "Italian meringue" is cooked in boiling sugar syrup, after which it is used in various cakes or baked separately, and "Swiss meringues" are first whipped over a water bath, and then allowed to cool, without stopping whipping, and then baked. "Swiss meringues" are most often used for dessert "Pavlova's cake". The most common are French meringues.

Meringues are baked at a low temperature (80-108 ° C) for a long time. After baking, they can remain in the oven for a long time, for which they are called "forgotten cookies". Ready meringues should be dry and crispy, they do not have a dark crust. Do not store meringues in the refrigerator, because they damp; in an airtight container, they can be stored for about a week.

If meringues are used as the top layer of another dessert, they can be baked at a higher temperature and for a shorter time. These meringues are softer and have baked ends.

Notes (edit)

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Meringue" is in other dictionaries:

- (French baiser kiss). A kind of cake made from whipped egg whites with sugar. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov AN, 1910. WITHOUT beaten egg whites cake with sugar. A complete dictionary of foreign words included ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (fr. baiser). A confection made from sugar and whipped egg whites. (Culinary Dictionary of V.V. Pokhlebkin, 2002) * * * (Source: "The United Dictionary of Culinary Terms") Meringue Meringue is an airy confectionery made of protein and sugar, in ... Culinary vocabulary

Slap meringue .. Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M .: Russian dictionaries, 1999. meringue cake, cake Dictionary of Russian synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

- [ze], uncl., cf. (French baiser, literally kiss). Light airy cake made from egg whites. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

- [ze]. 1.nkl., Cf. A light cake made from whipped proteins and sugar. 2. unchanged About cake, cake: made with whipped proteins and sugar. Cake b. Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

meringue- WITHOUT, meringue ... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms for Russian speech

meringue- WITHOUT, neskl., Wed A dish, which is a confectionery light airy biscuits made from whipped proteins with sugar in the form of pieces of various shapes, baked in the oven, eaten as a sweet dish. ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Russian nouns

- [ze], uncl., with ... Russian verbal stress

I uncl. Wed Light, airy cake made from egg whites whipped with sugar. II uncl. m. is outdated. Kiss. III unchanged adj. Light, airy (about a cake made from egg whites whipped with sugar). Efremova's Explanatory Dictionary. T.F. Efremova ... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Wed, uncl., French. cake, whipped from egg whites on sugar. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

• Rainwater for garden and country house. Rainwater for household needs. Planning, calculations and selection of components. Construction of the system, Meringue K.H .. The book is a visual and accessible guide for everyone who wants to purchase or independently build a system for using rainwater on a site or in a suburban area ...

Ah, meringue! .. Delicate, crunchy, crumbly or, conversely, soft, like cotton candy inside and with a crispy ruddy crust on the outside ... Mmmm, pleasure! No wonder the sophisticated French called this delicacy "kiss" (from the French Baiser).

In pre-revolutionary Russia, meringues were called "Spanish wind". It is also called meringue, and it is believed that it is more correct to call this dessert that way, because meringue is a protein cream, and meringue is the same cream, only dried. However, let's leave linguistics aside and try to make this amazing dessert.

In general, the composition of the meringue is simple, like everything ingenious: proteins and sugar. Sometimes nut flour, starch, but this is no longer so essential. However, a short list of ingredients does not mean that making a fragile dessert is easy and simple. Meringue is a delicate, capricious substance, like a spoiled lady, and can bring many surprises and disappointments to an inexperienced cook.

Therefore, before you open the refrigerator and take out the tray of eggs, arm yourself with theoretical knowledge of the subject and strictly follow the strict rules for preparing meringues, and then you will succeed!

You can make meringues in three ways.

French way

This is the simplest one, it can be used to try to master this dish, as well as to make meringues of simple shapes, without subtle patterns. The protein mass turns out to be lush, strong, but with clearly distinguishable bubbles, therefore, deposit virtuoso roses on a baking sheet makes no sense, they "float", if not immediately, then when baking. Therefore, you need to cook cakes from it in the oven or in the microwave without any special tweaks - just oval cakes.

Ingredients:

• Egg whites- 2 pcs
• Salt - a pinch
• Granulated sugar or powdered sugar

Preparing meringue in French like this: chilled whites of two eggs, pour into a saucepan or bowl, add a pinch of salt to them and begin to beat with a mixer or a whisk (in general, this can be done even with a fork, it will only take a long time) until it is strong foam. Then we begin to gradually add powdered sugar or sugar to them, continuing to beat. Powder will need about two hundred grams per protein. However, the exact amount of powder is determined "by eye", since it must be added to proteins until a certain point - the appearance of the so-called "hard peaks". This is when the cream does not fall off from the raised mixer or whisk, and the peaks ("icicles" from the meringue) do not bend under their own weight.

Italian way

cooking meringue differs from the French in that instead of sugar, rather hard-boiled sugar syrup is poured into the whipped proteins. The syrup is poured in a hot, thin stream, and the whipping of the whites in no case stops until the whole mass has cooled.

This method is ideal for making creams - the boiling syrup brews the proteins, and the resulting cream does not fall off. With such a cream, you can layer cakes, cook cakes with it, fill tubes or eclairs, decorate any dessert.

In addition, the cream, prepared in Italian, mixes well with butter, while the "usual" meringue flows from contact with fat.

Ingredients:

• Egg whites - 2 pcs.
• Sugar syrup - about 300 g
• Citric acid or lemon juice

First, cook the sugar syrup: for two parts sugar, one part water, a little lemon juice. For a meringue of two proteins, you need to take two hundred grams of sugar per hundred grams of water. Beat the whites into a strong foam and, continuing to beat, pour hot syrup into them in a thin stream. Beat the cream until the mixture is completely cool.

Swiss way

making meringue is the most time consuming, since you have to build a steam bath. But the meringue prepared in this way is the strongest, persistent and dense. From the mass obtained for a couple, you can plant the most fancy cookies, and they dry very quickly, faster than anything else, and can be used to paint beautiful intricate patterns.

Ingredients:

• Egg whites
• Granulated sugar
• Lemon juice

The cooking method is as follows: over a saucepan with boiling water, dishes with proteins and sugar are placed (one protein - one glass of sugar). The bottom of the pan should only be heated by steam and not come into contact with water. We begin to beat the whites at first at the smallest speed of the mixer, until all the sugar is dissolved. And after that we add speed and beat until tender, getting a white, dense, thick cream at the exit.

So, the cooking method has been chosen, and you are determined to surprise your guests with wonderful meringues. Stop for a few more minutes and remember a few very important rules, without which you will not succeed.

Rules for cooking "Meringue"

The optimal ratio of proteins to sugar is 1: 2.6. In order to bake one baking sheet of small cakes, I take 3 eggs and 0.5 tbsp. Sahara.

Protein must be the freshest! Only fresh proteins are able to hold air in themselves and give a dense, dense mass.

To obtain a high-quality mass, the proteins are cooled to a temperature of + 2 ° C before whipping (i.e. we take them from the refrigerator just before whipping). Uncooled whites do not whisk well, and the baked semi-finished product will be blurry. Meringue sugar, by the way, is also best cooled.

The whites should be separated very carefully so that not a drop of yolk gets into them. It is done this way: over a separate dish, break the egg with the blunt side of the knife so that the shell cracks. Gently break the egg and release the protein into the bowl. The yolk remains in one of the shells. Just carefully pour the yolk into another shell, while the remaining protein slides into the dish, and the clean, undamaged yolk remains in the shell.

Try to break each egg over a separate dish, pouring the proteins into a bowl - a surprise in the form of a rotten egg plopping down on the rest of the proteins will not seem pleasant to anyone.

It is advisable to grind sugar into powder or buy ready-made powdered sugar in a store. The size of the grains will not affect the quality and taste, you just have to beat the protein mass much longer, because this must be done until all the sugar is dissolved. Otherwise, the remaining grains will crunch on your teeth.

First, whisk the whites until their volume increases by 4-6 times, then slowly add vanilla powder, sugar All sugar is not introduced immediately, but several times (in a thin stream or in small spoons)

When whipping whites, it is good to use citric acid - in powder, diluted or just lemon juice. Citric acid is diluted at the rate of 1 tsp. powder for 2 tsp. water. Citric acid is added to taste, sometimes a few drops are enough, but if you like the sour taste, then you can add more, for example, a teaspoon of acid. Just don't use acetic acid!

Dishes and whisks should not only be clean, but perfectly clean, free of grease and any impurities. By the way, when choosing utensils for whipping, keep in mind that the volume of whipped proteins will increase four to five times. In addition, the dishes in which you whisk the whites must be dry, otherwise the whites will not whisk well.
To degrease, rinse the dishes in mild soapy water, then rinse in very hot. Dry the dishes with a completely clean and dry cloth. For final confidence in the absence of traces of fat, wipe the dishes and whisk with a lemon wedge.

Whites should not be whipped in a metal bowl, otherwise they will darken.

There should be few proteins so that the whisk does not sink completely into them, otherwise aeration will be impossible, and the proteins will not beat well. The more proteins you use, the longer the whisk should be at each stage.

It is believed that it is better to beat the whites with a whisk, as they heat up from an electric mixer, so there may be a thin foam. But, as a rule, they whip well with a mixer: o)
First, whisk the whites on a slow speed for 2 minutes, until a yellow foam forms. If there are more than two proteins, then you need to beat it longer.
Then you need to switch to medium speed and beat for another minute, and finally, continue beating at maximum speed until the desired stage.

You cannot beat the whites for too long, since this will achieve the opposite effect: the mass will not be airy and fluffy, but smooth and dense. Alas, you can't bake meringue from it. Five to seven minutes of vigorous beating is sufficient.

It used to be thought that even a drop of water could negate any whipping effort. Now this statement is refuted with might and main by experienced chefs, and some even add a few tablespoons of water to proteins in order to make dried meringues especially brittle and dry. It is usually recommended to pour a teaspoon into the proteins. very cold water- so they whip better.

Sometimes a pinch of salt is added to the proteins before whipping - it gives the proteins strength.

Catching the moment when the whites are whipped to the maximum volume is difficult for a novice cook. However, this moment can be determined experimentally. There are three proven ways. In the first case, after stopping the whisking process, slightly raise the whisk so that the whipped egg whites can form a peak. If the whipped protein does not fall off and clearly holds the height, then your work has been crowned with success. But if the whipped proteins are to be further used as part of other ingredients, for example, for a cake or soufflé, then the protein peaks should be slightly plastic, slightly lowering when the whisk is raised.

In the second case, just try to slowly and gently turn the pan of proteins upside down. If, at the same time, the foam does not try to drain along the walls, but holds firmly in the pan, the proteins are ready.
In the third case, simply place a knife or fork in the center of the pan with protein foam (with teeth or a tip to the bottom). In a firmly whipped foam, both the knife and fork will stand firmly without the help of your hands.

If, according to the recipe, a little flour, starch or ground nuts are required to be added to the whipped proteins, then the flour and starch should be sieved to saturate them with air, and the nuts should be fried and ground as thin as possible.

A baking sheet should be prepared right away so as not to mess with it later, when the protein mass is ready and begins to quietly settle out of impatience and boredom. Place tracing paper, parchment paper, or baking paper lightly greased with margarine (butter) on a baking sheet. If you grease it with grease, the bottom of the cakes will tear, if you do not grease it at all, you will eat meringue with paper.

You can lay out portions of protein with a spoon or a pastry syringe. You can put the protein mixture in a plastic bag, cut off the tip on one side and gently, but quickly (since the air evaporates, the quality becomes low, the density increases, the form stability decreases) squeeze the resulting mass in the form of balls onto a baking sheet. Leave a distance between the "blanks", the meringue will increase in size.

If you decide to bake air baskets, then draw identical circles on the back of the baking paper (circle the bottom of the glass), fill a pastry syringe or cornet with a smooth round nozzle and fill the circles by squeezing the dough, moving in a spiral. Then place the dough in the form of a side in one continuous strip along the edge of the circles, or often plant small stars along the edge. After baking and cooling, fill the resulting baskets with cream or jam.

To get even cakes, draw a circle or rectangle of the desired size with a pencil on the back of the paper, then put the dough in a pastry syringe or cornet and plant the meringue along the outlined contour, moving in a spiral. You can start from the center, or you can start from the edges, it doesn't matter.

The meringue should be placed in a preheated oven, let it heat up, while you spread the mass with a teaspoon on a baking sheet covered with tracing paper. I set it to 150 ° C.
After you place the meringues in the preheated oven, they should rise immediately. As soon as the meringues "grow", you immediately need to immediately reduce the heat to a minimum (about 100 ° C), otherwise they will burn. Leave on for about 2 hours. It is recommended to dry the meringues in the oven at a low temperature for a long time (one and a half to two hours), then they dry well and turn out to be light, with a delicate texture.

By the way, my friend lights the oven only when she has already put a baking sheet in it and turns it on immediately at a temperature of - 100 ° C - and her meringues are excellent. And bakes only 40-50 minutes. Apparently, a lot depends on the oven itself.

Cooking time depends on the size of the meringue and the characteristics of the oven. Do not open the oven for at least the first 30 minutes, otherwise the meringue will settle. But it is better, in my opinion, not to open the oven for at least 1 hour, although some housewives believe that, unlike many other baked goods, it is possible and even necessary to open the oven during meringue cooking - they open it slightly with an inserted pencil. Determining readiness is simple: baked meringues easily move away from the leaf.
The finished meringue is not white, but slightly creamy.

Ready-made (but still hot) meringues stay soft until they cool, so they can be left in the oven turned off.

In order to remove the meringue cakes from the paper, put the cake together with the paper on the edge of the table and slowly slide it towards you, holding the cake with one hand, while pulling the paper down with the other. Acting carefully enough, you will get the cake safe and sound. Removing small meringues from paper is usually easy.

For a fresh batch of meringue, take a fresh sheet of tracing paper each time.

When baking meringues, do not shake - do not slam doors and windows, do not allow children to run and jump around the kitchen.

Ready meringues can be decorated with cream, poured over with some syrup, shifted with berries, but, in my opinion, they are quite tasty on their own.

To prevent meringue baskets from melting under the influence of cream, jam or jam, make a layer of melted chocolate. To do this, melt the grated chocolate in a water bath in a small amount of milk or cream, stirring constantly and periodically removing from the steam so that the chocolate does not curl from excessive heat, stir until smooth and smear the inside of the baskets with a brush, trying to apply the chocolate with such a good layer. The same operation can be done with the cake layers - this will only add a crunchy chocolate flavor to your dessert.

To decorate meringue cakes, you can prepare, for example, chocolate nut cream. For this, nuts are fried and chopped with a blender. The chocolate is melted in a water bath and cooled slightly. Meanwhile, whip cream (preferably 35% fat). Chopped nuts and melted chocolate are added to the whipped mass. Using a pastry bag, the meringue cakes are topped with cream.

The meringues can be held in pairs (whipped cream or buttercream) and refrigerated.

Store the finished meringue in a dry place. You can store them in plastic bags, otherwise they will absorb moisture from the air and not be crispy.

That's all. Hard? Try to cook and see for yourself.

	1. Carefully separate the whites from the yolks and pour into a deep non-metallic bowl.
	2. Pour sugar or powdered sugar (a glass of sugar for every four to five proteins) into a separate cup and set aside.
	3. Begin to beat the whites with a mixer, gradually increasing the speed.
	4. As soon as the protein foam becomes rich white and acquires some density (you can check it with a spoon), start adding sugar little by little (preferably one dessert spoon at a time).
	5. Beat the foam until all sugar is completely dissolved.
	6. At this stage, nuts, grated chocolate, condensed milk or anything else of your choice can be added to the protein mass. Any "addition" is gently mixed into the foam with a spoon.
	7. The readiness of the mass for baking is checked as follows: collect the foam in a slightly damp spoon and turn it over. The foam must not run out, fall out or lose its shape.
	8. Put the cakes on a sheet lined with parchment or foil using the same spoon or a pastry syringe (the shape and size depend only on your desire).
	9. Meringue is dried in the oven at a minimum temperature (no more than one hundred degrees). Depending on the size of the cakes, the meringue is dried for an hour or two. The finished cakes will be crispy and slightly crumbly.

Based on materials from kedem.ru, cherrylady.ua, domznaniy.ru

As you can see, making meringues at home does not require any super complicated skills. Everything is simple, fast, and most importantly, delicious! Bon appetit and culinary victories!

PS. Meringue is a delicious delicacy, but girls who are on strict diets should always remember that the calorie content of the dessert is very high: 100 g is 310 kcal.

Meringue is a surprisingly delicate delicacy that appeared around the 17th century in Switzerland. According to legend, the Italian master chef Gasparini, who came to the country, opened his pastry shop in Meyring, made unusually delicate cakes called "kisses" ("meringues"). These pastries glorified the masters and became famous first in Meiring, then throughout Switzerland, and then conquered the world.

In fact, making meringues is very easy. The dessert is based on eggs (protein) and sugar, as well as some additives designed to improve or change the taste of the finished product.

Meringue - preparing food and dishes

Meringue is a very delicate dessert and the least calorie of all sweets. It can be eaten in moderation even by those who are on diets.

Despite the fact that meringue is very easy to prepare, there are several tricks, without which the dessert may not work.

So, follow these rules:

1. Beat the egg with sugar in a copper bowl or a bowl made of another metal so that the heat is evenly distributed. The dishes must be completely clean.
2. Eggs for making meringues must be fresh. If you know that the egg is not entirely fresh, then it might be more appropriate to use powdered sugar instead of sugar.
3. When whisking whites, add sugar (or powdered sugar) very slowly, in a thin stream.
4. Beat with a blender (or mixer) on medium speed for about 5-8 minutes.
5. You need to bake in the oven at an average temperature of 120-140 degrees.

Meringue Recipes:

Recipe 1: meringue

If you prepare a dessert according to this recipe, then you will almost perfectly recreate the famous Swiss meringue. The secret of "Swiss technology" is that the meringue needs to be whipped over a steam bath. Thus, the whites will beat up as evenly as possible. The proportions of this meringue are 200 grams of sugar per 1 egg white. The dessert will turn out to be very sweet, almost sugary. If you are on a diet, then you better refuse such a meringue in favor of other recipes.

Required Ingredients:

• Proteins (from fresh eggs) - 3 pieces
• Sugar - 600 grams

Cooking method:

1. Dip the squirrels in a metal container. Begin to beat them with a mixer, gradually pouring half of the sugar into them. Sprinkle sugar in a thin stream.
2. Place the bowl of egg whites in a saucepan of boiling water and continue to beat with a mixer on medium speed. Add remaining sugar.
3. Remove the bowl of egg whites and beat for another 3 minutes on medium speed until the egg whites have cooled.
4. Bake the meringue in the oven at 120 degrees for about 50 minutes. After turning off the heat, allow the dessert to harden and cool.

The “Swiss style” meringue turns out to be very sweet, and therefore it is best to serve the dessert with sour berries and fruits.

Recipe 2: Night meringue

For this recipe, you will need a mixture of sugar and powdered sugar and some lemon juice. The resulting meringue will have a pleasant sour flavor and will not be very cloying. The name of such a dessert is due to the fact that the meringue will need to be left to freeze in the oven overnight.

Required Ingredients:

• 4 squirrels (from fresh eggs)
• Sugar 100 grams
• Powdered sugar 200 grams
• Lemon juice - half a teaspoon

Cooking method:

1. Sift the icing sugar through a sieve, add sugar to it and stir.
2. Turn on the preheat oven. Temperature - 120 degrees
3. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed for about 4 minutes. Add half a teaspoon of lemon juice and a quarter of the sugar and powdered sugar mixture to the proteins. Beat with a mixer for 2 minutes on medium speed.
4. Add the remaining sugar gradually to the mixture and beat for about 4 minutes.
5. Line a baking sheet with paper, spoon or meringue on top of it, bake for an hour.
6. Turn off the oven, but don't take out the meringue. Leave them in the oven overnight. In the morning, find a ready-made dry treat.

Recipe 3: Cranberry meringue

Sweet and sour pale pink meringue will serve both as an independent dish and as an addition to any dessert.

Required Ingredients:

• Proteins from fresh eggs 4 pieces
• Powdered sugar 1.5 cups
• Cranberries 0.5 cups
• Lemon juice ½ teaspoon

Cooking method:

1. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on medium speed for about 4 minutes.
2. Add icing sugar and lemon juice gradually to the protein foam.
3. Wash and grind the cranberries. Squeeze out the cranberry juice and add the pomace to the proteins. Continue to beat with a mixer for about 3-4 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 120 degrees.
5. Cover the baking sheet with paper, a spoon or a pastry syringe, and line the meringue on the paper.
6. Bake the dessert for about 50 minutes without closing the oven door.

Recipe 4: coconut meringue

The recipe for coconut meringue is simple and easy to make, but the finished dessert will have a very exotic taste.

Required Ingredients:

• Proteins from fresh eggs 4 pieces
• Powdered sugar 100 grams
• Sugar 200 grams
• Coconut flakes 50 grams
• Vanilla

Cooking method:

1. Sift the icing sugar through a sieve.
2. Beat the egg whites on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
3. Add powdered sugar into the foam in a thin stream, beat for 3 minutes.
4. Add sugar to the protein mass, also in a thin stream, beat for one to two minutes.
5. Pour coconut and vanilla into the mixture, stir well.
6. Preheat oven to 120 degrees.
7. On a baking sheet lined with parchment, lay out with a spoon or a meringue syringe. Bake the dessert for about 50 minutes. Cool before serving.

Recipe 5: Meringue with nuts

You can prepare the most delicate dessert if you add chopped nuts to the protein mass. You can use any type of nuts or a mixture of them. In addition, you can add rum essence to this meringue.

Required Ingredients:

• Protein from fresh eggs 4 pieces
• Powdered sugar 200 grams
• A pinch of salt
• Walnut 50 grams
• Almond nut 50 grams

Cooking method:

1. Grind the nuts using a blender or meat grinder.
2. Sift the icing sugar through a sieve.
3. Begin whisking the protein by adding a pinch of salt to it.
4. Without turning off the mixer, add sugar and nut mass to the protein foam gradually.
5. Preheat oven to 140 degrees.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place the meringue on the parchment using a spoon or pastry syringe. Bake the dessert for about 50 minutes without closing the oven door.

Recipe 6: apple meringue pie

If you like charlotte, then such a meringue pie will definitely like it, because it is based on apples. This meringue pie comes with a delicious baked crust and a fragrant soft apple filling in the middle.

Required Ingredients:

• Flour 1 glass
• Sugar 150 grams
• Butter 100 grams
• Fresh eggs 2 pieces
• Sweet apples 3 pieces
• Milk 100 ml
• A pinch of salt

Cooking method:

1. Wash the apples, peel them and cut them into small cubes.
2. Sift flour through a sieve.
3. Separate the whites from the yolks.
4. Melt the butter.
5. Combine egg yolks, half sugar, salt and butter. Add flour to the mixture and knead until crumbly. Pour milk into the mixture and blend with a blender until smooth.
6. Take a baking pan, brush with vegetable oil and line the dough. Place the mold in the freezer for 20 minutes.
7. Let's make the meringue. To do this, combine the proteins with the remaining sugar to a thick foam and refrigerate.
8. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Remove the dough form from the freezer, put the chopped apples on the dough and send to the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
9. Remove the pie, pour the protein mixture over the apples and return to the oven, lowering the temperature to 120 degrees for one hour.

Recipe 7: banana meringue cake

These roll cakes are made in French pastry shops. There they cost from 3 to 5 euros per piece. The cakes are very tasty and tender, and are bought by French women with a bang. We will prepare such a dessert for much less. Instead of mascropon cheese, you can use any creamy unsalted cheese or full-fat cottage cheese with sour cream.

Required Ingredients:

• Sugar -100 grams
• Powdered sugar - 100 grams
• Egg whites - 4 pieces
• Mascropon cheese 300 grams
• Medium banana 1 piece
• Milk 5 tablespoons
• Ground black coffee 2 tablespoons

Cooking method:

1. Turn on the oven to heat up, setting the temperature to 180 degrees.
2. Sift the icing sugar through a sieve.
3. Begin to beat the whites, gradually adding the powdered sugar and then the granulated sugar.
4. Lay parchment on a baking sheet, grease it with oil. Spread the protein mixture over the parchment and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
5. While the meringue is baking, prepare the filling for the cakes - rolls. To do this, peel the banana and puree it with a blender. Pour hot milk over the coffee and cover for 5 minutes. Begin to beat the mascropon with a mixer, adding the banana to it. Strain the coffee and add the coffee mass to the cheese.
6. Remove the meringue, remove it from the parchment and refrigerate. Spread with cream and roll into a roll. Put the cake in the refrigerator for 40 minutes, then remove and cut into portions.

Recipe 8: Almond Meringue Cakes with Orange

The meringue cakes you make using this recipe will have a completely unusual almond and fruit flavor. Made in the form of cupcakes, they will take you during tasting to sunny Italy - this country is the birthplace of meringue cakes with almonds. It should be noted that in addition to almonds, you can also use hazelnuts or cashews. But only almonds will give the meringue an unusual aroma.

Required Ingredients:

• Proteins from fresh eggs 6 pieces
• Powdered sugar 300 grams
• Sugar 100 grams
• Medium orange 1 piece
• Orange zest
• Lemon zest
• Almonds 100 grams
• A pinch of salt

Cooking method:

1. Sift the icing sugar through a sieve.
2. Grind the almonds by passing them through a meat grinder or using a blender.
3. Remove the skin from the orange and divide it into wedges.
4. Whisk 4 egg whites with salt on high speed.
5. Continuing to beat the protein, gradually add the icing sugar, orange zest and almonds.
6. Pour the protein into muffin tins, half full.
7. Stick orange slices into each mold.
8. Send the cakes to bake in the oven at about 140 degrees for 30 minutes.
9. Whisk remaining egg whites with lemon zest and sugar.
10. After half an hour, take out the cakes, fill them with protein mass and send them to bake for another 20 minutes.

Serve chilled.

Recipe 9: Cherry meringue pie

Puff pastry based on chocolate shortbread dough, cherry jam and crispy meringue. By the way, such a pie can be prepared with any jam, but it is best to use a thick one. For example, in addition to cherry, currant or orange will go, but definitely do not take strawberry. Squeeze the juice out of the jam before using it.

Required Ingredients:

• Cherry jam (pitted) 100 grams
• Flour 300 grams
• Butter 100 grams
• Sugar 250 grams
• Fresh egg 2 pieces
• Cocoa 1.5 tablespoon
• Soda, slaked with vinegar ½ teaspoon

Cooking method:

1. Break the egg, separate the white from the yolk.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Mix the yolks with sugar (take 2/3 of the total sugar), cocoa and butter. Add sifted flour through a sieve to the mixture, soda, mix. The dough should be crumbly.
4. Take a baking pan, brush with butter and line the dough over it.
5. Squeeze the jam from the juice. Ideally, only cherry berries should remain.
6. Place the form with dough and jam in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
7. Combine protein and remaining sugar until thick foam.
8. Remove the pie, put the protein foam on top and bake for another 40 minutes at 120 degrees.

1. Is it better to use sugar or powdered sugar for making meringues? Most confectioners believe that powdered sugar makes the protein mass more fluffy and uniform than sugar.
2. Do not rush to add sugar to the protein foam. It is best to beat the meringue this way. First, beat the whites for about 3 minutes, and then add sugar in a thin stream. If you are using powdered sugar, sift it through a sieve. So the proteins will be whipped into a more airy mass, since the powdered sugar is saturated with oxygen.
3. If the yolk gets into the white, the meringue will not work. Separate the whites from the yolk very carefully.
4. There should not even be a drop of liquid in the dishes where you whisk the whites, otherwise the whites will not whisk properly.
5. Put the egg whites in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes before making the meringue. This way they will beat up much better.
6. The meringue will beat better if you add a pinch of salt or a little lemon juice to the whites during the whipping process.
7. The prepared dessert should be stored exclusively in a dry place.