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Post by riotgrrl on Nov 3, 2010 8:07:19 GMT
No, you're right. (Bit of Glasgow humour there.)
I need the best recipes and tips. I plan to start making meringues.
Thanks.
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Post by everso on Nov 3, 2010 9:31:53 GMT
No, you're right. (Bit of Glasgow humour there.) I need the best recipes and tips. I plan to start making meringues. Thanks. You've come to the right person. I make meringues and they freeze very well. Don't take any notice of all the poncey recipes you read in magazines about adding stuff like cornflour or vinegar (W.T.F.?), you just need egg whites and caster sugar. Make sure you buy silicone parchment (same shelves where you find cling film and foil in the supermarket) and line your baking tray (you don't need to grease it). The meringues will stick like glue to anything else so don't even think about using foil or greaseproof paper. You have to use a really clean bowl and an electric hand whisk. Allow 2 ounces of caster sugar to 1 egg white. I use medium size eggs. Make sure you don't get even a speck of egg yolk into the white because you'll never be able to whip it up properly. I always break the egg on to a saucer first, then cover the yolk with an egg cup and tip the white into a bowl. Set your oven to it's lowest setting. The meringues have to be dried out, rather than cooked. Whisk the separated egg whites until they stand up straight when you raise the whisk from them (you should be able to invert the bowl over your head and they'll stay put, but I don't try this). Add the caster sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking all the while. Some recipes say to fold in the sugar but I never do and mine are always fine. The result should be a stiff glossy mixture. I don't know what you're intending to make, but I usually just load the mixture into a piping bag and pipe small rosettes on to the silicone paper. I allow two egg whites and 4 oz. caster sugar. Then they go into the oven for quite a long while - say an hour or so, but keep checking them. I'm dreadful about timing. I serve them on ice cream with chocolate sauce poured over. Dead easy. (I have a nice recipe for chocolate sauce, BTW, let me know if you need it) |
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Post by Weyland on Nov 3, 2010 9:44:28 GMT
No, you're right. (Bit of Glasgow humour there.) Works in Geordie as well. But not Pitmatic. |
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Post by Weyland on Nov 3, 2010 11:45:46 GMT
You've come to the right person. I make meringues and they freeze very well. I've never had the nerve to attempt a meringue. Maybe I should have a go. My mother used to make the perfect lemon meringue pie. All that skill, gone like tears in the rain. |
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Post by everso on Nov 3, 2010 14:01:25 GMT
You've come to the right person. I make meringues and they freeze very well. I've never had the nerve to attempt a meringue. Maybe I should have a go. My mother used to make the perfect lemon meringue pie. All that skill, gone like tears in the rain. I have a lemon meringue pie recipe too. It's dead easy. |
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Post by jean on Nov 3, 2010 14:12:49 GMT
A soft(ish) meringue topping is easy. But the sort you stick together with whipped cream aren't (I find).
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Post by riotgrrl on Nov 3, 2010 15:58:29 GMT
Would a meringue work scientifically if you didn't use any sugar at all?
Or is the sugar essential?
(I don't like sweet things.)
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Post by Weyland on Nov 3, 2010 16:07:42 GMT
Would a meringue work scientifically if you didn't use any sugar at all? Or is the sugar essential? (I don't like sweet things.) From an engineering standpoint, I'd say that it's the sugar that gives it the structure, a bit like a Crunchie. (It occurs to me that it might be interesting to try it with brown sugar. I'll do that when I'm on MasterChef next year. Might clinch it.) But Ev's the expert, of course. |
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Post by everso on Nov 3, 2010 18:33:50 GMT
Would a meringue work scientifically if you didn't use any sugar at all? Or is the sugar essential? (I don't like sweet things.) I imagine the egg white would dry out the same. It would just be a bit tasteless. You could try using less sugar I suppose, but I can't guarantee the results. |
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Post by riotgrrl on Nov 3, 2010 21:28:23 GMT
Would a meringue work scientifically if you didn't use any sugar at all? Or is the sugar essential? (I don't like sweet things.) I imagine the egg white would dry out the same. It would just be a bit tasteless. You could try using less sugar I suppose, but I can't guarantee the results. Could you add some other flavoured material of a similar texture to sugar . . cocoa powder, say? Or even a savoury flavour, like very finely ground chilli powder? (I haven't started yet as I have to buy that paper thing you recommended. And then I'm going to experiment with making meringue.) |
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Post by riotgrrl on Nov 3, 2010 21:30:33 GMT
What started me on this was a new pudding recipe I had tried, which was a mango and orange meringue hot pudding. There were breadcrumbs at the base, then fresh fruit, then you put some merangue mix on the top and bunged the lot in the oven, then ate it hot.
But I thought it would taste like meringue - all crunchy and chewy - but because it was hot it was more like a hot creamy topping than a proper meringue.
Apparently you have to let it cool before it goes crunchy and proper meringue-like. But you were definitely supposed to eat this hot. I think. Although I think myself it would have been nicer cold.
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Post by everso on Nov 3, 2010 21:37:01 GMT
I imagine the egg white would dry out the same. It would just be a bit tasteless. You could try using less sugar I suppose, but I can't guarantee the results. Could you add some other flavoured material of a similar texture to sugar . . cocoa powder, say? Or even a savoury flavour, like very finely ground chilli powder? (I haven't started yet as I have to buy that paper thing you recommended. And then I'm going to experiment with making meringue.) Well, I suppose you could try adding stuff like spices. I'd be interested to hear what the meringues tasted like. I imagine you'd need to add a little salt to bring out the flavour, although I don't know if salt might affect the meringue in some way. I just googled this: answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070606135329AAwNP75Looks like you need the sugar to stabilise the meringue.  Bummer |
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Post by everso on Nov 3, 2010 21:39:39 GMT
What started me on this was a new pudding recipe I had tried, which was a mango and orange meringue hot pudding. There were breadcrumbs at the base, then fresh fruit, then you put some merangue mix on the top and bunged the lot in the oven, then ate it hot. But I thought it would taste like meringue - all crunchy and chewy - but because it was hot it was more like a hot creamy topping than a proper meringue. Apparently you have to let it cool before it goes crunchy and proper meringue-like. But you were definitely supposed to eat this hot. I think. Although I think myself it would have been nicer cold. If the meringue is cooked quickly it will stay soft and will still be soft when it's cooled. To get a crispy meringue you have to dry it out by cooking it on a really low heat for a long while. It will be slightly crispy whilst hot and very crispy when cold. |
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Post by Patrick on Nov 3, 2010 23:17:03 GMT
I thought the sugar/egg white mix was a bit sacred, but there must be a way to do it because I've had meringues that aren't all that sweet. Perhaps if you replaced the sugar with unbleached natural sugar as it generally isn't as sweet as normal white sugar and is available in caster and icing - though saying that if I ever want icing sugar I just put some ordinary through a coffee grinder to powder it up a bit. Get some Billingtons "Natural" blend sugar - it really isn't as sweet as the "ordinary". Sounds weird but I've used unbleached sugar for years - and as a result find white sugar too sweet and sharp if I have to buy some in an emergency - in tea or coffee.  |
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Post by everso on Nov 4, 2010 11:32:53 GMT
It would be worth trying, certainly. However, if you wanted white meringues you'd need to use refined caster sugar. Having said that, I've never perfected a white meringue - mine always end up a pale straw colour. Doncha just love these threads? An in-depth debate on meringues! I fully expect Trubbs to enter the discussion soon. I bet there are no other boards (apart from cookery ones of course) that have these discussions.  |
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Post by riotgrrl on Nov 4, 2010 12:03:13 GMT
Meringues are lovely, and low-fat, and the possibilities (once I've mastered them) to use them for all kinds of really healthy fruit-based puddings is immense.
I'm working up to an Eton Mess i think, before I start experimenting with my chilli meringue.
Thanks for that link to the Yahoo Answer thing Everso . . .that poster really seemed to know their stuff.
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Post by everso on Nov 4, 2010 12:10:01 GMT
Eton mess. Yum yum.  |
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Post by Weyland on Nov 4, 2010 13:44:06 GMT
Eton mess. Yum yum. Eton Mess -- any Tory cabinet. And the infestation is rife in the other two parties too. Hence the national mess. |
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Post by jean on Nov 4, 2010 14:33:50 GMT
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Post by Patrick on Nov 4, 2010 14:40:03 GMT
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