Question about making meringue

[bigwheel]

Good Lawdy Miz Claudie. Guess that is why I put the warden in charge of the calf slobber (that is whut my Mamma say was whut merengue was made out of Glad I do not tend to mess with stuff like that.

bigwheel

[Mrs.Butterworth]

Originally Posted by bigwheel

Good Lawdy Miz Claudie. Guess that is why I put the warden in charge of the calf slobber (that is whut my Mamma say was whut merengue was made out of Glad I do not tend to mess with stuff like that.

bigwheel

I'm gonna use that on my nephew

In a classic "me" moment, after I went through all this crud to make meringue I forgot I have an old hand mixer my mom gave me before I moved away. Now that I think about it, I used it when I made the souffle which is probably why it came out so well in the first place. Grr I am going to have to make another pie this coming weekend just to prove I can do it right. I brought the less ugly of the two pies I made into work, and it was still pretty pitiful looking with the meringue all ripped off from the cellophane, especially compared to the other creations I have brought in (Alton Brown's cinnamon buns, and some tastey lemon cake). Go figure the time my monday morning work contribution doesn't work out well the girl I wanted to impress shows up to check it out after hearing about my other creations. I must redeem myself!

[foodnfoto]

Another problem I'm sure you're dealing with is humidity. I'm just an hour south of you and all my meringues have been sticky recently-no matter how I make them. Never, ever put plastic wrap over soft meringue- it will always stick and peel off. It's best just to put the whole thing in a large sealable cake or pie container with nothing touching the top.
If you can find a copy, read about meringues and lemon meringue pie in Shirley Corriher's "CookWise." She has some very useful tips that work great.
Two of them are:
1-always top your pie with meringue when the filling is still hot as it helps to cook in the inner part of the meringue and keeps it from getting liquid and weepy.
2-sprinkle the top of your filling with dry breadcrumbs before spreading on the meringue. They bake in and keep the meringue from sliding around on the top. You never even notice the breadcrumbs at all.

[diane]

I just use a little handbeater most of the time mrs B. I have a Sunbeam mixer too and it's a gem. Also, I am given to understand margerine is only one molecule away from plastic.

[foodpump]

Originally Posted by diane

... Also, I am given to understand margerine is only one molecule away from plastic.

Well, whadja expect with a "product" that undergoes 13 manufacturing steps and is processed with "Fuller's earth"....

[Jock]

A little off topic here but did you know that margerine was invented by a Frenchman in the 1860's? When it reached England the dairy farmers were so outraged by a butter substitute that they successfully petitioned parliament to mandate that it could not be sold yellow. The manufacturers added food coloring so you would buy blue, red, green, etc. margerine.

Jock

[604Mickey]

Ok Forget about what ever people say about What the climate is or how hot it is out side. This is a dumb excuess and i only would ever expect a Very Experinced Pastry Chef Or Baker to have problems.

I once worked with a columbian Cook, he was a 1st and i worked under him. He screwed something up and complained about the climate. I slapped him an told him to re do it.

2 times later it was perfect.

I never really Read your Question Here Let me tell you about merage.(my spelling sucks sry

Ok 3 Types of Meruige

French Merinegue
Italian Merinegue
Swiss Meringe

You want to make SWISS MERINGE with lemon Tart, and seriously, i;d tell you the diffence but i'm lazy but heres how you make SWISS

250ml Egg Whites
400g Sugar

In a mixing bowl add the egg whites and the sugar, place bowl over simmering hot water and heat to around 50C. fairly warm.
Place in a whiping machine on HIGH SPEED and whip for and NOT JOKING 35-40 minutes. until STIFF PEAKS!! Dont forget when you pipe it out onto your lemon tart to take a BLOW TORCH and flame the top golden brown for GArnishing a look... pretty cool

[Mrs.Butterworth]

Great comments, everybody! I will take them all to heart when I try and redeem my fledgeling pie skills this weekend

[chrose]

Originally Posted by 604Mickey

I never really Read your Question Here Let me tell you about merage.(my spelling sucks sry



You want to make SWISS MERINGE with lemon Tart, and seriously, i;d tell you the diffence but i'm lazy but heres how you make SWISS

604 We can get past your spelling, there are many who don't spell all that well, however with comments like these and some of the others you make do you really expect anyone to think you have a clue and take you seriously?

You make a post to explain the difference as you understand it ostensibly to teach someone, but then you're too lazy to go into it. What else are we supposed to take from that? Does that mean in the kitchen you're too lazy to take all the steps necessary to complete a difficult item properly?

[Mrs.Butterworth]

Since we have established that one needs to be anal-retentive to make a proper meringue, I was wondering what is to be come of the stringly little white doo-dad in the egg? Can it go in with the whites if it breaks off from the yolk or is this unacceptable?

[chrose]

Nahhh don't worry about it. It's called the "Chalazae" (Just one of those odd trivia items that never left my head. It replaced something important I'm sure!) and all it does is to help hold the yolk centered. Has no effect and you'll never notice it in your meringue. You may in a custard when it cooks. It's just albumen so don't worry about it. As far as the top of the meringue, my mother always put toothpicks in the top to keep the saran from touching so it didn't pull it off.

[Mrs.Butterworth]

Originally Posted by chrose

As far as the top of the meringue, my mother always put toothpicks in the top to keep the saran from touching so it didn't pull it off.

GENIUS!!!

[604Mickey]

chrose

I don't expect anyone to take me seriously, but in any case if you do. your on the 1st step to doing it the right way



Mod's note: Edited for relevance

[smiley]

Well here I go




First of all the little white thing that hangs off the yolk is called a chicken, providing you are a fertilized egg. Doesn't matter in the whites, but in the yolk when you cook anglaise it should be strained out. Meringues are funny because they make people do funny things.... like rub a bowl with salt, turn two circles before turning on the machine.... etc.....etc

There are some certain truths..... oil is bad (that means the yolk too), warm whites are good, as is cream of tartar (helps "melt" the oil) most of all proportions are the most important..... Sorry I am metric, but it is great for baking.......

1 litre of egg whites and two kilos of sugar is a meringue...... it represents the most that a litre of egg whites can emulsify (kinda like mayonaise) and remain stable

1 litre of egg whites and 2 kilos plus another 100 or more grams of sugar make a unstable meringue..... it becomes super-saturated so to speak. when you use this on a meringue pie it tends to "sweat" meaning little drops of moisture form on the meringue and it starts to run a bit as the egg white starts to split

1 litre of egg whites and no sugar makes..... ummmm how to describe it? bubble bath foam texture..... stiff but not malable. This is horible stuff to blend into other ingredients, because it "curdles" and does not mix well.


now the dream dish........


1 litre of whites and 1 kilo and 850 grams of sugar..... just shy of the saturation point. Wow,,, soft, malable, you can't over whip it and it stays shiney.


whether you are swiss, french or italian the preceding rules follow.


When the sugar hits the whites it does two things.... melts into water and sucrose... sucrose turns creamy like a fondant (work cooked sugar sirop long enough it toughens up and turns creamy, also known as a fondant)


That is it for now


happy meringuing...................

ps.. use a machine **** it!!!!!!!!!!

[bigwheel]

Dang Smiley..sounds like you got the mereingue isssues sorted out. Thanks for sharing. I'm gonna have to buy me some of them doper scales one of these days so to be able to measure that kinda stuff. They call them things paraphenaila in this part of the world. Get a two hundred dollar fine to go with. Course a person convince them they the Pillsbury Dough boy or something like that..suspect the po po's cut a little lack maybe.

bigwheel

Originally Posted by smiley

Well here I go

ps.. use a machine **** it!!!!!!!!!!