Savory meringue recipe anyone?

[Plongeur]

Anyone made savory meringue? I'm thinking of making a savory ile flottante with some sort of gaspacho as the sea, but am looking for a way to make non-sugared meringue. I can get Isomalt, which is a sort of sugar without the sugary taste, anyone tried that?
TIAVM

[monk]

Sugar is a major requirement in making meringues, for physical chemistry issues. Isomalt is a sugar alcohol, which means it is a substitute for sugar, and is less caloric than sugar, but it is still sweet. The real problem with sugar alcohols is that we don't digest them, the bacteria we carry around do. Excessive use of isomalt is not 'intestinally pleasant'. The major problem with sugar substitutes is that they are all sweet, some very sweet relative to regular sugar, so substitution for a 'savory meringue' doesn't help. Give me a few days to research some options (I'm a flavor chemist), and I'll get back to you.

[Plongeur]

Thanks very much for that. We've already used Isomalt, and it works OK. We're just wondering if there's anything else a little more savory we could you.
Appreciate your help, cheers.

[monk]

Hello Again -
Here's what I dug up, didn't take as long as expected. Most attempts for a savory meringue do use less sweet sugar substitutes, but they still have varying degrees of sweetness. Supposedly a company makes a product based on soluble fiber that is used as a sugar replacement. The claim is it provides all the textural and cooking characteristics of sugar, save no browning. Recommended useage is 2 Tbs for every cup of sugar in the recipe; the ad specifically claims it "stabilizes meringues", but the same paragraph includes a caveat that it won't work in everything, "but it does in everything we tried" (no specific statement of use in meringues.) I'm not a complete cynic, but something doesn't feel right. Take a look at the product, perhaps they will send a sample gratis? From Expert Foods, it's called ThickenThinnot/Sugar. I'd be interested in what you think of it.
Cheers,

[Plongeur]

Ooh, that looks very interesting - we'll give it a go and let you know how it goes.

[AprilB]

I wonder if you could modify a souffle batter?

I mean, a poached egg is a poached egg, even if it's fluffy...<?>

Hmmm...will have to try that...

April

[MikeLM]

Hey, Monk-
As a flavor chemist, you should be a useful participant in this site.

Hope you'll hang around.

Best,

Mike

[monk]

I've been a member for awhile under another online name, but managed to misplace my password in my two moves. I'm entrenched in a great job now, so I hope to repay in some small way all the members who have helped me out with references and links to food sources, cookware, recipes, etc. I've manged to parlay my hobbies and interests into a paying job - so no complaints from me! Cheers.

[IslandGirl]

and thought I would provide an example (a sweet version but sugarless nonetheless) of a meringue style project that did work out, using the ExpertFoods ThickenThin product not/Sugar, a blend of 4 vegetable gums. Though there is no "specific statement of use" in meringues, there are recipes using egg whites as a base.

(The recipe is mine, by the way, and made some years ago when I first began experimenting with sugarless (and flourless) cookery)

Judi's Lowcarb Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Another possibility these days is using either inulin or polydextrose, which have rather different requirements in usage, but neither of them is anywhere near as sweet as the isomalt originally used, they are <= 10% sweetness max.

Originally Posted by monk

... The claim is it provides all the textural and cooking characteristics of sugar, save no browning. Recommended useage is 2 Tbs for every cup of sugar in the recipe; the ad specifically claims it "stabilizes meringues", but the same paragraph includes a caveat that it won't work in everything, "but it does in everything we tried" (no specific statement of use in meringues.) I'm not a complete cynic, but something doesn't feel right. Take a look at the product, perhaps they will send a sample gratis? From Expert Foods, it's called ThickenThinnot/Sugar. I'd be interested in what you think of it.