On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 208

the eggs. Old eggs at room temperature are
often recommended on the grounds that the
whites are thinner and therefore foam more
rapidly. This is true, andvery fresh eggs are
saidtobealmostimpossibletofoambyhand.
Butfresheggsarelessalkalineandsomakea
more stable foam; the older thin white also
drains from the foam more easily, and old
eggsaremorelikelytoleavetracesofyolkin
the white. Cold yolks are less likely to break
asyouseparatethemfromthewhites,andthe
whipping process quickly warms cold eggs
anyway. Fresh eggs right out of the
refrigerator will work fine, especially if
you’reusinganelectricmixer.Eggfoamscan
alsobemadewithdriedeggwhites.Powdered
eggwhitesarepure,pasteurized,freeze-dried
eggwhites.“Meringuepowder”containsmore
sugarthanegg,andincludesgumstostabilize
thefoam.
BowlandWhiskThebowlinwhichyoubeat


the whites should be large enough to
accommodate an eightfold expansion of their
volume.It’softenrecommendedthatthecook
avoid making egg foams in plastic bowls,
because plastics are hydrocarbon relatives of
fats, and tend to retain traces of fats and
soaps. While this is true, the bowl is also
unlikelytoreleasesuchtracesintoamassof

egg white. Ordinary cleaning is adequate to
make a plastic bowl suitable for foaming
eggs.
Ifyou’rebeatingbyhand,alarge“balloon
whisk”aeratesagreatervolumeoftheegg
whitesatatimeandwillspeedyourwork.If
youhaveachoiceofmachines,astandmixer
whosebeaterbothspinsonitsshaftandtraces
acurlicuepathfromthecentertotheedgeof
thebowl(a“hypocycloidal”orplanetary
motion)beatsthewhitesmoreevenlyand
leaveslessunfoamed.Lessefficientbeaters
produceadensertexture.