On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 212

possible consistency is obtained by first
beating the whites to a firm foam and then
gentlyfoldinginthesugarwithaspatula.The
sugardissolvesintotheexistingbubblewalls
andaddsbothbulkandcohesivenesstothem.
Theaddedbulkgivesthebubblesmoreroom
to slide past each other and creates a soft,
frothy consistency suitable for a spread pie
topping or for folding into a mousse or
chiffon mix, but too fragile to shape. A
creamier,firmerconsistencyresultswhenthe
sugarisnotmerelyfoldedin,butbeatenin.In
thiscase,thesugar’saddedbulkisspreadout
asthebeatingfurthersubdividesthebubbles,
and the cohesiveness of the sugar-water
mixture noticeably tightens the foam’s
texture. The longer you beat the egg-sugar
mixture, the stiffer it will get and the more
finelyitcanbeshaped.
Thesestandardmethodstakeonlyafew
minutesbutrequirethecook’sattention.
Someprofessionals,particularlyinFrance,


makefirmmeringuessuitableforthepastry
pipeonthekitchenequivalentofautopilot.
Theyplaceallthesugarinthebowlofastand
mixer,addaportionoftheeggwhiteswith
somelemonjuicetopreventgraining,mixfor
severalminutes—thetimingisnotcritical
—thenaddmorewhites,mixawhile,andso

on.Theresultisafine-textured,stiff,supple
meringue.Beatingtheeggsgraduallyintothe
sugarratherthantheotherwayarounddoes
slowthefoaming,butrequireslittle
supervision.Such“automatic”meringuesare
denserthanusualandlessbrittlewhendried
down.
FoodWords:Meringue
Thanks to theLarousse Gastronomique,
it’swidelybelievedthatthemeringuewas
inventedbyapastrychefintheSwisstown
of Mieringen around 1720, and brought to
France a couple of decades later by the
Polish father-in-law of Louis XV. Sounds