Experimental cookery

Combination of egg albumin with metals. Sometimes in beating egg white a pink color develops. This is due to a combination of the egg albu- min with a metal like copper or iron. The color develops more frequently when the acid cream of tartar is added, as in beating egg whites for angel cakes, but it may develop without its addition. Some egg beaters have blades of copper that are plated. After the plating is worn off the copper is exposed. The pink color has often been noticed when folding sugar into the beaten egg whites with a spatula. Probably some other factor than the presence of the metal alone is necessary to bring about the color change, SOFT MERINGUES 351 for the color does not always develop when the egg whites are beaten with such beaters or when spatulas are used. Meringues Meringues vary in the quantity of sugar added and in their use. Only soft and hard ones will be considered here. Soft meringues. One general use for soft meringues is for pies. The factors determining to the greatest extent whether a desirable meringue is obtained are : the extent of beating the egg white, the adding of the sugar, the baking temperature and time, and an optimum proportion of sugar to egg white. Good meringues have been obtained by many methods, but the following method is successful for a majority of the experimenters. Beat the sugar into the egg white — preferably during the latter half of beating, but it may be added at the start — w^ith a rotary egg beater, until the whites are stiff and shiny. The peaks are fairly stiff and the tip end only slightly rounded. The sugar stabilizes the egg-white foam. Greater stabilization seems to be attained when the opportunity for solution is greater, i.e., in beating instead of folding. Since adding the sugar during beating increases the time required for obtaining a definite stiffness, there is less danger of over- beating. In some class problems less leakage of the meringue has occurred when the sugar was added in the above manner. Since leaky meringues give undesirable moistness and slipperiness to the top of the pastry filling and make cutting difficult, how to prevent this leakage is a question frequently asked. The Institute of American Poultry Industries states that there seems to be no advantage in adding a small amount of water to the meringue. Although water increases the volume, there seems to be a tendency for the meringue to leak a short time after baking. Insufficient beating of the egg white, especially if the sugar is folded instead of beaten into the meringue, after the sugar is added is sometimes a factor in causing leakage. Over-beating of the egg white before sugar is added may also increase the tendency to leakage.