How to beat egg whites for stiff or soft peaks

How to use leftover egg yolk or egg white depending on how many you have

Here are the stages of egg whites that you will find in recipes.

Foamy or foamy. This is the first milestone in beating egg whites. Often a recipe will require you to beat on low or medium-low until it becomes fluffy before increasing the speed (more below). Make sure the whites are pretty bubbly all over, not just the top.

Soft to medium peaks. When albumen goes to soft peaks, it becomes opaque and cloud-like. Make sure the whites are starting to track the whisk or beaters. When you tilt the bowl, liquid flows down and the foam doesn’t stick to the sides, says McGee. The lines between soft and medium can be blurred, depending on who you ask, but soft tips will tip into either a mound or a drooping tip, while medium will retain a more curved shape, writes Erin Jeanne McDowell in The Fearless Baker . ”

Stiff or solid peaks. In the stiff phase, “the foam is still shiny but now retains a well-defined edge and clings to the bowl,” says McGee. Whites hit to a stiff peak will stand straight whether you’re looking at what’s on the clubs or in the bowl.

surpassed. If you’ve gone too far, “the whipped mixture turns from glossy and cloudy to grainy and matte, liquid oozes out of the whites onto the bottom of the bowl, and the whole mess starts to resemble styrofoam,” Joanne Chang and Christie Matheson say You in “flour”. At this point, it’s time to start over.

And now some best practices to help you get it right every time.

McGee says there are three things you should keep out of your egg whites: yolks, oil/fat, and detergent (soap). “Traces of these troublemakers won’t necessarily stop you from making a foam, but they will make you work harder and longer, and the foam won’t be as light or as stable,” he says. So wash, rinse and inspect your bowls and whisks well before you start cooking.

Carefully separate the yolk from the white

When it’s warm, the yolk is more likely to crack and contaminate the egg white, says Shirley O. Corriher in “CookWise,” so remove it from the fridge when it’s cold. (Colder whites may take longer to foam, but will warm up quickly enough when whipped, especially with an electric mixer.) If separating multiple eggs, designate one bowl just for separating, then larger ones to tuck the yolks in and out to tuck away /or whites that you have already separated. That way, if you screw up an egg and break the yolk into the white, you only have to toss one (or better save for scrambled eggs) rather than the whole batch. More on the breakup in my post from last year.

How to separate eggs without stress or mess

Acids prevent proteins in egg whites from bonding too much, which can cause the foam to collapse and force water out. Per McGee, before beating, you can add 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice per egg white for stability. In “The Baking Bible,” Rose Levy Beranbaum recommends increasing the cream of tartar to 1/4 teaspoon when using egg whites from pasteurized whole eggs, and Corriher says 1/8 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar is an alternative to cream of tartar. Some cooks swear by using copper bowls to achieve the same result – although Corriher notes that in one experiment copper bowls had more effect on the volume of the finished baked dish than that of the whipped egg whites – but they’re a bit tricky to maintain and expensive to buy.

Start beating the egg whites little by little

Starting your blender on low and slowly increasing the speed is not only cleaner, it also has the benefit of better results. “Beating egg whites slowly at the beginning will cause the proteins to fluff up. Like stretching a balloon before attempting to inflate it, the improved elasticity allows the proteins to take in air more easily and eventually gain more volume,” according to Cook’s Illustrated. This is most important when a meringue is the star of a dish, such as B. in biscuits or icing. A meringue launched at low speed was 10 percent more voluminous than one launched at high speed.

If you’re beating egg whites with sugar to make meringue, don’t add the sugar at the beginning. Adding sugar early can delay foaming, says McGee, which is especially noticeable when whipping with your hand. Gradually add the sugar once the egg whites have reached soft peaks, says Corriher, although it’s okay to go too early, which just makes the whipping process a little longer, rather than too late when your egg whites might be too dry around it to integrate well. In terms of type, McGee notes that superfine/casting and confectioner’s sugar (not everyone loves their starch) dissolves the easiest, while granulated sugar can make a grainy meringue. Make your own superfine sugar by granulating it in a blender or food processor.

With just 2 egg whites and a little sugar, you can make a stunning pavlova for dessert

Watch out for pasteurized eggs and egg whites

I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought liquid protein would make my life easier, only to find out the opposite. As America’s Test Kitchen explains, the heating that occurs during pasteurization causes the egg proteins to start bonding before you’ve even done anything, making unfolding and stretching even more difficult. Expect pasteurized egg whites to take much longer to froth (13 minutes versus 2 minutes for a medium-firm meringue in our Summer Fruit Semifreddo, for example), and prepare for a less bulky result, too.