There are several simple rules in making meringues, if you stick to them, you can get a delicious and airy dessert. But if you violate - it turns out it is not known what. For example, if you set the temperature too high during baking, the items will chew like chewing gum or stick to your teeth. There are some more important points to consider. But first of all, it is the baking temperature of meringues.
The sweetness being studied has a reputation as a difficult dessert, but in fact, as long as you follow a few generally accepted rules, everything is done easily. Egg whites, whipped to hard peaks, are the foundation of the dessert, plus sugar. Further, everything becomes surprisingly difficult for a dish containing only two ingredients.
Eggs and their choice
First of all, you need to make sure of their freshness. Break one thing: if the protein spreads in a puddle - the egg is stale, not good. But if the protein lies elastically around the yolk - it means fresh, perfect for making meringue. The baking temperature is of paramount importance, but the freshness of the starting products is also important.
A little secret - if the eggs are cooled, then the protein will be easier to separate and beat faster.
Proteins: how to separate?
Very carefully and carefully, we separate the proteins from the yolks. Why? Yes, because if even a little bit of yolk gets into the protein mass, then it simply will not break. Therefore, for each new egg, it is better to use a separate bowl, in which case it is simple and easy to replace the protein with the yolk that has got into it, with another.
Tableware
The container prepared for whipping the proteins must be dry and clean (like the nozzles of the mixer). Even a drop of fat or water will prevent whipping proteins in the foam. For reliability, you can wipe the dishes with lemon juice, and then with a paper towel.
Sugar
It is better to use sugar with small crystals or powdered sugar. For 1 protein, take 50 grams of sugar. The proportion is important to observe!
What is the best way to beat?
It’s easier to do this with a mixer. First, small revolutions are taken, then gradually added to the maximum. When a characteristic trace remains from whipped proteins on the shoulder blade, add a little sugar (a teaspoon) so that the meringues do not fall off after baking. Continue to beat (about 8-12 minutes) until hard peaks form. The mass should become dense and magnificent. In order not to lose volume, at the end you can add a little lemon juice (2 teaspoons one teaspoon).
Stabilizers
As already noted above, one of the golden rules for making meringues is that all your equipment must be thoroughly cleaned without a speck of fat, or the cooking process will be much more complicated. Before you start, it is best to wipe the mixer bowl with half a lemon to eliminate the last bits of fat before whipping the egg whites.
There are other tricks that a skilled chef can use to increase the chances of getting elastic foam. The most common is adding a small amount of acid to the mixture, such as vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid, after adding sugar. According to some experts, this also helps make the dessert crispy on the outside and soft and sticky on the inside.
Which recipe is better to use?
You can make two different versions of meringues. The temperature and baking time in them will vary, although the same set of ingredients will be required. Both recipes include proteins from 3 large eggs, beaten to stiff peaks with a mixer (if you are not a unique pastry specialist, you should not try to beat meringues manually), and 200 grams of powdered sugar added by spoon during the mixing process. In addition, you will need to introduce a little citric acid. After this, the mixture is laid out on a baking sheet with a spoon and placed in the oven. The baking temperature of meringues in the first case will be 100 ° C, and the time will take up to one and a half hours to get a crisp. This version, according to reviews, has a slightly stiffer consistency, and when cooking the dessert becomes evenly crispy.
The second version is done a little differently. The baking temperature of meringues at home will be slightly lower, and the cooking time longer. This is described in more detail below.
Sugar: what should it be?
Powdered sugar is a common option for meringues - small grains easily dissolve in a foamy mixture. However, some confectioners are not afraid to experiment using half the regular sugar and half the icing sugar in the recipe. This can provide an interesting result.
Meringue cooked according to this recipe turns out to be tasty, but too sweet. This technology is good to use for the Australian Pavlov recipe, but not as a separate treat. Therefore, it is better to introduce only powdered sugar, which gives a slightly caramelized taste and a wonderful golden color.
Beating technique in detail
Most recipes require the addition of powdered sugar only after the whites are beaten to soft peaks. If you put it too early, you will not get good, strong foam.
One of the professional recipes requires that the icing sugar is heated to 100 ° C, and then added to the slightly beaten eggs, which “just started to foam”. Then they beat everything at maximum speed for ten minutes, until the mixture cools down and retains its shape.
You will need some experience to master this technique. The result is a dessert that looks like a mixture of French and Italian meringues - the sugar continues to caramelize and can thus solidify in the mixer bowl. However, having managed to choose the right speed, you can learn to avoid this.
Freshly beaten blanks on a baking sheet look great: lush and tall. The baking temperature of meringues will be about a hundred degrees. When you take them out of the oven, you will be pleasantly surprised by the unusual orange tint of dessert. Meringue has a pleasant taste, it is easier to shape than a traditional recipe, but the color is completely unusual.
Temperature mode
At what temperature do you need to bake a meringue? Experts say that too strong heating can cause not only burning products from above, but also the destruction of their consistency.
Jamming the oven door with a rolled-up tea towel or wooden spoon to prevent it from overheating is, apparently, one of the best solutions. This is inconvenient, but such a measure can help maintain the right baking temperature of meringues.
How to bake?
As noted above, there are two options for making this airy dessert. At what temperature and how long does it take to meringue for each of them?
In the first case, set the oven temperature to 100 degrees. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper and gently lay whipped whites on it. You can use a pastry bag or a regular spoon. The first hour we do not open the oven - it is necessary that the meringues dry well. If you open, due to the temperature difference, the cakes may crack.
The dessert preparation time takes from 1 to 2 hours and depends on their size. The smaller they are, the faster they cook. Product readiness can be checked by tapping on it with your finger. The finished meringue will make a dull rustling sound and will easily separate from the parchment.
Proponents of the second method claim that the temperature of 100 degrees is too high. You must place the products in the oven, heated to 60-70 degrees, and bake them longer in time. In this case, you do not so much bake the dessert as you dry it by evaporating water and leaving only the rigid structure of the mixture of eggs and sugar and air bubbles between them. Such a selection of the temperature regime for baking meringues requires cooking them for six hours. However, the result will pleasantly surprise you.
After cooking, you cannot immediately take out the meringues! You need to slightly open the oven and wait a couple of hours until the dessert cools completely.
Goodies variations
Various interesting options are possible. For example, nut meringues. Add chopped almonds or hazelnuts. The proportions are approximately the following: for 4 protein 500 grams of nuts, 200 grams of powdered sugar and one bag of vanilla sugar.
To beautifully decorate meringues, you can use multi-colored syrups. You need to do this when the proteins are already whipped (one tablespoon of syrup per three proteins).
Another very delicious meringue comes with chocolate. We take chocolate (at least 70% of the cocoa content), melt, then cool well. For three proteins, we take 100 grams of sugar, 100 grams of chocolate and starch in the amount of one tablespoon.
Starch is mixed with sugar, and pour the chocolate in a thin stream at the end, when the whites are well beaten. Bake a little different. The first half hour we cook at a temperature of 150 degrees, then reduce to 100 and bake until cooked.
Conclusion
To make this treat, you need clean equipment, good sugar and, most importantly, a low level of oven heating. What is the best baking temperature for meringues depends on the cooking method.
If you do not have a thermometer for the oven and you suspect that it is too hot, try turning it off to the coldest temperature and leaving the items in it. They are too good to be in a hurry to make them, since they can be ruined in this way.