Sweet lovers, of course, have heard or tasted confectionery such as meringue and meringue. What is the difference between goodies? In appearance they are exactly the same, and their compositions are identical. But so far the topic of the difference between these two sweets is not closed and causes a lot of questions and disputes.
What is the difference between meringue and meringue?
The most popular opinion about the difference between meringues and meringues is that they are not the same thing, although the composition is the same, but the methods for preparing these pastry delights are different.
So, meringue is an egg cream made from egg whites and sugar. A meringue is a baked crunchy delicacy made of meringue laid out in a certain shape.
Origin history
The difference between meringues and meringues can also be traced in origin. The word "meringue" comes from France, and translated into Russian means "kiss".
But the term “meringue” is not so simple. One version says that this word is also of French origin, but it came to France from the Swiss city of Meiringen, where a pastry chef named Gasparini lived. The date of appearance of this treat is in the 17th century. A significant event for the confectionery world happened quite by accident: once the master was carried away by whipping proteins so that they turned into a thick foam. And Gasparini, deciding to experiment, sent whipped squirrels to the oven.
The result was a sweet crunchy delicacy that was very popular with the local nobility, and then gained popularity among ordinary people, because it did not require a lot of money and time to prepare it.
The second version of the origin of the meringue refers to the name of the famous chef Francois Massialo, who added this recipe to his book in the late 17th century.
It is claimed that the confectioner developed the recipe for the treats on his own when he had extra proteins left. He whipped them with sugar and decided to bake. Francois Massialo began to call this dish "meringue."
General rules for making meringues
To date, there are several options for making meringues and meringues. What is the difference between them, we will describe further.
The most popular way of preparing these goodies is French, there is also Swiss and Italian. But for all these recipes, there are general rules that you should not break, otherwise dessert will not work.
- Dishes for whipping proteins should be absolutely dry, not a drop of water or fat should be present in it, otherwise the confectioner would not see steep protein foam.
- Sugar needs to be poured only after the whipped whites in the foam.
- Avoid getting at least a drop of yolk in the protein.
- Powdered sugar must be fresh for cooking, otherwise there is a high probability that it will pick up moisture from the air and thick foam will not work.
- If the foam adheres tightly to the whisk, this indicates the readiness of the meringue.
Meringues, photos of which are presented in this article, are more likely not baked, but dried. Therefore, throughout the cooking time, you should keep the oven door ajar, about one or a half centimeters. The exception is Swiss-style meringue baking.
If you leave the oven fully open, the meringues may burn or remain slightly moist inside.
Already prepared products must be stored in a tightly closed container, as they can absorb moisture from the air and soften.
French recipe
What is the difference between meringue and meringue, as well as the general rules of cooking, we found out, and now we proceed directly to the preparation of goodies.
This recipe belongs to the medium in complexity of manufacture. It will take three and a half hours to create this confectionery.
- To prepare two servings, you need to stock up: two chicken eggs and powdered sugar (150 grams). If desired, you can add a little instant coffee.
- It is necessary to separate the proteins from the yolks. Beat the squirrels to a foam of medium density, after which, while continuing to whisk, add powdered sugar.
- Squeeze the resulting cream onto parchment paper, and send it to a preheated oven to 100-120 degrees for two to three hours.
After the time has passed, do not rush to scrape the meringues. After cooling, they exfoliate without problems.
Swiss recipe
Consider the following method of preparing meringue and meringue. What is the difference from French can be found by reading the following recipe carefully.
It takes half the cooking time, the ingredients remain the same.
- The whipping bowl should be placed in a container with hot water. The water temperature should not be higher than 42 degrees, otherwise the proteins will overheat. A feature of the Swiss recipe is that the whites are whipped immediately with sugar.
- Place the meringues in the oven, which is heated to 110 degrees for 50 minutes or an hour, bake with the oven door closed.
Meringues are denser than in the French version, a little soft inside.
Italian recipe
The preparation of this treat will not take more than one and a half hours. The ingredients for the recipe are as follows: two eggs, two hundred grams of sugar and one hundred grams of water.
First you need to pour sugar into the container and add water to it, cook over low heat until the mixture thickens a little. Beat the squirrels to a slightly upright foam, add them in a hot stream in hot syrup. When injecting proteins, you need to intensively beat the mass until thick.
Not everyone can afford such a method of preparing meringues and meringues. What is the difference of this recipe, obviously - the products are especially delicate and airy, but during their preparation should be careful and not rush.