Italian, French, Swiss meringue: can you tell them apart?

2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 19:13

There Meringue it is the most elegant, magical, sweet, sinful preparation of pastry: egg whites whipped patiently and for a long time, basically abundant sugar, sometimes a couple of drops of lemon, and vanilla. That's all. That's all? In fact, it seems reductive: behind that celestial aspect lies a very rigorous dessert, a basic preparation that - based on how those two ingredients are combined - plays in different national pastry shops.

In addition, as with the sponge cake, even the "classic" meringue has further sub-categories, which identify it as more or less dense based on how much sugar is put inside. We have anticipated it: there is a cloudy world to discover and we will help you at our best.

There are three o'clock types of meringue you need to know and many of the desserts that radiate out from them in a white universe of egg white and sugar.

French meringue

It is the most common and basic one, but not the easiest to prepare for this. The egg whites must be aged and at room temperature for hours, the granulated sugar must be fine, the mixer clean and dry. It can be enjoyed only when cooked, or rather dry - dried in the oven for a long period of time and at about 90 ° C - and can be enjoyed alone or as a decoration. Whole (as in meringue) or crumbled on ice cream, creams, cakes and desserts in general.

Once the egg whites have been whipped, only at this point is the sugar added a little at a time to make the mixture resistant, elastic and shiny, and the most classic proportion is 1: 2 (1 part of egg whites and 2 of sugar). This generally, because according to the proportions the result changes.

The consistency of the French meringue can be very delicate and crumbly, quite resistant and then very compact: the more sugar you add, the fuller and more fragile the foam will be.

Italian meringue

The Italian meringue includes the same ingredients as the French meringue, with the addition of a little water: it is used to obtain a sugar syrup, which must reach 121 ° C and be poured into the egg whites by the time they are already swelling. It has many advantages: the first is that the heat pasteurize the eggs, the second is that - since the eggs are pasteurized - it can be tasted "raw" (ie without prolonged passage in the oven to dry it). In fact, a classic is to spread it on cakes or pastries and flambé it, or caramelize it with the use of a torch.

This meringue is also used in the preparations of mice and creams (to make them lighter) and is the most common base for making parfaits.

Swiss meringue

The Swiss meringue also provides a source of heat during preparation, but very different from the Italian one. In this case it is necessary heat the egg whites with the sugar: they must reach a temperature of 55-60 ° C and, only at this point, assembled. This solution allows you to have the most stable meringue ever, which is why it often replaces the Italian one.

The desserts with meringue base to know

In pastry, meringue is the basis of many preparations. We have already mentioned the semifreddo, but there are also chiboust, macarons, dacquoise and pavlova among the most famous.

Chiboust cream

A dream, a sin of gluttony, a very high sugar load but heck if it's worth it: classic custard combined with a part of Italian meringue … can you imagine something more immediate to taste?

macarons

The macarons practically start from an Italian meringue, to which the finest almond flour is then incorporated. We have already talked about it, in this article with all the secrets to making perfect macaroons.

Pavlova

Pavlova is a French meringue, with a very specific quantity of sugar, to which apple vinegar and cream of tartar are added. Baked in the oven, it remains crisp and dry on the outside but foamy on the inside. Not raw eh, frothy and compact like a spoon dessert. It comes from New Zealand and is dedicated to the Russian dancer Anna Pavlovna Pavlova.

Dacquoise

The dacquoise is halfway between a meringue and a macarons, since it has elements common to both. In this article you will find all the details to discover this very important and versatile base of pastry.

Angel cake

Angel cake, that is the frothiest and lightest cake there is: only egg whites, sugar, little flour and little starch, as well as a particular mold in which to cook it. It remains very high, candid, perhaps more resistant than sponge cake and versatile for any type of filling and fruit you can think of. You have to do it.