It's amazing how something as simple as air can transform a bowl of viscous, runny egg whites into bright, feather-white, piping-ready meringue. sweet treats or wrapped in pie — or even shaped into a round to make a stunning pavlova, like this fun and festive one Chocolate Mint Pavlova. And the process is as easy as 1-2-3: Beat the egg whites, add the sugar and keep beating until stiff and glossy.
Beyond egg whites and sugar, most recipes call for a stabilizer, something acidic that will build your meringue faster and keep it fluffy longer. Cream of tartarlemon juice and vinegar are the most common stabilizers called for in meringue recipes. But do they really make a difference? And if so, is one better than the others? We tested to find out.
Meringue proofs
Using different stabilizers in an identical controlled process, we performed four meringue tests:
- No stabilizers: 2 large egg whites at room temperature, 113 g granulated sugar (control)
- Cream of tartar: 2 large egg whites at room temperature, 113 g granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Lemon juice: 2 egg whites at room temperature, 113 g granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- Vinegar: 2 egg whites at room temperature, 113 g granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
PJ Hamel
process
We used an electric hand mixer set on high speed to beat the egg whites and stabilizer of choice (if using) for 45 seconds. Sugar was added gradually over the next 30 seconds of beating. After all the sugar was added, the mixture was beaten for an additional 30 seconds.
The resulting meringue was piped into a dozen 1 1/2″ kisses and a 5″ round and baked as directed in this meringue recipe. After 90 minutes, the meringues were removed from the oven. They were covered with a cake topper (still in the pan) and left at room temperature overnight.
PJ Hamel
It turns out meringue
All tests produced acceptable meringues. But there was a marked difference between using no stabilizer at all versus lemon juice or vinegar; and another step up in quality when using stone cream.
There is no stabilizer: The meringue, while shiny and glossy, was soft and unable to hold a truly stiff peak when piped. Later tests showed that beating it longer helped, but never to the extent of adding a stabilizer. The baked meringues were nicely crunchy right out of the oven, but softened noticeably overnight, becoming more chewy than crisp.
Lemon juice or vinegar: These two acids gave identical results. The meringue was white, glossy, and quite stiff, settling gently behind the piping, the tips of its peaks curling. Salted straight out of the oven, they lost some of their crunch overnight.
Cream of tartar (recommended): The meringue was bright white, very glossy and held its shape without settling; its tips went straight up without curling. The process also took less time overall. The whites were significantly more voluminous after the first 30 seconds, and the meringue reached its final glossy finish faster than with lemon juice or vinegar. The finished meringues were light and crispy, rose a bit higher than their competitors, and retained almost all of their crisp texture the next day.
PJ Hamel
Verdict: What's the best way to make meringue?
Use 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar per large egg white to stabilize the egg white and sugar mixture. Adding cream of tartar makes a stiff, glossy meringue that whips up faster, holds a little more air, holds its shape perfectly when piped, and stays crisp longer than meringue made with stabilizer others.
Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
So is cream of tartar worth adding to your pantry? For recipes using beaten egg whites, from food for angels OR chiffon cake THE pasta, Meringue Topped Pie or an airy one Pavlovyes!
But that's not all: For a comprehensive guide to making the best meringue, see our post: Meringue rules: What to follow and what to let slide.
Cover photo and food styling by Liz Neily.
