It's possible to overbeat anything. Egg whites will break down, get watery, and lose their volume. If you overbeat whipping cream it will turn into butter.
How to Beat Egg Whites Without an Electric Mixer
- Step 1: Whisk the Whites Until Foamy. Start whipping the whites slowly, moving the whisk back and forth the width of the bowl to break the egg whites up.
- Step 2: Speed It Up. Begin moving the whisk vigorously in a circular motion.
- Step 3: Continue Whipping.
Pasteurization heats the egg very quickly, then cools it to kill bacteria. Combine powdered egg whites with water and sugar, then beat. It may take longer to achieve the high, light texture of a good meringue with powdered whites. You can eat meringues made with pasteurized egg whites raw without risk of salmonella.
When sugar is beaten into an egg-white foam, it dissolves in the protein film on the surface of the air bubbles. This sugary syrup film prevents the proteins from drying out and tightening up too fast. Once you add sugar, you can beat the egg whites without worrying too much about their getting lumpy or overbeaten.
If clumps are stubborn, egg whites are over beaten. Fix the remaining egg whites like this: Add a fresh egg white to the remaining whites in the mixer bowl and whip for a couple of seconds—just to remoisten the foam and make it supple enough to fold. Don't overdo it or the egg whites will become over whipped again!
Any amount under 4 large eggs whites, can be beaten with a hand-held mixer or using a balloon whisk. Some classicists use a large balloon whisk and a copper bowl, when beating by hand for any amounts.
Sugar adds sweetness, so the meringue complements the flavor of your lemon pie or meringue cookies. Without the sugar, meringue would taste bland.
Remember that the meringue will swell in the oven so don't spread it out to close to the edge of the baking tray. Cook for an hour, then turn off the oven and leave in the oven while it cools completely. I usually do this at night and leave it in the oven overnight.
Meringues are not supposed to harden completely in the oven. While low heat will dry them out, meringues do not become hard and crisp until they have had a chance to cool for five or ten minutes.
Adding the Sugar Too Quickly
With a meringue, the sugar interacts with the same proteins to produce a more stable structure, which is why a properly made meringue is much stiffer than an ordinary egg foam.Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar.
This binding substance helps the egg whites form into thick, glossy peaks. Most recipes call for about 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar for 2 egg whites. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with a hand mixer until the mixture is white and foamy with soft peaks.If the sugar is added too late, either the sugar, which is hygroscopic, draws water out of the foam and causes the structure to weaken (as in the dense, crumbly cakes), or the sugar doesn't fully dissolve (as in the meringue cookies that were grainy and brown from undissolved sugar caramelizing).
To beat egg whites until they are stiff, use an electric mixer set on medium, or a rotary beater. Scrape the sides of the bowl often with a rubber spatula. 5. Continue to beat the eggs until the peak stands straight up when the beaters are lifted from the mixture.
You can also use broken meringue bits in this, or baked meringues gone soft. Any sort of meringue that's making you sad, put it in this mess and layer it up with lots of lovely fruit and cream and put a smile on your face!
AVOID OVER BEATEN MERINGUE
Over-beaten meringue takes on a coarse and grainy appearance. Over-beaten meringue invades without warning. The thing is, no matter how long you beat the egg whites, to the eye they appear smooth and firm. But try to fold them into a heavy batter.One of the most common mistakes is not beating the eggs long enough, or on too slow a speed, which means the egg whites won't reach stiff peak stage and instead only reach a soggy droopy stage. Once your egg whites are overbeaten, they won't work properly in your meringue.
