more about meringues

[LisaS]

I thought I'd mention this for Gabe and his quest for sugar-free meringue nests :)

I was just at the grocery store and spied a container of sugar-free meringue cookies. I thought the ingredients (chemistry) were interesting.

Egg Whites, Isomalt, Inulin, dried egg whites, tartaric acid, sucralose & vanilla flavoring.

My guess is that they are using the isomalt and inulin to give structure and texture to the meringues to make up for no sugar. Maybe the dried egg whites, by providing more protein to the mixture w/out increasing the water content also helps in this.


Lisa

[Gaelen]

I think you've got it, Lisa.
Other issues in creating meringues that hold a shape is how long you beat the egg whites, whether they're at room temp when you start, if there's any trace of fat on ANY of your tools or the bowl, adding the other ingredients to the beaten egg whites in very small batches, and baking them in a low oven for a long time but not to the point of browning--you're sort of dehydrating them.

I'm guessing you're onto something with the dried egg whites. Also, the isomalt and sucralose do have structures similar to sugar, so that may also be contributing to the success of commercial low sugar or SF meringues.

[Gabriel Guzman]

Thanks Lisa! My guess is that isomalt adds more 'texture' just as sugar would do so the bubbles can hold air better. When I tried with just sucralose (splenda), with the grain being so small compared to the grain of sucrose, I guessed that the bubbles were not big enough and not enough air would be contained to get a good meringue structure. The addition of Inulin escapes me but who knows... maybe it's there as a probiotic (after all some beneficial bacteria in our gut like it just as they like fiber! :) ).

On a separate note, I don't think that dried egg whites have a whole lot to do. After all, with enough whipping one can get very stiff mixtures even when the egg whites are ~80%. There are quite a bit of 'taboos' about making meringues as I discovered by reading countless ways people make them. For example the no-fat-at all or your meringues won't work... Again, with enough time and beating, you can turn whole eggs into meringues!

I kind of did that without really wanting to when I was experimenting with the raspberry and blueberry/mango parfaits. I put the eggs and sugar on a double boiler and beat them until I had a smooth mix. In one occasion, I kept beating and the mix actually got stiffer than I thought possible (because I had the yolks in). Then I looked for recipes that use whole eggs in which they are beaten until stif and I came across the Genoese sponge recipe (check the recipe below). Indeed, you beat the eggs first until soft peaks form and then you keep beating until the 'stuff gets very stiff'!

From AllRecipes.com (http://cake.allrecipes.com/AZ/GenoeseSponge.asp)

Pre-reheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10 inch tube pan.
Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup sugar gradually, beating until very stiff.
In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine and 1 cup sugar well. Add egg yolks, and beat until thick and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt over batter. Fold in. Gently fold in egg whites. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean. Cool. Ice with your favorite frosting.



So... how come (I thought), that to make stiff meringues I can't have not even a drop of yolk, but to make Genoese sponge, which has to be equally stiff it doesn't matter... hmmm...:rolleyes:

I kind of reminded me of the 'common' notion that 'putting a steak on a hot pan seals in the juices...'. Whereas that actually doesn't happen (at least not to me as my steaks are always pretty runny anyway when I put them on a hot pan), the high temperature does provoke a chemical reaction between proteins and sugars that create a whole lot of new 'flavor' molecules that turn the meat yummy! Oh... that's for another kitchen-lab program I suppose!:)

One thing is for sure, though, the experimentation in the kitchen is the fun part and with new bits of information like Lisa's I might just get it right next time!!!

Thanks again!:)

[LisaS]

out of the 13g serving size, 4g PRO & 9g CHO -- of those, 3g are fiber (inulin) and 6g sugar alcohols (isomalt) -- if that gives an idea of proportions.

[Gabriel Guzman]

How big are they Lisa? 4g of protein sounds relly good for a nice treat to the sweet tooth (if they also taste good that is).

[LisaS]

hard to say - If I remember right, serving size is 13 pieces - so they are pretty small. I'll take a picture with a measure reference when I get home. As far as tasting good - they are OK - but I wouldn't eat more that 3-4 at a setting I think. they almost make that "too sweet" reaction for me. The chocolate might be better than the vanilla though.