Today is Meringue Memorial Day. To celebrate, here are 10 facts about meringue.
Meringue is a sweet substance made by whipping Egg whites and Sugar together, possibly with an acidic ingredient such as Lemon, Vinegar, or cream of tartar.
There are different types of meringue produced in slightly different ways. The method described above, and the one most home cooks are familiar with, is French meringue. There’s also Italian meringue, which was invented by the French chef Lancelot de Casteau in 1604. It is made by boiling sugar syrup, rather than caster sugar.
And then there is Swiss meringue, which is whisked over a bain-marie to warm the egg whites, then whisked until it cools.
Meringue can be soft, as used on desserts and cake toppings, or it can be baked in the oven so it becomes harder and crispy.
The invention of meringue is sometimes attributed to a Swiss pastry chef called Gasparini in 1720. He worked in a town called Meiringen in Switzerland, which is said to be where the name comes from.
However. The word first appeared in print much earlier in a cookbook by François Massialot in 1692, and Gasparini therefore may have improved the recipe but didn’t invent it.
A confection that is effectively meringue but known as "white biskit bread" appears in a cookbook by Elinor Fettiplace in 1604.
Meringue is formed by the breaking down of ovalbumin, a protein found in egg whites, as it is whisked.
This chemical reaction isn’t stable, so meringue will only keep for a couple of weeks. The sugar also absorbs moisture from the air and this can cause the meringue to collapse or go soft.
Vegan meringue is a thing. It’s made from aquafaba, which is a liquid obtained from chickpeas, which contains vegetable protein which can be beaten like egg whites.
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