Soggy, discoloured, collapsed, grainy, sweating meringue? We address some worries and let you in on some secret weapons for dealing with meringues.

Meringue (egg white and sugar) is a fussy animal. Creating a stable, fluffy, glossy and white meringue is all about incorporating air and keeping the bubbles intact.As egg proteins denature during the whipping/ heating process, and form a protective film around the incorporated air bubbles.

Certain techniques and ingredients can work to destabilise the protective film/ enhance the formation of a stable texture.

 

 

 

 

Here are 14 tips to make the perfect, no-flop meringues.

One of the most important rules of meringue making is that all of your equipment must be squeaky clean, without any water or oil present. (Metal or glass mixing bowls are best for yielding voluminous beaten egg whites as plastic can retain fat and grease.) Cream of tartar/vinegar/ lemon juice – work to stabilise egg whites, increasing their heat tolerance and volume; as well as prevent sugar syrups from crystallising; they also help the meringue to be white & crisp but remain fluffy and sticky on the inside. Use an automatic mixer, unless you want to do it by hand (in which case you will have 1 arm of steel, and your new nickname will be “the claw”). Use caster sugar as the small grains dissolve easily in the foamy mixture. Add the sugar in a painfully slow manner – tablespoon by tablespoon at the soft-peak stage. (When you have added all the sugar, spoon a little meringue onto your finger and rub to feel any undissolved sugar crystals).  Undissolved sugar will weigh down the meringue and attract moisture  to form beading, the formation of water droplets on the surface. Do not make meringues that have less than 2 tablespoons of sugar per egg white. If you use any less, the foam will not set and the meringue will shrink.  Soft, chewy meringues are usually made with equal parts sugar and egg white, while hard meringues uses 2 parts sugar for every egg white. Cold eggs separate easily, but eggs whip to a higher volume when at room temperature. The solution is to separate the cold eggs, and then set them aside for 10 or 15 minutes. Be careful not to drop any yolk into your whites. If you lose any bits of shell, scoop them out with a clean spoon rather than your fingers. Even a small amount of yolk can deflate the egg whites, so be careful. Don’t under-whip as the meringue will weep and become soggy, similarly, don’t over-whip as the meringue will collapse. Soft peaks are fine for a pie topping, but for a dessert base such as a pavlova, you need stiff, glossy peaks. Wedge open the oven door during cooking to develop crisp dry meringues and prevent overheating; use a low temperature and long baking time. Allow the meringues to remain in the oven after baking. This helps dry them out. Try and avoid making meringues on a humid day. The sugar in the meringue attracts moisture and makes it chewy. It may take longer for the meringue to bake and dry out in the oven. Don’t undercook your meringue as it may weep (water-loss), similarly, don’t overcook your meringue as this causes syrup beading. Meringues are finished baking when they are crisp on the outside, and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Once ready to bake, add other ingredients. Fold through cocoa/spices /flavourings, or roll the meringues in nuts/ sprinkles.

In light of current research on gluten and its effects on the body (outside of the coeliac aversion to gluten), we have put together some information on gluten-reduced baking techniques.

Firstly, what is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, triticale (cross between wheat and rye), kamut and spelt (ancient forms of wheat). Oats are usually put in this category because they may contain cross contamination with wheat. The gluten protein is responsible for the glue-like elasticity that is present in batters and doughs.

Why are people choosing to avoid gluten?

People suffering from wheat allergies, coeliac disease, gluten intolerance / sensitivity are affected by the protein in a way that stimulates an allergic response, causing uncomfortable symptoms and reduced optimal health.

Wheat allergy – is one of the rarer common food allergies, whose symptoms include exercise / aspirin induced anaphylaxis as well as skin rashes.

Coeliac disease – is a genetic autoimmune disease that creates inflammation throughout the body, and progressively destroys the nutrient-absorbing villi in your small intestine. Gluten exacerbates this response in coeliac patients. This chronic digestive disorder leads to the malabsorption of minerals and nutrients. Coeliac disease has wide-ranging effects across all organs and joints.

Gluten intolerance/ sensitivity – is reactivity to consuming gluten. Although it poses less severe symptoms when compared to coeliac disease; these symptoms include bloating, abdominal discomfort or pain, diarrhoea, muscular disturbances and bone or joint pain.

“Gluten sensitivity” represents a completely different condition from coeliac disease, and most of the people who suffer from gluten sensitivity will never develop coeliac. Research into gluten sensitivity is evolving rapidly and the differences between these two conditions stems from differing immune system responses.

It has been noted that gluten is not only responsible for allergic reactions, but has been known to “provoke” a number of diseases (according to a review paper in The New England Journal of Medicine), such as osteoporosis, irritable bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, anaemia, cancer, fatigue, canker sores, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and almost all other autoimmune diseases. Gluten has also been linked to many psychiatric and neurological diseases, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, dementia, migraines, epilepsy, and neuropathy (nerve damage).  It has also been linked to autism.

Gluten free baking techniques

Gluten free grains include rice, maize/corn (polenta /maizina), quinoa, millet, buckwheat, oats, and sorghum. These grains can be made into flour and are useful to replace gluten flour in baking. Many people who struggle to process wheat find that spelt is acceptable. Also, there is trend toward using almond meal/ nut flours and coconut flours as well as bean/ legume flours in baking (as grain alternatives).

Gluten free Grain flours Other Gluten free Flours Gluten free Starches Corn flour Coconut flour Tapioca/ cassava flour Rice flour Almond/ Hazelnut flour Potato starch (not flour!) Millet flour Chickpea flour Arrowroot flour Sorghum flour Buckwheat flour Corn starch Oat flour Bean (garbanzo/ flava) flour

Often the final baked product (when using gluten free flour) may have a denser texture due to the reduced presence of elastic proteins that stretch to allow aeration of the baked goods.  The texture may be gummier and the mixture may require more cooking time/ added moisture and fibre. Gluten free baking seems to be about trial and error – whether the chosen flour is right for your recipe – one will have to find out?

If baking with gluten free flours (rather than altering a current recipe), look for gluten-free recipe alternatives (at least these recipes have been tried and tested)! There are also recipes for Gluten-Free Flour blends that can be found online, this blend can be used to substitute gluten flour in a favourite recipe. Alternatively look out for gluten free pancake or muffin mixes, and then use these as a flour substitute, since they have already been blended to give a good baked texture.

Once your gluten-free goodies are baked, try our range of Non-Wheat/ Non-Gluten cake decorations (Ready to Roll Fondant, Cake Confetti, and Cake Crystals, Stationery for Cakes, Heavenly Hearts, Chocolate Popping Candy, Chocolate Hearts and Buttons, Shimmer, Writing icing, Soft centred pearls, Soft silver “bling” balls).