Stiff Peak

After you’ve crossed soft and medium peak, stiff peak soon follows. When you invert your beaters, the meringue should stand upright, with no bend at all.

If you fear that you may have over-whipped your egg whites at any level of peak, time is your cure. Over whipped whites will deflate after 5 to 10 minutes. Just let the whites sit in the bowl where they will settle and even separate slightly, then re-whip gently either by hand or on medium speed (not low or high) with beaters and hit that perfect peak you missed the first time around.