Beating Egg Whites

The most important thing when beating eggs is to pick the right bowl. Once beaten, the egg whites will have six times more volume, so the bowl must be big enough. The bottom of the bowl should be narrower than the top so that all the egg whites are in motion at the same time. Our first choice is a hammered copper bowl that is not too wide, but we think stainless steel is fine, too. Since copper helps stabilize the whites, we add a pinch of cream of tartar to the whites when we use a stainless steel bowl. Porcelain and glass bowls won’t do at all because the egg whites slip down the sides, and plastic bowls have an oily film that deflates the egg whites as fast as you can beat them.