About Meringues

Appears in
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

By French Culinary Institute

Published 2021

  • About

A meringue is a composition of egg white and sugar that has been stiffly beaten. According to the Larousse Gastronomique, meringue may have been invented by a Swiss pastry cook who practiced his art in the small German town Meiringen. Until the early nineteenth century, meringues baked in the oven were always shaped with a spoon. It was the famed French chef Antonin Carême who introduced the idea of piping it out of a pastry bag. There are three types of meringues: