More on Aeration: Meringue

Appears in
top 1000How Baking Works
How Baking Works

By Paula Figoni

Published 2003

  • About
Meringue is egg white whipped with sugar. It is used for lightness and volume in mousses, soufflés, angel food and sponge cakes, and icings. It can also be baked in a low-temperature oven for macaroons, cake layers, and tartlet shells.

Meringue could not form without the unique combination of proteins that are present in egg white. Several egg white proteins, including ovalbumin, conalbumin, globulin, ovomucin, and lysozyme work together for maximum foaming power and foam stability during whipping and during baking.