Beating Egg Whites

Egg whites will acquire a better volume if they have reached room temperature when you start beating them, because their proteins will expand more rapidly. The white of older eggs will also whip easier because of the chemical changes in the albumen that have occurred over time.

The beating bowl and whisk or beaters must be free of fat and moisture for a film of water on the inside of a metal bowl prevents the rapid development of a foam.

The whites should not contain the slightest trace of yolk, or some yolk proteins will bind with the proteins of the whites and weaken the coagulated network of the foam, at the same time as the fat coming from the yolks will interfere with the formation of the air pockets or “cells” which constitute the foam.