Meringues

Ameringue is composed of egg whites that have been whipped with the addition of sugar. The texture of a meringue—it can be soft or hard—depends on the ratio of sugar to each white. This ratio influences the method you use to create all varieties of meringue. For example, it is not difficult to whip 6 tablespoons of sugar into 3 egg whites to obtain a shiny, smooth mixture with good volume to fold into a cake batter. But incorporating three times as much sugar into the same number of egg whites requires another method to accomplish the same goal. (See Classic Italian Meringue.)