French, Italian and Swiss meringue - how to prepare and what is the difference between them

There are three main types of meringue. They are all prepared according to different recipes and for different purposes. So what is the difference between French, Italian and Swiss meringue? And which one should be used in any given dessert? Let's talk about it.

French meringue

French meringue is the most traditional and most common of the above. It is crispy on the outside and a little soft or dry on the inside. The whipped mass quickly settles, so it must be prepared just before use, in other words, baking in the oven.

How to make French meringue

Proteins and sugar (from time to time sweet powder) will be useful for you. Typically, the working proportion is 2 parts sugar to 1 part protein. For example, if you use 100 g of protein, you will need 200 g of sugar.

To make French meringue, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add sugar evenly, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. The mixture should become soft, airy and light.

You can pipe the resulting mass using a pastry bag or spoon. Form the meringues on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in an oven preheated to 90-100 °C for 1-2 hours, depending on the size of the product and the desired result. The meringues are ready when you simply remove them from the baking paper.

How to use French meringue

If two ready-made French meringues, piped from a pastry bag, are combined with each other, layered with cream or something similar, you get meringue . So says the distinguished publication Gastronomic Encyclopedia Larousse Gastronomique.

Meringue with chocolate cream

French meringue is best used for Alaska and Pavlova cakes, the English dessert Eton mess and for making dessert snowballs . After mixing with chopped nuts (usually almonds or hazelnuts), a base for dacquoise (nut sponge cake) .

Pavlova cake “Pear and chocolate”

Italian meringue

Italian meringue is the most measured and dense of the three. Thanks to its satin texture, it is very popular among confectioners.

How to make Italian meringue

Italian meringue is a sweet syrup (a “thick thread” mixture), heated to 118-120 °C and, still practically bubbling, added in a narrow stream to the whipped egg whites. The mixture must be constantly whisked until it cools almost completely. To make the best Italian meringue, be sure to use a kitchen temperature gauge.

Italian meringue is deposited onto a sponge cake from a pastry bag

The basic ratio for syrup is 3 parts sugar and 1 part water. Basic meringue recipe: 30-50 g of syrup for 1 large egg white.

How to use Italian meringue

This kind of meringue, in comparison with the French one, is not consumed without the help of others (as a ready-made dish) and it is needed for the most complex desserts, such as, for example, Alaska cake.

It is used to cover tarts, flans, and Polish brioche before being put into the oven. Add to mousses and souffles, and later freeze. Creams, sorbet and various berry and fruit foams are prepared on the basis of Italian meringue. And specifically, it covers lemon pies (or similar products), and later it is so beautifully fired with a special burner.

Key lime tartlet with meringue

Swiss meringue

The development of making Swiss meringue differs from others. A water bath and a kitchen temperature gauge are indispensable for her. The raw whipped mass is even smaller in size than the French one. It is the most compact, smooth and silky. After heat treatment, it is crispy on the outside and “chewy” (sticky and slightly stretchy) on the inside.

How to make Swiss meringue

Typically, the working proportion for making Swiss meringue is 2 parts sugar to 1 part protein. For example, if you use 90 g of protein, you will need 180 g of sugar. Beat the egg whites and sugar in a bowl in a water bath at 40°C to 55-60°C. Then remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking until the mixture cools. Bake at 100 °C, 30 minutes for the smallest forms.

Swiss meringue is often flavored by adding, for example, vanilla or lemon zest. Natural additives must be introduced after heat treatment.

Huge Swiss meringues with nuts

How to use Swiss meringue

Huge meringues, approximately the size of a palm, which you often see in the windows of pastry shops - this is Swiss meringue. It is also often used to decorate Christmas rolls (“log”).

Swiss meringue holds its shape perfectly and the finished products are spectacular and embossed. After some time, the surface of the meringue becomes a little denser, but the mass inside remains the same airy. This can be used to decorate baked goods, for example, Easter cakes, muffins, cupcakes. Swiss meringue can also be used as a cream for layering biscuits.

Pumpkin pie with Swiss (wet) meringue from Olga Stikhareva

Italian meringue

Mon, December 21, 2015

Airy, light, virtually weightless protein custard, which is prepared simply and without any hassles. Italian meringue is simply an amazingly versatile cream that is constantly stable and holds its shape unsurpassedly, because it is extremely suitable for decorating confectionery products.

You can decorate cupcakes and muffins with Italian meringue (you will get cupcakes that are so prestigious today). In addition, this custard protein cream performs excellently as a layer for sponge cakes and when decorating them. If you wish, you can even bake the cream in the oven and thus prepare airy meringue cookies or the base for the famous Pavlova cake.

The main difference between Italian meringue and French, for example, is that this cream is prepared by steeping egg whites with hot, sweet syrup. Thanks to this, the protein is not only disinfected, but also acquires the desired dense texture.

It must be said that I personally find it even easier to prepare Italian meringue than Swiss meringue, which is first made in a water bath. Well, besides, there has never been a single miss - and a measuredly good result for me is the main indicator.

Ingredients:

Making a dish step by step:

The recipe for Italian meringue includes the following ingredients: raw egg whites, sweet sand (I immediately weighed the sugar for the whites and for the syrup separately, so I have it in two containers), and also plain water. Proteins can be used either fresh or frozen (just let them thaw completely) - 2 pieces on average equal 60 grams. For sweet syrup, use 100 grams of sugar and 2 tablespoons (40 ml) of water. 50 grams of sugar is 2 tablespoons added to egg whites.

So, let's immediately start making sweet syrup, because the whites are whipped quite quickly, and we need it hot. Pour two tablespoons of water into a small saucepan or saucepan and add 100 grams of sweet sand. If you want the finished meringue to be not snow-white, but of various colors (or flavored), at this stage food coloring and aromatic additives are added. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. From now on, cook the sweet syrup over low heat for about 5-6 minutes. If you have a culinary temperature gauge (I haven't gotten one yet, so I'm working by eye), wait for 110 degrees—the perfect temperature for sweet syrup. Or try a soft ball - drop the syrup into a bowl of ice water, then take it between your fingers and roll. If a soft ball comes out, the syrup is ready.

Meanwhile, back to the egg whites. The mixing bowl must be clean and dry.

You need to start beating the whites with a mixer at low speed.

When the mass becomes slightly cloudy and a light foam appears, pour in 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly.

At the same time, we increase the beating speed, achieving the highest speed at the end.

During the beating process, you will see that the whites turn white, become saturated with air bubbles, and grow in volume.

Whipped whites should hold their shape perfectly, but at the same time remain soft (this stage is called soft peaks).

The sweet syrup is ready - it's still bubbling. It is also not allowed to overcook it, otherwise, when added to proteins, it will simply harden into sweet candies, and not brew a mass. If you see that the syrup is ready, but the whites are not yet completely whipped, just remove the pan from the heat - it’s not terrible.

Without stopping whipping, we begin to pour hot sweet syrup into the whites in a thin stream. Try to pour it not along the walls of the dish, but onto the beaters, because the syrup will quickly harden along the edges of the dish.

When all the syrup has been applied, continue to beat the Italian meringue until the mass cools to room temperature. This will take about 6-7 more minutes.

The finished meringue is extremely dense and holds its shape unsurpassed. It was even difficult for me to shake it off the whisk - it was so thick.

As an example, I show how measured and stable the finished protein mass should be.

Use a spatula to scrape off the airy cream from the walls of the dish and prepare a pastry bag with suitable nozzles.

If you don’t have a cooking bag, you can try depositing the cream using an ordinary plastic bag, cutting off one edge with scissors. But in this case, it is almost impossible to achieve a beautiful and beautiful decor for the finished baked goods. But layering the shortcakes or coating the cake is easy!

Italian meringue holds its shape unsurpassedly and remains measured - this is the strongest of the 3 types of protein cream. Most often it is used to decorate confectionery products, as well as in the production of mousses and butter creams.

Italian meringue

Proteins – 4 pcs.
Sugar – 225 g
Water – 65 g
A pinch of citric acid
Vanilla sugar – 10 g

Italian meringue is a light, fine, white, glossy protein cream for smoothing and decorating your cakes and pastries. You can create a crispy meringue from meringue, or you can add it to mousses to make them more fluffy and lasting. Italian meringue differs from its “relatives” - French, Swiss meringue and wet meringue - in the method of production and, if I may say so, in behavior. For this meringue, we will need hot sweet syrup, which, in fact, is what the whites are brewed with. That's why another name for Italian meringue is protein custard. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The cream that was used to decorate basket cakes in Russian cuisine, for example. This method of making cream, on the one hand, is not very comfortable, because not many people like to tinker with syrup, although this is also just a matter of experience: when your hand is full and your eye trained, everything comes out simply and quickly. On the other hand, the same method ensures that the cream is very likely to be preserved at home: the proteins are brewed with syrup at 117-118 degrees, and not every salmonella can withstand this. It is even safer, of course, to use ready-made pasteurized proteins, but not everyone can buy them and not all the time.

As for the taste and that same “behavior,” Italian meringue does not have a crust, like Swiss meringue or wet meringue. More precisely, it is covered, but very, very slowly. It remains soft on the product for quite a long time. And this, in my opinion, is its biggest plus! Specifically, like creams. But it cannot be dried in air, without using an oven, like a Swiss oven, for example. More precisely, it is possible, but it will take an extremely long time and is not worth it. That’s why we make meringue from it only in the oven! Italian meringue holds its shape unsurpassedly, which is why it is perfect for the production of cream flowers and other parts of confectionery decor: borders, ruffles, hats, etc.

Read also: White bean soup recipe

Both the ingredients (except water) and the general rules for making cream will be the same as for other types of meringue, which I have already written about on the blog. In other words, we will need egg whites, sugar, citric acid and, in this case, water for the syrup. You will really need a culinary temperature indicator (I will tell you how you can do without it, but if you have little experience, it is better to start trying with it). It is very important to use dry and clean dishes, without a drop of fat! It is also unacceptable for the yolk to get into the whites or drops of water. If you wash the eggs before separating the whites from the yolks (and it is necessary to wash them, it is extremely better to wash them with soda or keep them in a soda solution), wipe them dry with clean cardboard towels or let them air dry. Wipe your hands dry too. Remember - one of the most common circumstances that the cream does not come out is water or fat.

But as for whether the whites should be cool or at room temperature - honestly, I worked with different ones and didn’t see much of a difference. Therefore, I will not focus your attention on the temperature of the proteins; it seems to me that this is not so significant. It’s better to ensure that the shell is without cracks and that the eggs themselves are very fresh. Well, if you’re worried about getting the whites whipped perfectly, you can add a pinch of salt first. Although I don’t do this for meringue, only when I’m making biscuits.

Now let's talk about proportions. Classic: 1 part protein goes to 2 parts sugar and 1/2 part water. But in essence, the proportions can be slightly changed, moreover, on the Internet, and on fairly decent resources, you can find a lot of recipes with slightly different data. I also use less sugar for Italian meringue. For 4 whites (since the egg white of the 1st group weighs approximately 30-36 g, I will count as an average - 33, which will result in 132 g) I have 225 g of sugar and 65 g of water. You, if you wish, can use traditional proportions, or you can create like me. But keep in mind that the more sugar, the more stable the meringue, but the faster the crust appears on it.

So, let's prepare Italian meringue!

Separate the whites from the yolks. We will need 4 squirrels.

Place 225 g of sugar and 10 g of vanilla sugar in a saucepan.

Pour in 65 g of water. And let’s put it on fire, you don’t have to stand on ceremony and it’s immediately powerful enough. Stirring, bring the syrup until the sugar dissolves, then reduce the heat slightly and cook the syrup without touching it.

While the syrup is preparing, beat the whites into a fluffy foam.

Don't lose sight of the syrup! It is extremely important for us to cook it to a certain temperature - 117-118 degrees. Therefore, we control it using a temperature indicator. If you don't have one, you can create a test for a soft ball. Prepare ice water in advance. And later, when 3-4 minutes have passed since the syrup was cooked, scoop up a little syrup with a spoon and lower this spoon into ice water. Then try rolling the sweet mass into a soft ball. If it comes out, the syrup is ready. If the syrup just dissolves, it means it’s too early. If the sweet mass hardens in cool water, then you have overcooked the syrup. But, you see, this is all quite awkward. If only because while you are carrying out these tests, especially out of habit, your syrup will be digested 100 times. It is recommended to remove the pan from the heat during the test, but... in general, this is also not very comfortable. A much more exciting and entertaining method was recently shown on Instagram by our eminent pastry chef Nina Tarasova, who, by the way, also noted how awkward it is to create samples for balls. Nina lets you twist a loop out of the wire in advance, and then dip it into the bubbling syrup and try to blow a bubble, like a soap bubble. If the bubble is blown out, the syrup is ready. You can see how it looks on Nina’s Instagram.

Well, absolutely - buy a temperature indicator, they can be extremely cheap, and how many times will you need them!

Well, now the syrup is cooked, turn on the mixer, start beating the whites again...

...and, without stopping whipping for a single moment, pour them into the syrup in a thin stream.

Continue whisking and pouring until the syrup runs out. We try not to pour syrup on the whisks! The mass quickly becomes more lush, light, and voluminous.

Now let's beat our meringue. Be patient - it will take about 10 minutes (depending on the mixer, I have 450 W). Move the mixer whisks in a circle.

The mass cools evenly and becomes denser. Voids begin to appear along the edges of the bowl.

And we continue to beat. As a standard, the mass must cool completely! Look, it becomes even more dense, it seems to gather into a lump, and the voids become more obvious and larger. At this point, you can already add a pinch of citric acid: it evens out the meringue and promotes its stability.

We continue to beat. This is what the almost finished cream looks like.

And so it stays on the rims quite ready! This condition is called hard peaks. With this - anywhere!

So we made our excellent cream! Even here you can see how well it holds its shape.

They, like all proteins, need to work quickly: over time, they begin to “bubble,” as confectioners say. If you use it to smooth the cake, do it with a damp knife/spatula/spatula, it’s more convenient. The meringue can be lightly set on fire with a gas burner or a lighter with a horizontal flame; the result will be a very beautiful effect.

Meringue. Theory

Products and their effects

Egg white is the main component of meringue. Create an airy mass structure. When whipped, the proteins in the egg white form a foam, which hardens during baking due to the denaturation of the proteins. Protein is 88% water, the other 12% is proteins.

Preparation

To achieve a good result, no matter what manufacturing method is used, it is important to follow the following rules:

It is important to use clean, dry, grease-free dishes. Rinse the bowl with detergent and wipe dry. It is better to use an iron or glass bowl instead of a plastic one.
Before cooking, rinse the eggs and wipe dry. Not a drop of yolk should get into the white. If a droplet does get into the whites, then start making it again.

Whipping

The duration of whipping is affected by the mass of the meringue and the power of the mixer. The average whipping time is usually from 10 to 30 minutes.

Sharp peaks - the mass stretches behind the corolla, forming angles like a beak.

Soft peaks - the protein cream forms round elevations on the corolla, which fall evenly.

Beat the meringue at one speed. So the air bubbles will be size 1. If you beat at low speed at first and gradually increase it to high speed, then huge and small bubbles will form. When baking, the meringue will rise unevenly and burst.

If you have a gas oven. Heat it to 100 C. Turn it off. Place a baking sheet with meringues and dry with the door ajar.

Coloring

Water-soluble dyes are suitable for coloring: dry or gel.

When coloring meringue, a gentle, pastel color always comes out.

If you need a catchy color, then paint the bag and add snow-white meringue to it.

Drying

Do not place the meringue on the baking sheet straight away. It will stick, after drying you cannot tear it off. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat

It is better to dry meringue at a temperature of 80–90 °C. At the highest temperature they will bake. Use the oven temperature gauge to know the exact temperature.

Baking time depends on size. Meringues for decoration usually dry in 30-40 minutes. And Pavlova cakes take 1.5–2 hours to dry.

If the meringues are creamy/coffee colored, there are drops of syrup or cracks, this means the temperature is very high.

Do not open the oven while the meringues are baking, otherwise they will fall off and turn into flat cakes.

Storage

To keep meringues crispy, store them in an airtight container;
The shelf life is 3 weeks at a temperature not exceeding 23 C;
Meringue is afraid of water. If it is raining or damp outside, the meringue will become sticky;
The refrigerator with a drip system is also wet, which means the meringues will become viscous and sticky if stored without packaging. In a no frost refrigerator, this situation will not happen, because moisture is removed from the chamber;
Meringues can be frozen. This increases the shelf life to 1 month. After freezing, it is important to carefully defrost it so that the meringue does not absorb water and become damp. First, put the container in the refrigerator for several hours, then leave at room temperature until completely defrosted.

Meringue recipe:

1 part protein
2 parts sugar

How can you reduce the amount of sugar?

I conducted several tests to determine the condition of the meringue depending on the amount of sugar. I made Swiss meringue. The results are shown in the table:

Protein, g	Sugar, g	State
100	200	strong meringue. Keeps its shape.
100	150	strong meringue. Keeps its shape.
100	125	The meringue is elastic and airy. Keeps its shape. It increased in volume during baking. This is a very tiny amount of sugar to create beautiful and strong meringues.
100	100	The meringue is airy and doesn’t hold its shape.

Types of meringue

French meringue is the most common and recognizable type of meringue, but at the same time the most unstable.

Prepared as follows. First, the whites are beaten to saturate the mass with oxygen. When the whites are whipped to soft peaks, begin to add sweet powder or small sugar.

French meringue is unbalanced. It is used as part of a confectionery product, most often for sponge cakes, for example, dacquoise, a Japanese sponge cake.

Recipe: 1 part protein, 2 parts sweet powder

Swiss meringue is prepared warm. In a water bath, stirring constantly, heat the sugar and whites to 55-60 C. At this temperature for us, the sugar completely dissolves.

Next, remove the mixture from the stove and begin to beat at medium speed. Swiss meringue comes out strong, silky, denser than French meringue. The most popular method of using it is Swiss meringue buttercream, which I use to smooth cakes and create creamy flowers. Swiss meringue can be used to create decor for cakes, meringues on a stick, and Pavlova dessert.

Recipe: 1 part protein, 2 parts sugar

Italian meringue - prepared with bubbling sweet syrup. The syrup is heated to 120-121 C, the state of a soft ball. Then the syrup is poured in a narrow stream into the whipping whites. The whites are pasteurized and the meringue is safe in its raw form.

The meringue comes out silky and compact. Italian meringue is added to mousses for aeration, it is used to cover cakes, and to make caps for cupcakes.

Recipe: 1 part protein, 2 parts sugar and 1/2 part water