Why aren't my egg whites stiffening? (2024)

FAQs

Why aren't my egg whites stiffening? ›

New, room temperature egg whites will whisk up faster than old, cold eggs. Make sure the bowl you whisk the egg whites in is free from any greasy residue. Make sure that no egg yolk is in with the egg whites. Egg yolks are very high in fat and will hinder the whisking process.

Any grease or egg yolk will keep your whites from beating to stiff peaks properly. So, before you begin, wash all your equipment with hot, soapy water. Use a glass or stainless-steel bowl; avoid plastic bowls, as they can retain a greasy residue from previous uses.

Turn off the mixer and check the stiffness of the peaks. In total, this should take about 4 to 5 minutes. For soft peaks, the beaten egg whites should have some body but not hold their shape. If you scoop up the whites with the whisk attachment, they should quickly curl and fall into themselves.

From my experience, soft or medium peaks lead to a more moist crumb. Moist. As much as some people may hate the word, the cake just tastes so much better. Egg whites beaten with sugar creates smaller air pockets.

Egg white solidifies more quickly in hot, salty water than it does in fresh. So a little salt in your water can minimize the mess if your egg springs a leak while cooking. The egg white solidifies when it hits the salt water, sealing up the crack so that the egg doesn't shoot out a streamer of white.

Over whip the egg whites and you risk making them too firm and they will risk losing the moisture that they hold. This will affect your meringue's crispness, as well as making it more likely to collapse or weep beads of sugar. As my meringue guru Gary Mehigan advises: “If you over whip the egg whites you cannot fix it.

Beat to soft peaks on medium-high speed. Gradually add the sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Continue beating until glossy, stiff peaks form. At this point, you can't overbeat the meringue, so keep beating until you've got those glossy, firm peaks!

Egg temperature: It's easiest to separate eggs cleanly when they are refrigerator-cold. However egg whites whip up to a greater volume when they've had a chance to warm up a bit, 20 to 30 minutes.

put it in the fridge for about 20 to 30 minutes. and then whip it back up for another 5 minutes. The second solution is to just keep it in the mixer.

Cream of tartar stabilizes the tiny bubbles in the egg whites, by precluding the egg proteins from sticking together. It thus speeds up the egg white whipping process and contributes to a stable, billowy, glossy meringue, perfect for cookies, topping pies, and folding into cake.

Does a bit of yolk ruin meringue? ›

You must be careful when separating eggs. While getting some egg whites with your yolks shouldn't impact your recipe too severely, getting egg yolks in egg whites can ruin your delicate French macarons and smooth meringues because the fat from the yolk minimizes the egg white's ability to fluff into stiff peaks.

In a KitchenAid mixer, it usually takes about 20-25 minutes to make a good, stiff meringue from start to finish. If you're at the 20-minute mark and the meringue still isn't at stiff peaks, check your temperature. Is it hot and humid in your kitchen? Then a 15-20 minute meringue timeout in the fridge will help!

One little wrist motion is the secret to whipping egg whites to stiff peaks by hand.

Make sure the bowl you whisk the egg whites in is free from any greasy residue. Make sure that no egg yolk is in with the egg whites. Egg yolks are very high in fat and will hinder the whisking process. Cream of tartar is an acidic powder extracted during winemaking.

The development of watery whites is chiefly due to the increasing age of the egg. The rate of development is increased by high storage temperature and low humidity (see figure 4). As birds age, the Haugh unit value of their eggs decreases by about 1.5 to 2 units per month of lay (see figure 3).

Use ⅛ tsp. cream of tartar per egg white. Add it to the whites (and sugar, if using) at the very start. Now, no matter how long you whip those whites, they'll never break.

The fresher the egg, the less liquid will drain. As mentioned by McGee, Heston Blumenthal uses the simple trick of removing the runny white from the poached egg before it is cooked using a fine mesh strainer or a perforated spoon.