Meringue

This article is about the dessert. For the Haitian folk music, see Méringue.
Not to be confused with Merengue.
Meringue
Meringue with whipped cream
Alternative names
  • Meringa (in Italy)
  • Beza (in Poland)
  • Suspiros or Merengue (in Portugal and in Brazil)
  • Sneg (in Slovenia)
  • Puslice (in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro)
  • Habcsók (in Hungary)
TypeDessert
Place of originFrance
Main ingredientsEgg whites, sugar

Meringue (/məˈræŋ/ mə-RANG,[1] French: [məʁɛ̃ɡ] ⓘ) is a type of dessert or candy, of French origin,[2] traditionally made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or cream of tartar. A binding agent such as salt, flour or gelatin may also be added to the eggs. The key to the formation of a good meringue is the formation of stiff peaks by denaturing the protein ovalbumin (a protein in the egg whites) via mechanical shear.

They are light, airy and sweet confections. Homemade meringues are often chewy and soft with a crisp exterior, while many commercial meringues are crisp throughout. A uniform crisp texture may be achieved at home by baking at a low temperature (80–90 °C or 176–194 °F) for an extended period of up to two hours.

  1. ^ Trumble, William R.; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2002). "meringue". Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 1 (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 1751. ISBN 978-0-19-860575-1.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Darra (2015). The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. Oxford University Press. p. 442. ISBN 978-0-19-931339-6.