Savory meringues

[_john]

I have seen references to savory meringues a few times in reviews of modernist restaurants. How are these made? Do they contain eggs at all? Any recipes?

[Justin Uy]

The only savory meringue recipe I know of was printed as "Anti-meringues" in Jeff Potter's Cooking for Geeks (great book by the way).

It uses egg whites and sugar in the standard proportion with the addition of Lactisole (marketed as Super Envision) which is a powder that, in small amounts, will neutralize the sweetness of sugar.

[piracer]

I think on top chef canada, one of the contestants made a savory 'macaron' (it came out like what macarons do when they dont turn out right...), but it did raise thoughts of a savory meringue. I guess there's no reason why you can't - doesn't adding cream of tartar help stabilize meringue? So if you bumped that up, lowered your sugar and added more salt (which im told also strengthens it), you get a somewhat salty meringue. Though i wouldnt really know how to flavor it, but im guessing some kind of extract, liquid smoke perhaps or something like that?

[offcentre]

Jay Rayner wasn't too impressed when presented with one at Viajante recently...

"The problem with surprises is that not all of them are nice. A pink macaroon flavoured with Iberico ham served as a petit four is a complete surprise. It's definitely not a nice one. When you are left thinking: "I wish that had been lemon or raspberry or anything other than this", something is up. Sure, I can admire the technique by which all that hammy flavour is slipped into one of those sweet crisp meringue almond confections. That doesn't make it more pleasant to eat. Equally a tiny chocolate roulade with a sweet cream flavoured with ceps served as a dessert is eye-achingly clever. But that doesn't make either one pleasant to eat. When you find yourself reaching for the word "challenging" to describe your dinner and wanting to shout: "Who put all the bloody mushrooms in my pudding?", it's time to get your coat."

[Tri2Cook]

Bryan Voltaggio did one on Top Chef. He called it a lime macaron but it's much more similar to a meringue than a macaron. It wouldn't take much imagination or effort to alter the flavor profile. I think I remember there being at least one savory meringue in the Duby's book Wild Sweets: Chocolate as well. I'm thinking it was a prawn meringue or something like that but I'd have to dig out the book to be sure.