Copious quantities of egg whites

[chromedome]

The restaurant where I work generates large quantities of egg whites every week, which I am welcome to take home.

I've made angel-food cakes in the standard and cocoa variations, and baked them in flat pans as well as tube pans (the better to make layer cakes with them). I've made cookie-sized meringues several times; also various takes on dacquoises. I've used them to make consomme as well, and fresh pasta.

"Creative fatigue," however, is setting in. What are everyone's favourite things to do with egg whites?

I have two litres in my freezer and four more in my fridge, and I'm running out of ideas. I hate to *not* bring them home (goes against my East-coast frugality gene) but boy, it's getting harder to find things to make with them.

I'm open to sweet or savoury suggestions, even if they're variations on things I've already mentioned. After all, your version might be better than mine...and I won't be sick of them forever...

[FistFullaRoux]

Egg drop soup and crepes pop to mind.

You may also want to consider donating them to a soup kitchen kind of operation. If they come from a commercial kitchen, I don't think they would have a problem using them, but it depends. If they do have a problem taking them in raw form, make a bunch of desserts or pasta and donate that.

Also Google of egg+white+recipe. Your mileage may vary.

Edited February 3, 2004 by FistFullaRoux (log)

[Schielke]

A really big omlette for a bodybuilder.

[chezcherie]

macarons. several related threads active now...i'm obsessed with them. have yet to make a perfect batch, but still trying.

[chromedome]

Speaking of Google, FFAR, have you seen this little goodie? It's a Google Hack by Tara Calishain, publisher of ResearchBuzz (a newsletter) and the recent book "Google Hacks."

Cookin' With Google

Limits your results somewhat, but by the same token saves you digging through a gazillion non-recipe hits.

[Rachel Perlow]

Where do you live? (you could just post the state) I'm sure someone around here would love to have them. But, actually, I second the soup kitchen recommendation.

[runninwithscissors]

I'm thinkin' Pavlova...with some really good tropical fruits. YUM!

[SobaAddict70]

Where do you live? (you could just post the state) I'm sure someone around here would love to have them. But, actually, I second the soup kitchen recommendation.

Me.

Solves my breakfast problem in a heartbeat. And once I'm back on my feet, I'm hitting the gym like nobody's business!

But if bulk shipments of clear liquid goo isn't your thing, there's always souffles.

Soba

[Suzanne F]

Soba's suggestion of souffles is great: you don't really need to make a yolk-enriched bechamel base. Just puree vegetables, fold in the beaten whites, bake, and voilà. Great way to use up leftover cooked veg, too.

[josephreese]

I'll third the recommendation for souffles. So many options are available.

[Jinmyo]

Souffles, egg white omelets, swirled into soups, scrambled with mixed seafood.

[Steve Klc]

There's always cocktails...a lot of them employ egg whites. Start with a Pisco sour. Dale DeGroff's cocktail book is a real winner if you want to go down this road. Or maybe suggest a few of these drinks at work and then you won't have to take all those whites home (or feel guilty about not taking them home.)

[ludja]

Good idea on the cocktails, Ramos Gin Fizz anyone?

edited: forgot to re-read the original post and suggested Angel Food Cake and consommes...

That said, I've seen some interesting variations on the basic recipe also. One I've made is: Angel Food Cake spiced with chinese five spice powder (and vanilla and almond) and served with orange creme anglaise (from Tom Douglas in "Home Food".

Emily Luchetti has an interesting recipe in one of her books for an espresso-chocolate chip angel food cake served w/a d. chocolate sauce...

Edited February 3, 2004 by ludja (log)

[chromedome]

Souffles....doh!

<insert sound effect of blistered hand sharply striking bald forehead>

Will probably attempt macarons sometime in the near future...Feb 16 is a holiday here in Alberta, so perhaps over the long weekend.

Cocktails, well...I just can't get up for mixed drinks at the best of times. I'm something of a zealot for drinking my spirits neat (if it's not worth drinking neat, it's not worth drinking mixed either...and if it IS worth drinking neat, why adulterate it?).

For tonight, after I take my bread out, I'll probably throw some dacquoises together...I'm thinking I'll do something really rich with layers of chocolate genoise and chocolate mousse and the dacquoise and maybe a ganache glaze. I'll be working on Valentine's Day, so DW deserves something a little special by way of apology, no?

(DW= De Wife)

[adobohead]

I put leftover egg whites, or yolks, in my post-workout protein shake. Leftover bananas or cottage cheese go in there sometimes too.

Come to think, I put leftover anything in my protein shakes. They taste gross anyway. Can't get much worse.

[FistFullaRoux]

If they are producing an adult film nearby.... No. Skip that.

pudding. There are a bunch of pudding and dessert recipes out there. And who doesn't like dessert?

[curlywurlyfi]

home made chewy meringues, sandwiched with cream. mmmm. you can also make harder meringues, then crush them up a bit and stir them into double cream whipped with brandy (rum/kirsch/Cointreau/whatever) and a bit of icing sugar, freeze in a pudding basin and unmold for what my mother calls Snow Queen Bombe.

and of course, you could have the most beautifully clear stock in the history of the world.

Fi

[Rachel Perlow]

Don't souffles use nearly as many yolks as whites?

[laurel]

I get the impression that the yolks in souffles are mostly for fat and flavor, and because most people start with whole eggs. I've made successful souffles with half the yolks deleted. You can always add more butter or cheese if they're too light :)

[agnolottigirl]

Aren't dacquoises mostly egg white? You can layer with all kinds of bad-for-you-but-tasty fillings. . . ganache and buttercream spring to mind.

[Jon]

I'm about to bake and frost a large (wedding-scale) cake that calls for far more yolks than whole eggs. I expect to have at least a quart of egg whites left over. I don't ordinarily bake big cakes, so I'm new to this challenge. Other than meringue, what can I do with them? Savory suggestions especially appreciated.

[mkayahara]

How about souffle?

The other option is to freeze them; egg whites freeze remarkably well.

[PopsicleToze]

Angel food cake is a good use for leftover egg whites. Macaroons are also a typical way to use them up.

I can't think of anything savory except egg-white omelette. Maybe just poach the egg whites and use as a salad topping or something like that.

[Jon]

Hmm, never made a souffle before. My initial search turned up several recipes that use whole eggs rather than whites, but I'm sure I just need to look more carefully. Thanks for the ideas (sweet ones included).

[mkayahara]

Yeah, souffles often use the yolks to enrich the base, then fold in the beaten whites separately, but you can use the whites on their own. Julia Child gives a whites-only cheese souffle recipe in volume 1 of Mastering the Art. I've done a beet souffle in the past that used only the whites.