meringues

[alanamoana]

hi everyone, just a quick question on meringue.

my chef wants me to make a meringue. sounds simple. he wants it to be crispy on the outside and sort of chewy on the inside. so, i made a pavlova type of meringue. he then said, no, that's not right it shouldn't be marshmallow-y in the middle. so i made more and baked them longer. he said, still not right, they should be almost hollow in the middle.

does anybody know of a way to make a meringue that is crispy on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside but mostly hollow? is this a pipe-dream?

p.s. thanks in advance for the help

Edited February 19, 2004 by alanamoana (log)

[pastrymama]

I've made them that way a few times, but it was because my meringue was sitting around a little too long and had begun to get soft. It was just French meringue. I thought it was a mistake when it happened, maybe I was wrong and it was actually a culinary secret I stumbled across.

[nightscotsman]

Maybe you could do a dacquoise or macaron type batter? But then, I don't know if your boss would accept a bit of nut flour for the chewy aspect.

[gus_tatory]

he wants it to be crispy on the outside and sort of chewy on the inside. so, i made a pavlova type of meringue. he then said, no, that's not right it shouldn't be marshmallow-y in the middle. so i made more and baked them longer. he said, still not right, they should be almost hollow in the middle.

hi alanamoana:

i asked a similar question at the eGullet Culinary Institute, and the (i think correct) answer was lower heat, longer time. i have not tested it yet.

the link for the meringue course @ eGCI is here. it's part B; part A is omelettes.

but it sounds like you know what you're doing, and meringue is capricious, reacting to temperature, humidity, surfaces, oils, etc. or perhaps it's your Chef that's capricious.

that said, i'm no expert, and i have yet to make a meringue that i am 100% satisfied with. but good luck anyway, and let us know if you find the key.

[Wendy DeBord]

Sounds to me that he'd like the effect that freezing has on a dry meringue. Make your meringue as usual assemble your torte, freeze, defrost and your meringue will be just what you described.

A dacquoise would be much thinner, it doesn't hollow-which happens in a completely dry baked meringue...and a macaroon would be far chewier.

[NVNVGirl]

I made one like that last night. Unfortunately, it was on top of a lemon pie. I've never had this experience before, but I used about 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar to 7 egg whites, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, about the same amount of cornstarch and whipped it till not quite stiff peaks formed. I baked it aqt 300 deg. F till it was browned, but it was crunchy sort of on the outside and dry on the inside...not what I was wanting at all.

[alanamoana]

nvnvgirl, i think using the cornstarch was your mistake...that's usually included in pavlova recipes probably to get the crispy exterior and softer interior...for meringue for pies, you can use almost any other kind, just leave out the cornstarch ...better luck next time.

[Wendy DeBord]

Well you got part of your merginuefor your pie right, but your method was wrong. I've only read on this topic (I don't do alot of merginue pies)-I believe both "What Enstien told his cook" and definately "The Bakers Dozen" covers the use of cornstarch in meringue pie tops throughly. The later, has a web site and if your luckly they may have instructions and a recipe posted.

As I understand you have to cook the cornstarch with liquid, let it cool- then you add it to your whipping whites. This use of cornstarch in meringues for pies is supposed to work fab. it stops the bleed-out.

There's been a few studies of this topic attempting to make meringue using several methods. Then you also have to add in the baking factor while can ruin even a perfect meringue. Both over baking and underbaking will make it bleed. BUT as far as I've read CORNSTARCH is the magic answer to meringue pies.

[Aussie_Gusto]

Youneed to find out what he is wanting..A meringue for a pie, is baked and soft in the middle yet the pavlova is baked in a 'cool' oven and cooled in the actual oven. You will attain a crispy shell, with a marshmallow centre (once the exterior of the centre is cracked - it willbe a fluffy type of light mallow (not the traditonal mallow)- I would callit a sticky sot melt in the mouth mallow! hahaha

One of the secrets is to add some brown vinegar to the whites

but cool oven to cook and cool it in the oven.