Thoughts on Meringues

The topics of eggs and foams are two of which I knew very little.  I read a lot about eggs that I did not publish on posts due to highly politized views on chickens, living conditions, chickens as biological factories, animal rights, and egg economics. Though fascinating, the material is beyond the scope of this blog. If any of these topics piques your interest, I encourage you to research further.

On the posts published, I found some of the figures outstanding:

• Some factories house up to 1 million egg-laying hens, and handle upwards of a million eggs daily.
• A hen expends 3% of her body weight to produce an egg.
• Hens produce around 250 eggs a year in the US.
• There are close to 300 million egg-laying hens in the US (and about 300 million people!)

In relation to foams, they have intrigued me since childhood. I remember wondering whether they were a solid or a liquid, and what made them so. Even now, as a scientist, I find them incredibly fascinating. To think that I can visualize proteins unfolding from their tightly bound structure by simply whisking away an egg white. How tightly packed they are to increase the volume eight-fold!

In terms of techniques, I haven't had much experience making meringues or mousses, but I recently made some macaroons that are similar. I use a pretty efficient stand up mixer, so I did not have any trouble getting stiff peaks, but I imagine that a lot of the trouble with such treats comes down to inefficient beating. It takes a while. If you attempt it by hand, it takes a long, long time. I read somewhere, "whip until both your arms get tired, then ask your neighbor to whip until her arms get tired too, and then some more." Just don't let it get dry or all your efforts have been in vain.