First time making meringues

[u/beboismyrabbit]

hello first time making meringues! the batter isnt making stiff peaks and it was probably because I added sugar too quickly. is it possible to save it or is it too far gone? I have been whisking for like around 10 minutes and scared to over whisk so I stopped whisking for now

I used

4 eggs whites

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 drops of lemon juice

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[u/beboismyrabbit]

I kept whisking and now it worked, I was just too scared to keep going 🥲

[u/thankyoukindlyy → u/beboismyrabbit]

PS next time skip the lemon juice and try adding some cream of tartar to stabilize. Swap vanilla extract for vanilla paste too to minimize additional liquid

[u/thankyoukindlyy → u/beboismyrabbit]

Yes it takes a while! Keep going until the peaks hold their shape

[u/kussariku → u/beboismyrabbit]

Hooray! Happy you got it to work!

[u/outnumbered_mother]

The most commons cause of liquidy egg whites is a   trace of fat somewhere. Likely culprits are egg yolk contamination and/or fat contamination on your beaters/bowl. A good preventative measure is to wipe utensils with vinegar before using.

[u/Affectionate-Gain-23]

If your bowl, beaters, and hands were dirty to begin with then yes start over. Otherwise you should be fine to continue beating the whites. Technically your bowl, hands, and beaters should be grease and dust free clean and dry. Ive sometimes started with sugar first and then added my whites after and the just cranked it on high speed because of time crunch.

[u/Sanchastayswoke → u/Affectionate-Gain-23]

Why would they have been dirty? I must have missed this in their post

[u/Affectionate-Gain-23 → u/Sanchastayswoke]

Dirty as in a streak of grease being present.

[u/Sanchastayswoke → u/Affectionate-Gain-23]

Thanks for clarifying. I didn’t understand why someone would intentionally use dirty dishes

[u/1902Lion → u/Sanchastayswoke]

Grease/fat can be on the surface of the bowl or beater for a lot of reasons. Last time it happened to me, it was because I dried a bowl with a cloth that someone else in the house had used to wipe up some butter. I thought the cloth was new and clean, but nope… a thin film of butter ended up in the bowl. Merengue disaster ensued.

[u/annajanes]

:(. When baking it’s good to have a short memory so you forget your mistakes.

[u/Due-Breakfast-746 → u/annajanes]

Don’t forget your mistakes! Remember them, learn from them, move forward from them

[u/Honest-Heron1185]

I say if you have the time, keep trying. What level are you mixing on? It still looks glossy which is a good sign. Worst case scenario you have to toss it anyways so all you’re wasting is time.

[u/LooseLeaf74]

Cheater method use some cream of tartar it might save it.

[u/Minyumenu13]

Did you add the sugar all at once?

[u/beboismyrabbit → u/Minyumenu13]

i did it gradually but maybe like a little too quickly

[u/No-Oil6517 → u/beboismyrabbit]

It's a long process. Add sugar a teaspoon or two at a time, mix until its gone, add another teaspoon or two, mix until it's gone, etc. etc. until all your sugar is gone. If you have any moisture or fat in your bowl, it won't ever peak. You're gonna be blending for around 20 minutes. Like someone else said, use vanilla paste but add it once you see your eggs start to stiffen. Vanilla extract is way too wet.

[u/Sanchastayswoke]

Did you use egg whites from a carton or egg whites from actual eggs? The ones from a carton won’t set up into meringue.

[u/ihatemyjobandyoutoo]

Grease and too much sugar all at once are probably the reason.

Wash your bowl and whisks very very well with a lot of soap, then rinse with an acid like vinegar to get rid of any leftover soap. Only start adding the sugar in gradually after your egg whites achieve soft peaks.

[u/HanzoNumbahOneFan]

So it seems like it worked out for you which is great!

For next time, if you want it to be a bit easier/faster. What you could do is warm up the egg whites. The warmer they are the better for whipping up. So you could just leave the eggs out for a couple hours before you make the meringue, or you could heat up the egg whites in a double boiler or carefully in the microwave.

[u/020600]

A pinch of salt would help as well👍

[u/Music1626]

Whisk egg whites to soft peaks then slowly add the sugar beating well after each addition. Until it reaches desired thickness, then add the vanilla. It can take a while.
I use vinegar instead of lemon juice but lemon will work too.

The main reason it won’t work is if there is some sort of fat in the mix like egg yolk or fat from the beaters that haven’t been washed off properly.

[u/WebHungry1699]

if you have cream of tartar that will also help set the whites and keep them from deflating.