Meringue powder is a dried comfort product used for baking and adorning candy treats. Yow will discover this ingredient in royal icing, meringue cookies, and stabilizing frostings.

Desk of Contents

1. What’s meringue powder?
2. What’s it used for?
3. How you can use it
4. What’s an alternative to meringue powder?
5. The place to purchase it
6. Recipes to strive

Veteran residence bakers typically have a small canister of meringue powder stashed of their pantries as a fast substitute for egg whites. I take advantage of it for baking gentle, and crisp meringue treats or whipping up sugar cookie icing to make edible decorations. 

This dried product is great to make use of if you end up weary about consuming uncooked egg whites in some baked treats. Let’s study extra about what goes into meringue powder and customary methods on how one can use it.

What’s meringue powder?

This product primarily consists of pasteurized dried egg whites which can be floor right into a high-quality powder. Nevertheless, it additionally accommodates different components comparable to:

• Cornstarch to assist take up moisture throughout storage
• Sugar for sweetness
• Gum arabic for thickening 
• Calcium sulfate as a desiccant to maintain the powder dry 
• Silicon dioxide to assist the powder circulate 
• Citric acid and potassium acid tartrate (cream of tartar) for stabilization of the egg foam

What’s it used for?

When a recipe requires whipped egg whites that maintain stiff peaks, this powder can do the job. Uncooked egg whites are the gold customary, however it is a appropriate different. Royal icing, piped meringue cookies, the topping on lemon meringue pies, or pavlova are examples. A small quantity additionally stabilizes frostings in order that they maintain their piped design and form with out weeping.

There are a number of downsides to meringue powder. Not all components fully dissolve in water. So you could get a barely grainy texture. On prime of that, it doesn’t create billowy and strong foam in comparison with utilizing recent egg whites because the drying course of weakens its bonding and foaming functionality.

How you can use it

• To substitute one egg white: Mix 2 tablespoons of meringue powder with 2 tablespoons of water. 
• For royal icing: Mix 4 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, and 9 tablespoons heat water. Whip utilizing the whisk attachment on medium-low velocity till a glue-like consistency kind. Whip on medium-high velocity for an extra 1 to 2 minutes to make stiff peaks for a thicker icing to assemble a gingerbread home.
• For stabilizing frostings: Relying on the frosting sort, the quantities and the way it’s added fluctuate. A small quantity (about 1 tablespoon) is added dry as soon as the butter and sugar have been creamed collectively for buttercream frosting. For whipped cream, about 1 tablespoon can stabilize 1 cup; add it after the cream begins to foam.
• Adorning: Use meals coloring or coloured gels when making meringue-based icing or frostings. Use piping baggage, suggestions, or squeeze bottles for creating intricate designs.

What’s an alternative to meringue powder?

The perfect substitute is recent, pasteurized egg whites as a result of it has one of the best foaming functionality. Nevertheless, in the event you don’t need to devour a uncooked product, it ought to be prevented. Powdered egg whites work however must be rehydrated and don’t have pre-added sugar or stabilizer. You should use aquafaba or whipped liquid from cooking canned chickpeas, however they might have a extra savory style.

The place to purchase it

Many giant grocery shops or craft shops promote small containers of meringue powder. They’re fairly reasonably priced and sometimes bought in 4 ounce or giant sizes with a shelf lifetime of about two years. After all, you will discover them on-line, I take advantage of the Wilton model.

Recipes to strive