It all began out of love. Or so it seems, why the origin of this light delight as one cloud and sugared like a sugared almond it is shrouded in mystery, with a large margin left to the imagination, especially of the most romantic souls. Tradition has it that the meringue recipe was invented in XVIII century from a pastry chef Swiss to win the heart of Princess Maria, daughter of the Polish king Stanislaus Leszczynski, already betrothed to Louis XV. Whether or not the brave pastry chef managed to kidnap the heart of the future sovereign of France we do not know, but he certainly conquered her palate, so much so as to push the girl to personally meet the creator of that delight. The meeting took place in the city of Meiringen, in Switzerland, from which the name would later derive. Whatever happened, this candid, frothy and crumbly dessert conquered everything in a short time Europe.

A great classic in three variants
The secret of the meringue is in a impalpable ingredient, but fundamental: the lower case air bubbles incorporated by egg white when slammed with it sugar, which increase the volume up to 8 times. Depending on the moment in which the sugar is incorporated into the egg whites and the temperatures reached during processing, they are distinguished three types of meringue: Italian, French And Swiss. More crumbly or compact, ready to use or to dry in the oven, each with an ideal use, as we explain in the pages of the service.

We love the Italian one
Also called "cooked" meringue, is prepared by adding flush one boiling syrup from water And sugar on partially whipped egg whites (usually the amount of sugar is double that of egg whites, although the proportions may vary depending on the recipes); the mixture is then whipped again until cooling.

Important for making the perfect meringue
The crucial step in this preparation is the cooking sugar at 120 ° (a kitchen thermometer is essential). At this temperature, the sugar syrup dissolves better once it is incorporated: due to the effect of the heat, part of the water contained in the egg whites evaporates, the foam swells and the syrup, with a viscous consistency, keeps the mixture cohesive. With this sort of "pasteurization" you get one soft meringue, elastic and very stable, ready to use (without the need for baking): it is ideal for decorating tarts or meringue cakes (in this case it will be enough to brown it for a few minutes under the grill or flame it with a torch). Due to its stability it is also suitable for the preparation of ice creams, mousse or as a basis for parfaits, which can be eaten immediately, without removing them from the freezer first, because they remain soft enough to be cut and served even at the last moment. The cooked meringue can be used even after several hours, without it coming apart.

February 2022
by Silvia Tatozzi