Finding the Perfect Meringue Recipe - Kitchen Conundrums with Thomas Joseph

[@derekl4623]

cream of tartar is and acid and its used for stabilising the meringue.. its not necessary for italian or swiss meringue as they are generally more stable than french meringue. to sum things up, French is the least stable, they are normally used for leavening purposes such as for sponge cakes. why? because it is easier to fold into batters as it is less stable (air bubbles breaks easier and the meringue collapse easier) so it is advise to fold quicker but more gently to prevent too much of the air bubbles from breaking. swiss meringue and italian meringue are mostly used for making buttercream or macarons as they are much more stable and are even used for finishing products. as heat are involved, the protein in the egg whites are somewhat cooked which helps in structure as well as lower the chances of the meringue from collapsing. the reason why there moisture between the meringue and the curd or tart is because french meringue are less stable, so the air bubbles in the egg white breaks or collapses which causes the egg white to lose structure and moisture to escape. like from meringue becoming back into egg whites .sugar isnt really the culprit for "weeping" as egg whites are the ones that contains water not sugar. just think of it as " egg white is whipped to incorporate air with the help of sugar(stabilising effect) to form meringue" but if the meringue is not so stable, then air escapes and the meringue turns back into egg whites as it collapses" Why people prefer to use Italian or swiss meringue for macaron is because when folding meringue into the dry mixture, the meringue collapses in the process, if french meringue is used, there is a higher chances of having a very loose and watery mixture instead of a consistency require for macaron which is to hold its shape when piped without having that peak or becoming too watery and the mixture spreads too much. italian meringue is prefered as it is more stable so it holds it shape better, however depending on the recipe, some might need more folding to get the right consistency. over whipping egg whites causes the meringue to collapse, so once you reach stiff peaks, dont whip any more, its like a balloon, when it reaches the maximum capacity for it to hold all the air, it bursts.

[@GataMeowMeow]

+Derek Lam WJ So I don´t have to find a substitute for cream of tartar for italian meringue (they don't sell it in my country)? Can I just ignore that step and I'll get the same result?

[@derekl4623]

+Catalina Franco yes its not necessary to use cream of tartar, you dont have to use it if you dont have it :)

[@mahakikitchen4089]

well said, thank you

[@TheRealFaceyNeck]

I know this is an old post and you might already have found an answer, but I wanted to add: Cream of Tartar is used because it's acidic, so you can use an equal amount of lemon juice, or even vinegar. (Depends on the cook; some say the water in the juice messes up the ratio, most think it's fine.) Cheers!

[@eshakhanna5490]

Facey Neck So basically if it says a tsp of cream of tartar, I would substitute it with a tsp of lemon juice or vinegar?

[@sophie27-m6r]

I made lemon meringue pie with French method and had that problem. Now I know why!! Thank you so much!!

[@tomasgrimm3086]

Conundrum: I´d like to know the different methods to temper chocolate, and how they would apply to the different types of chocolates. I mostly fail when tempering chocolate and I can´t get a firm shiny and snappy chocolate when it´s cooled

[@derekl4623]

Tomas Grimm , based on what i’ve learned in culinary school, temperature and type of chocolate used are most important. You can be using the “seeding” method to temper or the “table” method but if the type of chocolate used is wrong or temperature is wrong, you will not get a properly tempered chocolate. Use good quality couverture chocolate. Look at the ingredients and make sure that theres no vegetable fat added, ingredients should have cocoa butter as that is affect the tempering of the chocolate. Milk, white and dark chocolate have different temperature for tempering. Make sure you follow the correct temperature range for your type of chocolate. Also make sure you are tempering in a cool environment. This will help you determine if you chocolate is tempered correct as after you are done tempering, take a piece of wax paper or parchment paper or even a clean metal spoon, spread some chocolate on the paper/spoon and leave it on the counter for a few min, if it hardens and sets , this means that your chocolate is well tempered. Some people adds additional Cocoa butter to help create that additional snap/shine and it makes the tempering easier as well.

[@shweetshtuff21]

Italian meringue is to much work, but I'm loving the Swiss option. So glad you posted this. Last summer was so frustrating when I started making key lime pies. Didn't want the whites to go to waste so I made meringue but the result was a puddly mess.

[@MACTackleBox]

You are adorable!! And....very analytical - the perfect combination! Love this video and will certainly start make lemon pies again now that I know what was causing all that weeping. Thank you!!

[@justinplanken9415]

Cool video, really fun to see the different techniques.

[@dianneperkins4094]

I need to see a lemon meringue made by you,please. Love to watch you.

[@tenshi0019]

Wish I had found your channel before spending years making different meringues and experimenting with what made the best macarons and what made the best topping for stuff like lemon meringue lol would’ve saved me so much time and tears

[@dasargilamauloeapa]

Though i haven't try the italian meringue. I still love with Swiss meringue in texture & teqnique

[@TheKawaiiDango]

0:28 French Meringue 1:02 Swiss Meringue 1:36 Italian Meringue

[@helpfulnatural]

This is so helpful! I live in an area that's very humid in the summer which of course, is when the family is clammering for lemon meringue pie.

[@singe0diabolique]

I used this Italian meringue recipe as a basis for a buttercream. It turned out amazing!

[@CrlsE094]

That Torch is a must. I tried with the Italian Meringue and put it on an electric oven on broil mode so that the heat comes from the Top In order to brown the meringue. Somehow all water from the Sugar Syrup goes back to the lemon cream filling when doing so, I literally got the same amount of liquid I used in the Italian Meringue. Cream of tartar is also a must, I tried with lemon and I guess that the lemon adds more liquid for the weep.

[@erinflores6989]

I though only I had this problem. Thanks so much of your help

[@preetivasudevan5500]

You are too good ..love every video..ty thomas

[@lindsaydrawsss]

I never knew little changes like that make such a big difference! Thanks for the lesson! :)

[@rinanakamata1980]

well done!!! I really wanted to know about which one is best for the pie so, thank you so much!!

[@winter2625]

Great video! Very helpful to see the difference between all three.

[@saulo1958]

Thomas, could you please teach us how to make perfect Chantilly frosting. What is the right heavy cream to use in regards to the fat concentration, and how to help it to stay stiff longer. I also want to than you for sharing you knowledge you are an excellent instructor. Regards.

[@masoomehtanghatari8750]

you are the best.really the best.thanks for your helpful guids

[@sarahelmiraroystershelton1888]

Mr Joseph, I really appreciate your educational videos :) keep them coming!

[@Piboon11]

What a clever experiment! You are a very smart baker. I've seen you on Martha a few times and now I am a fan of yours. ... Best wishes from Bangkok, Thailand

[@zh9931]

Thanks for sharing!!!

[@SaharaM18]

Thank you for making a video... I didn't know there were different ways to make meringue. I recently made a pie where the meringue came out of the oven so badly (weeping so much) it was curdling the otherwise perfect pudding. Now I know! I'm off to the kitchen to try again!

[@darlenerothenay6251]

What are your thoughts as a chef on the addition of cornstarch for stabilizing the egg whites?

[@mahashahid2388]

thankyou so much for ur conundrums they r best. please teach us how to make cream cheese for cheese cakes. thanx once again

[@narf1070]

This was so cool! I usually only do French, but I'll have to dabble with Swiss more. I like Italian, but I ignore it because it's a little more work lol.

[@chrysanths6395]

Thanks so much Thomas!

[@jatinderbanga]

Well done and thank you.

[@Themoneychannelx]

Love this! wil try!! do you use pasteurized eggs for this? or is it ok to use normal eggs and the torch cooks the merengue? does it cook it all the way? thank you!

[@Nienke955]

Italian meringue is also great to use in sorbets to make sure it stays airy for longer. Aslo, if you want to be able to get the eggs heated thoroughly enough so they can be considered safe (in case you live in an area where eating raw eggs is unsafe due to high risk of salmonella, or if you or one of your guests is in a risk group that can suffer extra badly from salmonella such as pregnant women, children, elderly, and anyone with a weakened immune system in general) then you need to heat your sugar syrup to hardball temperatures (122C, not sure about the how much F that would be) so that there is enough heat to kill any possible salmonella bacteria

[@ThunderWolf731]

salmonella only present in yolk

[@anareis8770]

not true!! Salmonella can be present in the eggs from 3 different ways. First, transovarial contamination, where the chicken itself is contaminated and the eggs get contaminated in the ovaries. Second, oviductal contamination where the egg is contaminated in the chicken's oviduct, and third, after the egg has been laid. In the first one, all of the egg is contaminated. In the last two, only the shell is contaminated, which means that it can only reach the egg if, when breaking, the inside on the egg touches the shell. Since very often it does occur, pasteurized eggs, egg yolks or egg whites should always be used when baking or making something that is not cooked up to 75ºC

[@tomjerry9668]

Nienke Fleur Luchtmeijer can i use italian meringue for sponge cake batter?

[@alliemollie]

This is SO helpful!!!

[@shalinimunshi7315]

LOVE! I don't think anyone could have explained this better!! :D

[@LGCblessed]

Excellent job! Thank you for posting : )

[@IamIceQueen7]

How to eliminate the smell of eggs in recipes like angel food cake and recipes that require a lot of eggs or egg whites !? This series is amazing

[@jimmyfong2202]

IamIceQueen7 check on aqua faba, its a type of leavening agent like egg whites, same properties but not eggs, that should tp the trick...hopefully you find it useful

[@joegilanjoegilan3416]

it's easy just add more vanilla essence or extract

[@wafaakd3544]

You can put a spoon of white vinegar to eliminate the smell of eggs

[@IamIceQueen7]

@@wafaakd3544 changes the structure of meringue, happened to me before

[@fatimaahmed8855]

adding vanilla extract if the recipe doesn't require any or adding more to a recipe that does require it helps eliminate the egg smell and taste. Works very well for me!

[@classicvanilla]

[@ariel3725]

Interesting. Now I understand the difference between the three. My mom used to make the French Meringue for our cakes when I was a kid. I've seen the Italian Meringue been made before, and the Swiss one is just new to me. I'm learning more and more on every video that I watch here. I love it. thanks!

[@titalinda9093]

Excelle nt. I have always made my merengues with your last example. I. thought it was the only way. Here in Chile we love merengues. I cannot find Cream of Tartar here, is there a replacement? Thank you for teaching us so many good things¡,,

[@MegaVincentChan]

Thank you for this. It is very informative. Does using swiss or italian meringue solve the problem of the meringue "sweating"? I have had issues with little beads of sugar drops coming through the surface of the meringue after resting in the refrigerator.

[@niqa74]

I liked that thank you! Very informative! Keep them coming. I enjoy your videos. They educate me too. :)

[@emalinel]

Actually now that you bring this matter up, which is the best method for macarons? I've heard that sometimes the Italian or swiss method tends to make a less crisper cooker or such. Or if not, could you tell us which techniques are usually good for which desserts? (Like for pavlovas, pies, etc.)

[@hopecox]

Thank you!!

[@GeorgiaAndrea]

This is very informative!

[@MyFairDiva]

Can you help me with the making of Italian and Swiss Meringue Buttercream?? Thank you!

[@aarthid85]

Hi Thomas Joseph! I tried making french meringue with 5 egg whites & 1 cup powdered sugar. After about 15 minutes of piping the mix started becoming grainy n did not look smooth n shiny as at first. Any suggestions? TIA.

[@AIIin1]

I was wondering , which is better? An analog candy thermometer or a digital candy thermometer?

[@claudiamartindelcampo2300]

Hi I have a business and I’m making lemon merengue tart So I see the Italian merengue is the best !! How long will it hold his shape thank you 😊

[@MrLinushka]

omg i wish you could upload a video everyday!!!!!

[@walnutcreekjg1385]

girl me 2

[@DonnaBorooah]

I just love Swiss Meringue.

[@TramanhNgocNguyen414]

Can you show us what to do with Almond meal after we make almond milk?

[@celinelam6369]

Please make a video on how to make cakes or cupcakes moist and fluffy. Thanks and have a great day!

[@sofiacpichardo]

Hello! which kitchen torch brand do you recommend?

[@johnscanlan9335]

Thomas here's a serious question: I live in Las Vegas, which is about 2500 ft above sea level. What's your advice on making meringues in higher altitudes? I've using the Swiss method when I make a Pavlova because French meringues completely collapse.

[@Scandypurple]

I love ur channel

[@lanemoje87]

Amazing

[@MissKiwicute]

can you show us how to make a foolproof cheese sauce for fondue and such things?

[@Random-zk4kk]

That's funny. In my country, we bake the meringue with the lemon curd in the pie shell.

[@stillhuntre55]

We do too (Canada) - at least thats what i grew up with...but not to "cook" - the crust is baked blind - just tp brown the merangue

[@pamelapadilla77]

hi thomas, i wanna know if i can make meringue cookies with italian meringue instead of the french or the swiss ones. i want to achieve the same result: crunchy on the outside buy chewy on the inside! thank u in advance! ❤️

[@trang.pham1289]

Please, could you tell me more about the correct temperature to baking meringue cookies?

[@tray22nc]

Great, now I want lemon meringue! :)

[@MrPetfre]

wow! Perfect!

[@alinanoona]

Demonstrate how to make pate brise in miniature size mold. Thanks, Conundrums!

[@ruchellequintero2012]

Hi, I was wondering if you could help with melting white chocolate. No matter how many videos I watch and I many different ways I melt the chocolate, it always gets really firm. I can't get that smooth texture and when I color it, it gets to be unworkable. I am trying to dip cake pops. Thanks :)

[@nabeelasarwarkhan1277]

can you explain which meringue is the most suitable for pavlova?

[@modavisa123]

Thank you so much Thomas, this always happen to my meringues. Problem solved!

[@brer319]

Hello Thomas Joseph, when I was watching your videos in the Martha Stewart page, I can't leave a comment, actually there are no comments in there. Good thing I found this page. I have a kitchen conundrum. How to properly re-heat (in the microwave) delicate foods for next day's office lunch? Examples: Spaghetti Carbonara, Moulles Frites etc. I usually cook extra servings at night so my hubby can bring it to work the next day, but for spaghetti carbonara, I don't know what to do since it is barely cooked.

[@zammel]

please please please pleeease demonstrate which meringue is the perfect method for baking macaron.... french? or Italian?

[@jijake1977]

Well think about it macaron is a french pastry so... Plus he already has a macaron video

[@kellynrodriguez2976]

Had a problem with Italian meringue. I did it, it seemed great buuuut then, I added powder sugar, just a tiny bit and it fell, it ooked almost liquid. I kept beating but no case. I lost it. Can't you add powder sugar or cacao to meringue? Thank you in advance. I ove these videos-

[@irenes2495]

Can you please make a video on how to make sponge cakes? My sponge cakes are always dense :(

[@a.r.n9363]

Cream cheese buttercream frosting too runny. Can you share any tips? thank you!

[@geniceooi]

What about a french macaron conundrum? The ratio of eggs to sugar and eggs to almond flour? And, the difference between italian and french meringue.

[@zuhayrmustun4589]

+Genice Ooi there's a recipe for french macarons.

[@kostassiozos6293]

French meringue is the authentic one and most easy and convenient method to everyone of the amatuer cooks.The Swiss and Italian meringues are more stable meringues coz they are heated just enough to denature the proteins.Pastry chefs prefer the Italian bu the problem with the Italian method is how it can go really easy wrong if you let the syrup cool even the slightest on the way to pouring into the egg whites coz it crystalizes very fast and you must waste all your eggs. But seriously who swings his tarts to see if they are stable?

[@BakeOnForEver]

how do you make perfectly smooth milk shakes and smoothies?

[@lm5952]

how to know the best ratio between flour and yeast when making pizza, pie, ... and what is the best ratio between flour and baking powder when making cake, cup cake, ... and what is self raising flour and why we sometimes use baking soda instead of baking powder and what is the ratio in this case between flour, baking soda and lemon or vinegar

[@jamesanthony5874]

I remember a while back reading (and making) a recipe called a chocolate dispersion. Effectively you blended egg whites and chocolate, then cooked the mixture. The egg whites formed a sort of sponge that would contain the chocolate keeping it from falling out of suspension. Is that basically what's happening here?

[@laylacookeettinghausen144]

Where can I get the lemon tart recipe from please??

[@GlykoAlmyro]

do you have a recipe for the tart base?

[@drumfan83]

I would like to use an Italian meringue for my macarons but can not accurately temp the syrup because I am using such a small amount (80~100g) that I can not temp it without the candy thermometer touching the bottom of the pot ... I have seen some people say an Italian meringue can be whipped so I could do 3 batches, one after the other, and end up with a better volume to temp ... how long can it be stored before it is rewhipped and should it be stored I'm the fridge or on the counter? I also found a reference somewhere online to a 4th type of meringue, a "Spanish" meringue (not Swiss) but I can not find any detailed directions or measurements, just a description saying it is basically a french but has more sugar and is baked at a higher temp when used in macarons. Do you have any clue about how to do it and the ingredient measurements and bake temp? Thanks! Great video :) Aubrey

[@mario_kreuzer]

how do you make those tartlet shells?

[@MissElisabelle]

Why is there less cream under the Swiss meringue and the Italian meringue? They should have the same amount as the tart with the French meringue. The first two meringues are touching the crust directly, this may help to prevent them from sliding side to side.

[@rauldukeduke3040]

how many minutes does it take to get to soft ball stage on medium heat? I dont have the thermometer.

[@isabelbark1618]

How long does the italian meringue last once on the lemon pie?

[@Sasha-n1h9s]

my super teacher !!!!

[@zachonetwothree]

Question here: I noticed you didn't apply any heat to the French until the torch. Is there a risk of food borne illness with uncooked egg in this case?

[@ArtIsDrawing]

can you show us how to make the filling for the pie please? Thanks

[@java53079]

Can you share a good cheesecake recipe?

[@MrClemmo13]

Can I make meringue with maple syrup instead of sugar?

[@anniechoy8667]

Is there a fixed ratio of egg whites n sugar?

[@chloewood820]

Next kitchen conundrum- which merangue is best for baked alasksa

[@irvinge6590]

I've been doing the French one all these times, can i use the Swiss method to make Macarons ? Would love to try it ! :D

[@UtkalChronicles]

Can we add honey instead of sugar ?

[@BaddieBayy]

can you show us how to make french macarons please?

[@minnikoivumaki6547]

The secret of chewy and soft choc chip cookies?

[@jenilynn9899]

The proportion of brown sugar vs white sugar

[@rosiefoster8106]

Wish I had watched this video before! Btw, many people use no cream of tartar; some use salt instead. Can you show how to do that without cream of tartar?

[@Evnaaa]

I think you can also use lemon juice as a substitute as it is acidic and also stabilizes the egg whites. I use cream of tartar but i don't think it's worth going out of your way to buy if you don't already have it

[@Pikachuwhereareyou]

is there a way to get that toasty brown glaze to it _without_ the torch?

[@kayleighc3159]

you could probably put it in the oven on broil

[@Pikachuwhereareyou]

+Kayleigh C oh ok, I'll look that method up, thanks!

[@ximenaalvarez893]

Hola

[@rakhibhossain6982]

Is that hot sugar syrup?

[@dftexmexfik3306]

I have tried many times to make and use a sourdough starter. The first couple of months it's great, but then the starter becomes just too sour and my family hates it, so I throw the starter out and start over. How can I keep this from happening?

[@countybunkin6591]

Can you please do chocolate chip cookies with a crackle top, I can only get sugar cookies to crackle, but in my local bakery, their peanut butter have crackles as well as their chocolate chip cookies. All of my trials gave failed.

[@BarryFromEastenders]

In thuis and all of your other videos, when u mention any temp, I presume you're talking in FH and not Celsius?