Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Tips For A Better Meringue Pie.

These tips were emailed to me yesterday, hope they help solve some of your problems with your meringues.

Many thanks to who emailed me. biggrin


"Troubleshooting Meringue - If you have a problem with meringue, follow one of these suggestions for solving it:

Weeping - When water seeps between the filling and the meringue, the pie is weeping. This is caused by spreading the meringue over a cool filling, which prevents the meringue from baking completely. Solution: Make sure the filling is hot, even boiling, before pouring it into the pie shell. Immediately spread the meringue over the filling. The hot filling will begin to cook the meringue from the bottom, ensuring even cooking throughout.

Beading - This happens when water droplets form tiny beads on the surface of the meringue. It's caused by over-baking the meringue. When egg whites bake too long, they begin to tighten, squeezing out little drops of moisture. Over-baking also produces a tough meringue. Solution: Bake meringues just until they are light brown and dry to the touch. Egg whites need to be cooked to 160 degrees F. but not so long that they are overdone.

Shrinkage - Meringues may shrink during baking, separating from the crust. This is caused by the meringue not clinging to the crust. Solution: Make sure the meringue is spread over the filling and touches the crust around the entire edge; do not leave any openings around the pie.

Limp or soggy - Humidity affects a meringue's texture. Damp, humid days may cause it to be limp and sticky. Solution: Ideally, meringues should be made on dry days. The cornstarch mixture used in these recipes helps them hold up under humid conditions, but to ensure success, plan to bake when it is less humid. "

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