Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Perfecting meringue

Meringue is so easy to make when all the atmospheric conditions are perfect. Add in too much heat and humidity though and you might as well have skipped it altogether. I learned a tip many years ago while living in Houston from a friend from England. Apparently in the UK they make a meringue sugar, I think it is also called castor sugar, that is fine and puffy like our powdered sugar but does not contain cornstarch. This finely ground sugar melts instantly into the beaten egg whites. To make your own version place the amount of sugar called for in your recipe into a clean, dry blender. Pulse the blender to until the sugar powders. You may have to tilt it from side to side or stop and scrape down the sides once or twice. Voila! another tip that works for me.