What is Meringue?

Meringue refers to a mixture of whipped egg whites and sugar and the light sweet confections made from this mixture when it's oven-baked. Recipes might call for a specific type of meringue.

The three main types are: ordinary meringue (the simplest, sometimes called meringue Suisse, which is just egg whites and sugar whisked until stiff); Italian meringue, which is made with a hot sugar syrup; and cooked meringue, which is made by whisking the egg whites with icing sugar in a bowl set over simmering water.

Meringue is used as a topping on pies and tarts as in lemon meringue pie or Baked Alaska - a thin sponge base topped with ice cream then covered in meringue and baked. Or it can be piped into shapes or spooned into nest shapes then baked in a low oven to make meringues. These then form the component of various dishes such as Eton mess - crushed meringues mixed with raspberries or strawberries and cream, or pavlova - a large meringue nest topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

Meringue can be crisp and dry throughout or crisp outside and marshmallowy inside depending on the ratio of sugar to egg whites and the temperature at which the meringue is baked. They keep for a good few weeks in an airtight container. The Food Standards Agency recommends that pasteurised egg should be used in any dish in which the egg won't be completely cooked. Pasteurised egg is available in frozen, liquid or powder form and eggs pasteurised in their shells are also available.