Say Goodbye to Weeping Meringue with These Amazing Test Kitchen Tips (2024)

FAQs

Does cream of tartar keep meringue from weeping? ›

The bottom line: For smooth, stiff beaten egg whites that keep their shape, don't skip the cream of tartar. If you don't have cream of tartar, substituting 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar per egg white works almost as well. To avoid meringues that weep, don't skip the cream of tartar...

Add cornstarch to the meringue to stabilize it.

Cornstarch helps the meringue keep its shape, making it a good ingredient addition if you're worried about your meringue weeping. Add about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of cornstarch into the meringue as you're whipping it so it will absorb some of the extra moisture.

Meringue pies will ''weep'' water because of the interaction between the filling and the whipped meringue. If one or the other is overcooked, water beads will form and weep. Egg whites can also weep if they are over-beaten or are from old eggs. Refrigeration (unfortunately) speeds up the process of weeping—oops!

A small amount of cream of tartar or vinegar can be added to the mixture at the beginning of whipping to help stabilize the foam and make it less likely to collapse. Don't use plastic bowls—they can retain a film of fat from previously mixed or stored items that can deflate the meringue.

Fixing runny meringue is usually as simple as whisking more air into the mixture and waiting for it to develop stiff peaks. You can also add another egg white or a teaspoon of cornstarch to get the mix to the consistency you need.

Cornstarch: Cornstarch is an excellent way to foolproof your meringue. Use it to create added fluff and keep your hard-won volume from shrinking. Cream of Tartar: Often added in when making meringues, acidic cream of tartar provides lift and stabilization.

Keep in mind that more cream of tartar doesn't necessarily mean a better, more stable result. “Too much cream of tartar will impart a metallic, tin-like taste,” Molly warns.

What is a Good Cream of Tartar Substitute when Making Meringues? You can substitute lemon juice for cream of tartar when making meringues. The substitution ratio is 1:2 — for your recipe's measurement of cream of tartar, use double that amount of lemon juice.

Reheating: If your cookies have taken on moisture, you can try baking them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 10 minutes at 200°F to dry them out again.

Over whip the egg whites and you risk making them too firm and they will risk losing the moisture that they hold. This will affect your meringue's crispness, as well as making it more likely to collapse or weep beads of sugar. As my meringue guru Gary Mehigan advises: “If you over whip the egg whites you cannot fix it.

Can you save a weeping meringue? ›

If your meringue does weep, you can try to absorb some of the moisture by gently blotting it with a paper towel. This works especially well for removing beads of moisture on top of your meringue.

Any meringue topping for a lemon meringue pie will tend to weep after a day or so as the pie needs to be kept in the fridge and the slightly humid environment of the fridge plus the damp surface of the lemon filling will cause some of the sugar in the meringue to liquefy and seep out.

The trick is to store the baked, cooled meringues in the freezer, where the dry, cold air prevents them from attracting moisture and losing their crispness. This means you can make plain meringue cookies anytime, yes, but you'll also have so many other desserts waiting at your fingertips.

If your meringue is weeping it is most likely that your sugar syrup was not boiled to the correct temperature before adding to the egg whites. You need a sugar (candy) thermometer to monitor the temperature of the sugar syrup and it needs to be cooked to soft ball stage (120c or 248F) before it is added to the whites.

Acid. Whether it be vinegar, lemon juice, cream of tartar, or a combination, an acid will greatly improve the structure of meringue. Acid not only helps meringue whip up and aerate more quickly, it also keeps it stable. Without acid, meringue is more likely to collapse either during or after mixing.

One of the most common mistakes is not beating the eggs long enough, or on too slow a speed, which means the egg whites won't reach stiff peak stage and instead only reach a soggy droopy stage.

Bake the meringues for at least an hour, or until they peel easily away from the parchment. If your oven is too hot, they lose their pristine whiteness and turn a sad shade of beige.