Dessert fit for royalty
EVER WONDERED HOW TO USE UP THOSE LEFTOVER EGG WHITES?
If you have mounds of leftover egg whites in your freezer, you might be wondering what you can do with them. You might think the only thing you can do with egg whites these days is make “unicorn poo”.
OXFORDSHIRE
But a quick trip in the culinary time machine takes us back to 17thcentury Oxfordshire. Here, we find the first mention of an Elizabethan egg white speciality used at the dressing table and the kitchen table.
At the dressing table, Elizabethans sought out an alabaster complexion, so they used egg whites to produce a smooth skin surface. At the kitchen table, they used it in syllabub (curdled cream and wine dessert using raw egg whites) and as a beat-and-bake egg white and sugar confection. Historians say these are the precursors to the meringues we gobble down today.
The recipe later appeared in Elinor Fettiplace’s Receipt Book, showcasing Elizabethan country cooking.
SWITZERLAND
However, historians often tend to disagree and some say that Swiss pastry chef Gasparini (who practised in the now East German town of Meiringen) kicked off the origin of meringues when he used them to woo Princess Maria, who was betrothed to King Louis XV.
POLAND
Others say we should take a step back even further into Poland, where marzynka originated in the kitchen of a chef in the service of King Stanislaw Leszczynski. This chef passed the recipe to his daughter Maria, who introduced it to France.
FRANCE
Once in France, meringues became haute cuisine when Queen Marie Antoinette developed a penchant for the stuff.
Whatever their origin, the science behind making meringues is fascinating. During beating, the proteins unfold, transforming the egg whites into a fluffy cloud that triples and even quadruples in size. Sugar is added, giving the cloud structure and stability, while drawing water from the egg whites. Once in the oven, they expand further.
Meringues are best visualised as bite-sized colourful clouds of sweetness, often in the shape of unicorn poo. Meringue cases can be filled with fruits, ice cream and cream, while the unicorn poo can be used atop desserts when extra flair is needed.