Several states of egg white whipping What is egg white whipping like?

We all know that many people have to beat the egg whites first when making cakes. This is an important part of making cakes and an indispensable part. There are certain requirements for beating egg whites, especially the degree of beating. So how to judge the degree of beating egg whites? Let's take a closer look!

Determination of the degree of egg white whipping

Generally, we divide the beating of egg whites into three stages: wet foaming, neutral foaming, and hard foaming.

Let’s take a closer look at the proteins in these stages and see what they look like.

1. Wet foaming

When you pull up the whisk, the egg whites hang down on the whisk instead of standing upright. The lines of the egg whites in the whisk bowl are not particularly obvious.

The egg whites at this time are suitable for making Swiss rolls and angel cakes. The rolls are not easy to crack and have a soft texture.

2. Neutral foaming

Pull up the whisk head, and the egg white will be in the shape of a hook on the whisk head. If we divide it more finely, neutral foaming can be divided into two types: dry and wet. The dry neutral foaming hook is smaller, while the wet neutral foaming hook is larger.

This state is often used to make chiffon cakes, cupcakes, light cheesecakes, etc. At this time, the meringue has enough expansion power, and it will not crack the surface of the cake because it is too hard. The taste is also moist and light.

3. Hard foaming (also called dry foaming)

Continue to beat the egg whites until they are dry and foamy. At this time, when you lift the whisk, the egg whites will be in a small pointed shape on the whisk, and the top will not bend. You can also find that the overall texture of the egg whites in the whisk bowl is very fine, and you will find that the resistance is relatively large when you turn the whisk.

The meringue at this time is suitable for making meringues, egg-separated sponge cakes, finger biscuits, macarons, etc.

4. Stop beating immediately after reaching hard peaks. If you continue to beat the egg whites, they will be "overbeaten" and become cotton-like and rough in surface. Water may come out of the bottom, and it will be difficult to mix with other ingredients, making it no longer suitable for further preparation.

Introduction of egg white whipping tools

1. Egg Beater

There is no material restriction for the egg beating bowl, but there are certain requirements for shape and size. We usually use a round bottom stainless steel bowl, but this is not absolute. You can use any material container at hand as a substitute, but pay attention to a few points:

The egg mixing bowl should be large enough, because the volume of egg whites will expand many times after being beaten, so avoid overflow

The egg beating bowl should preferably have a round bottom, so that the egg whites can be prevented from being beaten in the dead corners of the bowl.

The egg mixing bowl needs to be washed and wiped dry to ensure that there is no water or oil. If there is water or oil, there is a chance that the egg whites cannot be beaten.

More durable, because the egg beater runs at high speed and the basin wall is easily scratched (like porcelain)

2. Electric egg beater

There are electric and manual egg beaters. I would definitely choose the electric one because it saves effort. The manual one is really too tiring.

Nowadays, electric egg beaters generally have enough power for beating egg whites, but you need to pay attention to one thing: the beater head must also be washed and dried to ensure that it is free of water and oil.

Tips for whipping egg whites

1. When beating egg whites, you can add a little lemon juice or white vinegar, which can remove the fishy smell and also help beat the egg whites.

2. The container for beating egg whites must be free of oil and water, otherwise there will be no bubbles, the egg whites will remain soft after beating for a long time or even fail to be beaten.

3. Be sure to use fresh eggs. Generally, the egg whites of refrigerated eggs are easier to beat than those of eggs at room temperature.

4. When beating the egg whites, use a whisk to beat at medium-low speed until it becomes foamy, then adjust to medium-high speed (if you start at high speed, the structure of the egg white will not be firm, resulting in uneven beating at the end). At this time, add sugar in portions, and observe the state while beating. This can effectively prevent the problem of the egg white structure being too rough and there being too many large bubbles due to beating at medium-high speed throughout the process.

5. When beating the egg whites, you can add a small amount of lemon juice, tartar powder or white vinegar. Because they are acidic, they help to stabilize the egg whites when beating. Of course, if the egg whites are very delicious, you don’t need to add additional stabilizers.