What this recipe shows:
Diluting egg whites with water and adding sugar will enable careful
heating of the whites to 160(71C), the instant-kill temperature for
salmonella.
Swollen starch added to the beaten whites produces a tender,
smooth-cutting meringue that does not shrink or bead easily.
Meringue made with egg whites heated in this manner is an excellent
stable meringue.
Ingredients:
6 large egg whites
2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup cool water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Stir the whites, water. cream of tartar. and sugar together well to
break up the whites (try not to create foam since it cooks at a lower
temperature) in a medium-size stainless-steel bowl. Heat 1
inch of water to a simmer in a medium skillet and turn the heat off. Run
a cup of hot tap water, place an instant-read thermometer in it, and
place it near the skillet. Place the metal bowl of egg white mixture in
the skillet of hot water and scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl
constantly with a rubber spatula to prevent the whites from overheating.
After 1 minute of constant scraping and stirring, remove the bowl of egg
whites from the hot water and place the thermometer in the whites,
tilting the bowl so that you have about 2 inches of white covering the
thermometer stem. If the temperature is up to 160F (71C), beat until
peaks form when the beater is lifted. If necessary, place the bowl of
whites back in the hot water and scrape constantly in 15-second
increments until the temperature reaches 160F (71C). Rinse the
thermometer the hot water in the skillet (to kill salmonella) and
replace in the cup of hot water after each use.
2. Sprinkle the cornstarch into a small saucepan, add the cool water,
and let stand 1 minute. Then stir well. Bring the water and cornstarch
to a boil, stirring constantly. The mixture will be thick and slightly
cloudy. Let it cool for a couple of minutes, then whisk 1 to 2
tablespoons of the
cornstarch mixture into the meringue and continue adding and beating in
until all is incorporated. Whisk in the salt, vanilla, and any other
desired flavoring such as lemon zest. Set aside while preparing the pie
filling.
