Читать книгу The Student Cookbook - Sophie Grigson, Sophie Grigson - Страница 71

Whisked egg whites are used to lighten cakes, mousses, soufflé omelettes and other dishes. The whisking process traps small bubbles of air within the egg whites to make a foam. The more you whisk, the thicker and firmer the foam. For cooking you need to whisk egg whites either to soft peak or firm peak stage (see overleaf). But it is possible to go too far. Over-whisked eggs turn lumpy and it is impossible to incorporate them evenly into a batter. Nor will they give nearly so much lift.

When properly whisked whites are cooked, the air bubbles expand in the heat, lifting the mixture, at the same time as the egg white sets to hold the bubbles in place. Uncooked whisked egg whites are distinctly unstable, so must be used as soon as they have been whisked. If left standing around, they will collapse and liquefy and cannot be re-whisked successfully.

It is possible to whisk egg whites with a fork if all else fails, but it is extremely hard work. A balloon whisk is more efficient, but still tiring on the arms. An electric hand-held whisk is a brilliant luxury that makes quick work of whisking egg whites to the lightest foam.

Make absolutely sure that both bowls and whisk (or fork!) are completely grease-free before you separate eggs and start whisking the whites. It takes no more than a smear of grease to prevent egg whites whisking successfully.

How to whisk egg whites with a balloon whisk or a fork

1 Hold the bowl containing the egg whites firmly with one hand, tilting it slightly towards the other hand.

2 Move the whisk in a continuous circular movement, using your wrist rather than the whole arm, taking the whisk down through the whites then up and around and back down into them again.

3 Keep going and have faith. Eventually (assuming they haven’t been contaminated with fatty yolk or grease), the whites will bulk up in volume, transformed into a fluffy cloud of whiteness.

4 For the vast majority of recipes, you will need to whisk the whites either to ‘soft peak’ or ‘firm peak’ stage. To test, pull the whisk slowly out of the whites. If the whites just slump back down into the bowl, you’ve not reached either stage yet. If they form a peak, the tip of which flops over as the whisk is withdrawn, then they have reached soft peak stage. If the tip of the peak remains pointing straight up at the ceiling, they have reached ‘firm peak’. Whisk no more!