How to beat egg whites
Beat egg whites is very common in cooking and pastry, here are some tips to get there easily.
556 K 3.5/5 (109 reviews)
5 min.
Easy
4 eggs whites
2 IngredientsLast modified on: February 21th 2011
For 4 eggs whites, you will need:
4 
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 5 min.
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 5 min.
They should be beaten at high speed.
If they are for savoury or neutral preparations (i.e. without sugar), add a teaspoon of lemon juice before starting to beat to prevent them "going grainy" which can happen with very fresh egg whites.
If they are for sweet preparations (for meringues for example), incorporate 2 tablespoons of caster sugar from the total sugar you plan to add, halfway through beating, which makes it much easier to beat and to incorporate the remaining sugar.
If they are for savoury or neutral preparations (i.e. without sugar), add a teaspoon of lemon juice before starting to beat to prevent them "going grainy" which can happen with very fresh egg whites.
If they are for sweet preparations (for meringues for example), incorporate 2 tablespoons of caster sugar from the total sugar you plan to add, halfway through beating, which makes it much easier to beat and to incorporate the remaining sugar.
Stage 2
Beating egg whites incorporates air, which creates a foam made up of ever smaller bubbles of air and drops of white (albumen + water), see the microscope photo on right.
This fact give us some rules for egg whites:
This fact give us some rules for egg whites:
- Fresh egg whites give better results that old ones, because they contain more water.
- If you add water or a liquid which contains some (fruit juice, ...) to egg whites to be beaten, you will have a greater volume of foam.
- Fat is the enemy when beating egg whites, because it obstructs or prevents the formation of foam, so it's necessary to be sure that the egg whites contain no traces of yolk (not a drop), and that the container that you're going to use is completely clean (be particularly careful with plastic bowls).
Keeping: 1 hour bfore use.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 6 RDI=2 % | 0 | 0 | 30 RDI=1 % | 110 RDI: 1 % |
| Per 100 g | 4 RDI=2 % | 0 | 0 | 20 RDI=1 % | 90 RDI: 1 % |
| Per egg whites | 1 RDI=1 % | 0 | 0 | 6 RDI=0 % | 30 RDI: 0 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 4 eggs whites : 0.40 €
- Per egg whites : 0.10 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Egg white
Like these other recipes: Cigarettes Russes (Piroulines), Yvetot Douillons, Almond dacquoise, Coconut "croute à thé", Walnut paste, ... See them all 52
Lemon juice
Like these other recipes: Cubed salad, Sautéed pears with custard and orange syrup , Mackerel rillettes, Spinach and cashew brik rolls, Cubed salad, ... See them all 72
Other recipes you may also like
Cauliflower "moelleux" in ramekins
This melt-in-the-mouth cauliflower dish is a kind of purée, bound with a little potato and cooked in milk to add creamy smoothness. This makes a great accompaniment for meat, or as the main feature, served in ramekins with slivers of fried dry-cured ham.March 3rd 201958 K 60 min.
Chantilly rice pudding
A rice pudding with a difference: it is cooked the classic way and left to cool. Whipped cream is then gently folded in to give a light-textured and original dessert.April 1st 202047 K 2 hours 50 min.
Epiphany galette
Here is the recipe for the very classic but delicious "galette des rois" (Epiphany galette) in puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée) with almond cream or frangipane . You will also see some professional tips to easily handle the dough, and obtain a nice and regular galette.January 1st 2025292 K 24.5 3 hours 8 min.
European glass
A little dessert that's rather long to make, but which will always impress your guests. Layered in a glass: a jellied red fruit coulis, a layer of pineapple charlotte cream, a layer of kiwi coulis, topped with a peeled clementine segment. It's "european" because it resembles the italian flag, and in...August 15th 2010232 K5 2 hours 30 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-04-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 5 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.