How to beat egg whites
Beat egg whites is very common in cooking and pastry, here are some tips to get there easily.
572 K 3.5/5 (109 reviews)
5 min.
Easy
0.40 €
4 eggs whites
2 IngredientsLast modified on: February 21th 2011
For 4 eggs whites, you will need:
- 1
4 egg whites - 2
½ teaspoon lemon juice (optional) - Total weight: 120 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 5 min.
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 5 min.
Whisk at high speed.
You can add a teaspoon of lemon juice before you start beating to prevent them from "graining" (forming small grains), which can happen with very fresh egg whites.
If the egg whites are to be sweetened (for meringues, for example), add 2 tablespoons of the sugar halfway through the whipping, to support them and help them rise.
You can add a teaspoon of lemon juice before you start beating to prevent them from "graining" (forming small grains), which can happen with very fresh egg whites.
If the egg whites are to be sweetened (for meringues, for example), add 2 tablespoons of the sugar halfway through the whipping, to support them and help them rise.
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).
Remarks
Contrary to popular belief, adding a pinch of salt to the egg whites before beating them doesn't help.
Keeping: 1 hour bfore use.
Source: Home made.
How much will it cost?
- For 4 eggs whites : 0.35 €
- 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: Two-coloured chocolate-orange tart, Coconut tuiles, Macaronade mixture, Almond tuiles, Nougat, ... See them all 52
Other recipes you may also like
Almond tuiles
These delicious little biscuits ("tiles" in French) get their crunch and lightness from the use of flaked almonds rather than ground. It is not difficult to succeed, you just need to work fast after taking them out of the oven. August 21th 2019397 K4 1 hour 20 min.
Macarons (the original French macaroons)
This recipe really is "of the moment": the success of these small, highly-coloured cakes, in an infinite variety of flavours, is impressive. It's a recipe which needs some care, in order to produce a result worthy of a professional pastrychef. No problem, I will guide you through the recipe, particularly the tricky parts. This variety of flavours means that I test many alternatives, so don't be surprised if in the pictures the colour of the macarons changes, I used the best photograph available... October 3rd 20191.61 M 714.6 2 hours 40 min.
Green parsley sauce
This sauce, with a great parsley taste, is perfect with steamed vegetables or fish. At the bottom you will find the coulis version of this recipe. February 21th 2011546 K 44.3 25 min.
How to slow cook meat
By cooking meat slowly with no added fat, it will become very tender - almost melt-in-the-mouth - and can be cut with a fork. November 6th 2011179 K5 4 hours 45 min.
Potato Waffles with Smoked Salmon
For potato waffles, the flour in the mixture for the sweet version is replaced with instant dried potato. This is a way of making delicious savoury waffles. Adding ribbons of smoked salmon, like here, turns them into a proper meal, though they can be also be served as an accompaniment. April 22th 201878 K4.5 40 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-11-23)
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.