How to beat egg whites
Beat egg whites is very common in cooking and pastry, here are some tips to get there easily.
579 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: Chocolate mousse, Brioche royale, Spicy hot toasted cashew nuts, Pistachio madeleines, Cigarettes Russes (Piroulines), ... See them all 53
Other recipes you may also like
Toasted almond cake
A layer cake, with toasted almonds in the chocolate part. July 5th 2016257 K4.4 2 hours 2 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 20191.62 M 714.6 2 hours 40 min.
Pumpkin (or potimarron) soup
A smooth and fragrant soup, it's much better with potimarron (Japanese chestnut pumpkin) than ordinary pumpkin. October 13th 2010353 K4.1 1 hour 10 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 2011556 K 44.3 25 min.
You should not beat egg yolks at high speed to start with
You should not start beating egg yolks and caster sugar at high speed, because this splashes drops of egg yolk against the sides of the bowl, which then go hard as they dry. February 21th 2011101 K 24.5
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-03-01)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 6 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.