Why cream of tartar in meringue

To make a sturdier meringue, your recipe may direct you to add an acidic ingredient such as cream of tartar, white vinegar, or lemon juice. Caution: Don't use a copper bowl if you're adding acid to stabilize your meringue; it will react with the copper and discolor the egg foam. Choose a dry day to make your meringues, otherwise they'll suck up whatever moisture is in the air and never quite set up properly. Using chilled eggs, separate the egg yolk from the egg whites.

To ensure no broken yolks get into your whites, separate each egg into two small bowls — one for the white and one for the yolk — and then add the white portion to a large bowl.

Let the whites sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Using an electric mixer , start beating the egg whites on medium-low speed, then increase to medium speed until they expand in volume and soft peaks form. At that point, you can switch to high speed, adding sugar very gradually, about a tablespoon at a time. Be sure to move the mixer around the bowl to evenly incorporate the sugar into the egg whites to help stabilize the foam.

Continue to beat until egg whites are glossy and hold a firm peak that doesn't fold back onto itself. Test the mixture to make sure all the sugar has dissolved.

Rub a small amount between your fingers to feel for any grittiness. If it's smooth, you're done. If it's gritty, continue to beat and test until the sugar is completely dissolved and the meringue mixture is silky smooth.

Cooked meringues are ideal for making buttercream frostings, topping baked Alaskas, or decorating meringue pies because the egg whites are cooked to at least degrees F 60 degrees C , effectively killing bacteria that can cause food-borne illness. Some supermarkets do sell pre-pasteurized egg white, but these require a much longer whipping time to reach the desired volume for a meringue.

Caution: Because of the constant whipping, the bowl cools quickly, and the egg whites may not reach pasteurization temperature; you can use an instant read thermometer to check the meringue's temperature after the first minute or so of whipping. Try this recipe for Unbaked Meringue. Swiss meringue is made by combining sugar, cream of tartar or other acid, and egg whites, and heating them in a double boiler over boiling water.

To prepare a Swiss meringue, whisk the sugar and egg whites enough to break up the whites, but not so vigorously that they form an airy foam. Though tartar sauce is creamy, it has nothing to do with cream of tartar. Got it? Where it comes from: Believe it or not I'm totally not kidding.

It is formed from the sediment left over in barrels after the winemaking process; once formed, it is scraped off of the sides of the barrels and then cleaned and ground to form cream of tartar. Interesting factoid: it's said that cream of tartar residue has been found in pottery dating back 7, years!

Food uses: Arguably the most famous use for cream of tartar or at least the one I've seen and used it for most frequently is to stabilize egg whites when making meringues or meringue toppings.

The cream of tartar not only stabilizes the egg whites and allows them to maintain their texture when whipped into stiff peaks, but it also increases their tolerance to heat, which is very helpful, say, when you put a meringue topped pie or a baked alaska into a hot oven. This allows them to brown nicely, hold their shape, and to not melt away and expose the delicious interior of these desserts!

However, there are other food uses for cream of tartar, including stabilizing whipped cream, preventing discoloration of vegetables which have been boiled, and preventing sugar syrups from crystallizing I have never used it for this purpose but am intrigued! It can also be used as an ingredient which will help activate baking soda hence you may see it in some cake recipes , and it also sometimes is listed as an ingredient in salt substitutes.

Other uses: Cream of tartar can also be used, if you're a hippie, as a homemade cleaner. Mix it with something acidic like lemon juice or white vinegar to form a paste; this can be used to clean metals and porcelain. It can also be combined with hydrogen peroxide to clean rust from metal tools, but I will be completely honest and tell you that I find this boring. You have cream of tartar to thank for the magic that is meringue and angel food cake.

Not to mention, it acts as a leavening agent in cookies and pancakes, and it prevents sugars from crystalizing in frostings and syrups. There are still plenty of meringues, cookies, and pancakes in your future, thanks to these easy cream of tartar substitutes. But first, what is cream of tartar? Scientifically, it goes by potassium bitartrate—feel free to forget that now—and it's an acid derivative of the winemaking process.

Its acidic properties are why it's often used in baked goods. In order for baking soda to kick into high gear, it needs that acid. In fact, combine the two ingredients and you essentially have baking powder, which is comprised of 2 parts cream of tartar and 1 part baking soda.

As a structural aid, cream of tartar is often used in conjunction with egg whites, where it helps to stabilize the air bubbles that allow egg whites to thicken into stiff peaks. For example, once stiff egg whites are folded into a batter, the cream of tartar slows the air bubbles captured in egg whites from naturally deflating, resulting in light and fluffy cakes and pancakes, among other baked goods.

It's not just egg whites though—cream of tartar also stabilizes other key baking ingredients, like sugar! Adding it to cake or cookie batters prevents sugar from banding together and crystallizing, meaning that it results in more of a tender chew— snickerdoodles and sugar cookies wouldn't be the same without cream of tartar.