When I made the meringue part of my Lemon Meringue pie, it all went wrong!?

Question

I beat the egg whites fine, and when I added the caster sugar, it all went wrong! It just turned back to a white liquid. A thick liquid, but not a meringue! I had two attempts, but then I ran out of eggs and had to make do, so it looks rubbish!

How can I stop this happening? When I make individual meringues, with Brown sugar, they worked fine?

Answer 1

Ok firstly you have to have a sparkling clean glass or stainless steel bowl,no water droplets or anything inside,I usually wash my bowl and whisk out in hot water then dry throughly,

then as you start beating the eggs beat for about 1 min then add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time drizzled in slowy while beating  the whites -this is a two hand operation or use a mixer.you should take around 8-10 mins with and electric mixer/whisk for about 5-6 eggs to reach the right consistency.

once you started adding the sugar it is not easy to make a flop of it as the sugar holds the eggs together unless you overwork it!! Good luck,by the way I worked for many years as a pastry chef!!

Answer 2

The usual reason for this problem is something fatty getting into the mix.  It takes only the tiniest amount to ruin everything.  Did a spot of egg yolk get in?  Was the bowl you used just a tiny bit greasy? Was the whisk completely fat/grease/oil free? To help meringues to stiffen up, some people add a pinch of salt but I have never had to resort to this myself. Don't let it put you off.  If at first you don't succeed etc....

Answer 3

Use reg plain sugar, not caster