Baking is one place where you don't have a lot of wiggle room. Read a recipe wrong or try an ingredient substitution, and the results can become very unpredictable. So when a recipe says to "whip to firm peaks," you know we want to get it right! Here's a visual guide to help us out.
The stages of "peaks" is the same for beating egg whites or making whipped cream. In this guide, we're using egg whites with a little sugar to show each stage (except for the last picture, which shows over-whipped cream). We're using a standing mixer on the second to highest setting, but you can also use a hand mixer. If you need a work-out, you can also try whipping by hand!
1. No Peaks - After a few minutes of whipping, the egg whites are getting foamy and opaque, but they're still so liquidy that they won't hold a shape at all.
2. Soft Peak - When you turn your whisk upside down, the peaks are just starting to hold. They're soft and melt back into themselves after a second.
3. Firm Peak - Now when you turn your whisk upside down, the peaks will hold and the ridges are more distinct, but the tips fold back on themselves.
4. Stiff Peak - Turn the whisk upside down, and those peaks hold proudly! They should point straight up without collapsing at all (or maybe a little bit just at the very tips). The mixture is thick and heavy.
5. Over-beating - It's possible to take it too far. After the stiff peak stage, egg whites will start to look grainy and dull. They will eventually collapse back on themselves. Whipped cream will also get grainy and will start to separate into fat and liquid.
There's not much to do about over-whipped cream other than keep whipping until it becomes butter! If you catch egg whites just as they are starting to turn grainy, you can try adding another egg white into the bowl to bring it back. Also, sugar stabilizes egg whites. If you're making meringue or anything where sugar has been added during whipping, you don't have to worry about over-beating them as much.
Related: Food Science: The Best Eggs for Meringue and Why
(Images: Emma Christensen and Faith Durand)
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I've started avoiding any recipe that calls for beating the egg whites separately because I can never seem to get it right.
My problem is that in addition to the egg white that holds peaks I end up with a clear/yellowish liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
What am I doing wrong?
Thank you for the pictures. I have a beastly time folding the whites into the flour and not collapsing the whole mess or having the baked good fall flat. Angelfood cakes are challenging. They rarely rise as well as I expect.
@nikkimay - Are you using a standing mixer? It sounds like it's just not getting to the very bottom of the bowl. You can try stopping the mixer and gently mixing the whites during the first few minutes (as it goes from foamy to soft). Or try using a hand mixer if you have one. Hope that helps!
Nikkimay:
Are you setting your whites aside for a while? I've found that they you tend to get that pool if you don't use them within a certain amount of time.
There's not much to do about over-whipped cream other than keep whipping until it becomes butter!
Actually, if it has just started getting grainy, you can add just a little bit of cream or milk and stir it in. Usually it gets creamy again.
What about the "no plastic bowls" rule for whipping egg whites? I have heard this many times but have never tested it.
I like to whip cream by hand as a group activity pre-pie. Everybody gets a turn and I don't have to dig out my mixer. Extra points (bigger slices) for those that restrain themselves and keep their fingers out of the bowl.
I tried taking turns in whipping cream one Thanksgiving when I didn't have an electric mixer, but everyone just got really bored with it and ended up sitting there letting it get warm while they watched the TV. The same year, on Easter, I tried a lemon meringue pie and it turned out a lot more like green jello.
Live and learn!
Quick tip, the more sugar you add to the whites, the more stable the whipped whites will be. The only way to gain confidence is to whip whites. Whip some without sugar and you'll find that you'll go from foam to over-whipped very quickly. If you add a few tsp of sugar, it will take longer to get to that stage. I've made meringues with twice the sugar in weight as whites and they whip beautifully. Also, it takes time to whip the air in, so don't just whip on high speed. I whip mine at medium to medium-high depending on the amount of whites I need, then when I get to medium peak, I'll lower it to medium-low to be on the safe side.
Hope that helps!
Like nikkimay, I always end up with a lot of liquid at the bottom of my (stand mixer) bowl. I was hoping to see what the bowl looked like in each of these steps. I will try the suggestion of folding the liquid in, but I suspect that I just don't whip them long enough.
There's a funny post about whipping eggs at the What the Bleep Happened blog-
http://whatthebleephappened.blogspot.com/2009/12/diana-ross-daryl-hannah-and-your.html
Goes more into the science behind it also.
I have whipped egg whites to perfection countless times, and of course, the one time I have exactly four eggs for my recipe, I overwhip them! Thanks for this post on how to bring back over-whipped egg whites! You truly saved my day!