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Quick Tips: What To Do With Leftover Egg Whites

2008_06_19-EggWhites.jpgIf you do a lot of baking, you know that you'll inevitably end up with an odd number of yolks and whites.

And let's be honest, we're not cutting any corners in most of these recipes, so those rich golden yolks often find a cake or custard to call home long before those whites.

But don't pour the leftover whites down the drain! They still have plenty of good uses, and here are a few:

 
 

Here are our Top 5 Recipes for using up egg whites:

1. Ubiquitous Meringue Cookies
2. Sophisticated French Macarons
3. Elegant Angel Food Cakes
4. Fresh and Simple Egg White Omelettes
5. Classy Classic Cocktails (like the Ramos Gin Fizz)

And if you're not in a baking mood?

Egg whites freeze brilliantly, keep forever, and are as good thawed as they were fresh. We keep one container in our freezer and add new whites to the top. If we remember to mark how many whites we've added, it's easy to tell when we have enough for a favorite recipe.

We've also heard of people freezing one or two egg whites in ice cube trays, which comes in handy when only a few are needed in a recipe.

What do you do with leftover egg whites?

Related: Quick Tip: Beating Egg Whites

(Image: Flickr member alykat licensed under Creative Commons)

Tags

Tips & Techniques, Recipe Roundup, meringue, egg whites, angel food cake, freezing egg whites, leftover, macaron, macaroon, omelette

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Comments (20)

Chocolate-covered coconut macaroons

posted by Korre on June 19th 2008 at 5:46am
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Pavlova--yummy for summer!

posted by OneWallKitchen on June 19th 2008 at 5:53am
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hee! when making caesar salad, my aunt uses the leftover egg white for a face mask!

posted by kdkaboom on June 19th 2008 at 6:28am
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I usually have leftover yolks! But that's because I don't cook the rich type dishes/baked goods that require extra yolks.

posted by UptownGirl on June 19th 2008 at 6:48am
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Whiskey sours, the old fashioned way:

2 oz rye
1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 dollop of egg white.

Shake madly, wildly, like a fiend in a shaker with ice. Pour over ice in a rocks glass, garnish with citrus twist.

posted by lizaboo on June 19th 2008 at 7:04am
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I always end up with lots of egg whites leftover from making custard-style ice cream--I put them in the freezer in batches, usually until I have a hankering for angel food cake...

posted by jooleeyet on June 19th 2008 at 7:30am
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thanks for this list! i too have leftover egg whites from making ice cream, and i hate tossing them out.

posted by squiggle on June 19th 2008 at 7:43am
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Wow, great timing. I just made a double batch of ice cream yesterday and have eight egg whites currently making me feel guilty in my fridge. The meringues and macarons look tempting.

posted by TammyE on June 19th 2008 at 7:44am
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Love the
Nancy Reagan macaroon

posted by Oven Mitzie on June 19th 2008 at 8:04am
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Love the Nancy Reagan macaroon

posted by Oven Mitzie on June 19th 2008 at 8:05am
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1) definitely store them in the freezer in little plastic bags, they freeze easily, defrost quickly, and you can count how many you need/have
2) make different types of pavlova or meringues, so easy peasy
3) my grandma used to keep them in a bowl in the refrigerator and use it as glue! Safe for kids to use!

posted by steenbok68 on June 19th 2008 at 8:20am
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i had never thought of freezing them! i usually put them in the next morning's scrambled eggs for fear of them spoiling. now i'll be freezing them for meringues etc.

http://threadtrace.wordpress.com

posted by cassiopia on June 19th 2008 at 8:43am
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I have to say, I am very wary of using raw eggs as glue for kids to use.... My sister got Salmonella food poisoning when she was very young and I never got over the experience (and I wasn't the one throwing up).

So I grew up being very careful when cooking with raw chicken and egg.

posted by alisa k on June 19th 2008 at 9:07am
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How long can you keep just the whites in the fridge? I need to make a batch of macaroons but am suspect on using frozen ones? I always have tons left over - does that mean we eat, too rich?

posted by ChezUS on June 19th 2008 at 9:33am
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I'm not much of a baker so the easiest way I use up my egg whites is to mix them up with a couple of whole eggs, cheese and make a scrambled eggs. They look a bit pale, but still good. Scrambled eggs has got to be the easiest way to finish off some egg whites.

posted by buda on June 19th 2008 at 2:57pm
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Add another one for pavlovas!

posted by budino on June 19th 2008 at 3:46pm
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You can make lemon sorbet.

posted by arancionissima on June 20th 2008 at 2:30am
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Face mask. Whip up an egg white until it starts to change consistency and apply evenly to face for twenty minutes.

posted by rubyshoe on June 23rd 2008 at 11:49am
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Brushing egg whites onto eggplant slices before frying them cuts down on the oiliness and yields a perfectly crunchy exterior with a deliciously silky interior - as seen here in this recipe for Simple Fried Eggplant with Less Oil.

posted by Hartley from Kitchen Caravan on April 17th 2009 at 12:24pm
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I never have left over egg whites. It is the egg yolks I take out when I make breakfast.

posted by kmarie on June 17th 2009 at 9:51am
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