Lower V made meringues five ways this week.  Curious and inquisitive as ever, they were eager to find out how the very different ways to make a meringue would impact the use, taste and workability of the products.

The vote was almost unanimous, the French Meringue with caster sugar won the day, shortly followed by Meringue Suisse, Italian meringue came in third with fourth place going to French meringue made with sweetener and in last place, vegan meringue, made using aquafaba (the water from a tin of chickpeas).

Although not a favourite, the vegan meringues made up surprisingly well. Unfortunately, the group misread the oven temperatures and they were burnt.  A surprise lesson learned, but a valuable one.

The group were interested to consider how each method worked, how voluminous the mixture became, whether it held its integrity when the sugar was added or whether it required acid to denature the proteins and strengthen the mixture.  The students enjoyed the experience and reflected their thoughts in the homework, all completed in time.

Great work Lower V!