On Food and Cooking

possible consistency is obtained by first
beating the whites to a firm foam and then
gently folding in the sugar with a spatula. The
sugar dissolves into the existing bubble walls
and adds both bulk and cohesiveness to them.
The added bulk gives the bubbles more room
to slide past each other and creates a soft,
frothy consistency suitable for a spread pie
topping or for folding into a mousse or
chiffon mix, but too fragile to shape. A
creamier, firmer consistency results when the
sugar is not merely folded in, but beaten in. In
this case, the sugar’s added bulk is spread out
as the beating further subdivides the bubbles,
and the cohesiveness of the sugar-water
mixture noticeably tightens the foam’s
texture. The longer you beat the egg-sugar
mixture, the stiffer it will get and the more
finely it can be shaped.
These standard methods take only a few
minutes but require the cook’s attention.
Some professionals, particularly in France,