On Food and Cooking

little Gum Dragon [gum tragacanth] steept
in Rose water to bring it to a perfect Paste,
then mould it up with a little Anniseed and
a grain of Musk; then make it up like
Dutch bread, and bake it on a Pye-plate in a
warm Oven, till they rise somewhat high
and white, take them out, but handle them
not till they be throughly dry and cold.
— Queen’s Closet Open’d, 1655
Permanent Reinforcement A raw egg-white
foam will eventually coarsen, settle, and
separate. It must therefore be reinforced when
it is turned into a final dish. This may be done
by adding other thickening ingredients —
such things as flour, cornstarch, chocolate, or
gelatin. But if the foam is to be used relatively
pure, as in a meringue or a flourless soufflé,
the egg proteins have to do the job
themselves. With the help of heat, they do
beautifully.
Ovalbumin, the major protein in egg white,
is relatively immune to beating and doesn’t