sulfur-sulfur (S-S) connection with each
other. The addition of an acid boosts the
number of free-floating hydrogen (H) ions in
the egg white, which makes it much harder for
the S-H groups to shed their own H, and so
slows the sulfur bonding down to a crawl. A
good dose is ^1 / 8 teaspoon/0.5g cream of tartar
or ½ teaspoon/2ml lemon juice per egg white,
added at the beginning of the beating.
The Enemies of Egg Foams
There are three enemies to the successful
mounting of a foam which the cook should be
careful to exclude from the bowl: egg yolk, oil
or fat, and detergent. All are chemical
relatives, and interfere with foaming in the
same ways: by competing with the proteins
for a place at the air-water interface without
offering any structural reinforcement; and by
interfering with the bonding of the protein
molecules. Traces of these troublemakers