Beating Eggs

Egg whites that are correctly beaten may increase in volume by up to 8 times. They should be extremely smooth and firm, but not dry, forming stiff peaks. They can be beaten by hand or with an electric mixer. A copper bowl is often used, especially by professional chefs. The slight acidity of the copper results in a chemical reaction with the egg whites which helps to stabilize them. If copper is not available, the next best choice is stainless steel. A pinch of cream of tartar per egg white can be added as a stabilizer, replacing the acidic properties of the copper. A balloon whip or large wire whisk may be used to beat the egg whites by hand. It is extremely important that the bowl and whisk be very clean and dry and that no trace of oil is present. Egg whites will not increase to the desired volume if contaminated with any trace of oil. This is also true if any yolk is present in the egg whites. Plastic bowls and utensils should never be used because plastic tends to hold some oil even after thorough cleaning.

Whole eggs may be separated into whites and yolks immediately after removal from the refrigerator, but the whites should be allowed to reach room temperature before beating because this allows the egg whites to increase in volume more rapidly when beaten. However, the egg whites should not remain without refrigeration for more than 2 hours, which includes the preparation time, in order to reduce the possibility of bacterial growth. Egg whites may also be warmed more quickly by placing the bowl of whites over warm water. Egg whites cannot achieve their full volume on humid days.

Egg Whites Beaten with an Electric Mixer

A hand held electric mixer also works well for beating egg whites, because it allows you the freedom of moving the spinning beaters all around the bowl, keeping the egg whites in motion. A stationary mixer in which the beater spins as well as rotates around the circumference of the bowl, is an excellent tool and eliminates all of the manual work. Some stationary models have beaters that do not move around the circumference of the bowl, but have bowl that slowly spins on a stand as the beaters spin. Kitchen tools such as blenders and food processors should not be used for beating egg whites.

When using any electric mixer, start at a slow speed and continue for about 60 seconds. As with manual beating, cream of tartar is added to the egg whites for stabilization of the beaten whites. Gradually increase the speed until the egg whites reach their full volume. Operating the mixer at a high speed from the start will not allow the egg whites to reach their full volume. The entire beating process usually takes no more than 3 minutes with the better quality electric mixers.

The beaten egg whites should be folded immediately into any other ingredients used in the selected recipe. It is a good idea to have the other ingredients prepared first and then beat the egg whites as the final step so that they will not have time to break down and lose volume.

Ribbon Stage

Egg yolks that will be used for the preparation of desserts are often required to be blended with sugar and beaten until the mixture reaches the "ribbon" stage. This helps to prevent the yolks from becoming granular when heat is applied. When some of the egg yolk and sugar mixture is lifted with a beater or spoon and falls back into the bowl forming a slowly disappearing ribbon on the surface, the ribbon stage has been reached. The egg yolks and sugar can be beaten by hand using a whisk or they can be beaten using an electric mixer.

Add the required number of egg yolks (depending on the recipe) to a stainless steel or glass bowl and begin to lightly beat the yolks.

Add a small quantity of the sugar (the quantity depends on the recipe and the number of yolks used) and continue beating, but more vigorously. While beating the mixture, gradually add the remaining sugar. The mixture will become thicker and the color will lighten.

Cooking and Beating

For some recipes, egg yolks may need to be cooked as they are beaten. This is true of hollandaise sauce, which is an egg yolk and butter sauce flavored with lemon juice and pepper. When preparing hollandaise sauce, make sure everything that is needed is within arms reach because once the process has begun, the beating of the egg yolks cannot stop.

Place the egg yolks in a small saucepan (which is not heated) and add one tablespoon of cold water per yolk.

Whisk the egg yolks and water (off the heat) for about 45 to 60 seconds and then place the pan over low heat and continue to whisk rapidly. The eggs must heat slowly or they may become granular. If the heat is too high, the yolks will scramble. It is important to keep the egg yolks in constant motion.

A sink or large bowl of ice water should be nearby so that if the egg yolks start to become too warm, the pan can be plunged into the cold water to stop the cooking. When the egg yolks are smooth and have increased in volume (as shown in the picture on the right), remove the pan from the heat. You should be able to briefly see the bottom of the pan between strokes of the whisk.

While whisking continuously, slowly add clarified butter or softened whole butter. (Make sure the clarified butter is not too warm.) Whisk in small quantities of butter at a time. The sauce will not thicken if too much butter is added right away. One large egg yolk is able to absorb as much as 3 ounces of butter, but it is safer to use less than this (2 ounces per yolk is suitable) to make sure that the yolks absorb all of the butter.

Using clarified butter makes the hollandaise sauce thicker while using whole butter, which contains milk solids and water, makes a thinner sauce. A thin sauce is appropriate for use on light recipes of fish and seafood or asparagus and a thick sauce is best for serving on eggs Benedict or steak.

To finish the sauce, slowly add some lemon juice while whisking and then add some salt and white or black pepper to taste.

There are several variations of hollandaise sauce that can be prepared. All of the variations are made exactly like hollandaise except that the flavorings used to finish the sauces are different for each one.

• Béarnaise Sauce: flavored with tarragon, shallots, pepper, and wine.
• Choron Sauce: flavored the same as béarnaise with the addition of tomato paste.
• Colbert Sauce: the same as béarnaise except it is also flavored with meat glaze.
• Chantilly Sauce: whipped cream folded into the hollandaise sauce.
• Vin Blanc Sauce: hollandaise sauce flavored with white wine fish stock.
• Maltaise Sauce: hollandaise flavored with orange juice (in addition to the lemon juice).