I have been searching for info about using pasteurized boxed egg whites in baking applications. There are two (distinct) cases that I'm interested in but I'm not sure if it's better to seek out a more all-encompassing answer or go with one specific case at a time. As far as I can tell, most existing discussions on the internet about using boxed egg whites don't often relate to specific situations, so I have no clue whether they would apply in my cases. They also tend to focus on meringues specifically.
I'm also somewhat averse to waste - but I see potential waste on either side of the situation.
- If I test the whites in the two applications and it doesn't work, hopefully I'm able to stop before I add additional (more expensive) ingredients but if the issue is they deflate sooner, I may not be able to tell if it's "safe" to proceed.
- If I keep using whole eggs, I'll be up to my ears in yolks (the good part of the egg) and I already have a dozen in the freezer I haven't used. Also, my ice cream maker doesn't work right now.
The uses in this situation:
The recipes I'm making (and why this ends up being such an issue) are:
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Specifically, Stella Parks' recipe. Egg whites are fully-cooked with the sugar in a double boiler (SMBC, Chocolate SMBC).
- "White Mountain Layer Cake" by Stella Parks (from BraveTart). Egg whites are used like whole eggs, not whipped and folded in.
Together, these two (three) recipes use 14 (20) whites, which is just a lot of yolks for one day of baking.
What have I found so far?
I've found quite a few references about this around the internet and here on SA.
- Can I make meringues with commercial egg whites?
- Regards to meringue cookies
- Answers indicate pasteurized eggs aren't great for meringue and does mention using stabilizers like cream of tartar and recommend using whole eggs.
- Buying Unpasteurized Egg Whites
- Regards to macarons, while the question is about whether unpasteurized egg whites are available, it cites similar concerns and questions whether pasteurized + cream of tartar is acceptable.
- Answer links to next example, recommends using whole eggs instead of cartons.
- Why do egg white cartons warn that pasteurized egg whites shouldn't be used for whipping or meringue?
- Regards to meringue cookies, questions why a box of whites warns that they aren't recommended to be used for whipping or meringues when the OP was able to use them just fine.
- Answers focus on the riskiness of using boxed whites and how outcomes may vary based on temperature used for pasteurization
And around the internet.
- Food 52 "Will the carton egg whites whip up for baking?"
- Some answers say pasteurized whites won't work, others say adding cream of tartar gives similar results, or will get good results if you persist in whipping for longer, etc. One answer linked to a write-up of a test they did in their blog for SMBC where it worked fine.
- Reddit/AskBaking "Liquid Egg Whites that whip to stiff peaks"
- Mixed answers, some saying it works, others saying they can't get it to work or that it takes longer.
- Domino sugar "Tips on how to make meringue successfully"
- Outright rejects boxed whites and requires separated whole eggs, citing pasteurization as the concern - but tells you to fully cook whites to avoid salmonella.
- Then again, it also states that old eggs should be avoided, which many macaron recipes expressly call for.
- Bake Club "Pasteurized Egg Whites"
- States they can be used in many applications but may take longer to whip, doesn't recommend using any stabilizers
There's more but these are representative of my issue - some people say it works fine (with caveats, usually) and others say it doesn't and shouldn't be tried.
The core of my confusion.
Few of these resources seem to dive deeply into creating an outline for specific cases when it is or is not "safe" (from a success perspective) to use pasteurized boxed egg whites. Many seem focused on one application or broadly apply the rule to every application. Unfortunately, there are a few things about this that leave me confused.
The first step in SMBC is to cook the whites over a water bath with the sugar and cream of tartar. If that's the case, why should it matter whether the whites are pasteurized or not? I'm pretty sure that whatever I'm doing is far less controlled than what's going on in a plant where they're carefully controlling temperatures to gently pasteurize the whites. Heck, I've managed to cook them at least once (oops!).
In the cake recipe, the whites are being used like whole eggs and aren't being used for aeration as one might in a angel's food cake - surely the pasteurization can't matter here? But would it in an angel's food cake that uses a meringue - or one where whites are whipped without sugar/heating?
Also, "Meringue powder" is a thing. Powdered egg whites with stabilizers and/or sugars that need to be rehydrated but otherwise seem to work fine for meringues, macarons, royal icing and other whipped applications. I'm not sure they'd work in the cake recipe, though.
Given this, it seems likely that there are many applications where pasteurized boxed whites (or meringue powder) is fine and will be successful and others where they should be avoided, so the undercurrent pressing people to avoid using them always seems a bit unwarranted.
The question
As such, I'd like to get a better idea of specific cases where separated egg whites or meringue powder will work just fine and what people should consider when deciding to use these products - whether that's adding stabilizers or longer whipping times or whatever.
It's probably also worth noting that there's myriad ways that meringues can go wrong that have nothing to do with the eggs - such as humidity, .
Great answers to this question will hopefully consider both the specific uses mentioned above (SMBC, cake batter), while also addressing other uses of egg whites in baking/meringue. Great answers will also avoid questioning the premise and telling people to just use whole eggs and go make custard or ice cream with their yolks.
Yes, this question risks being considered too broad but I'm hoping it will eventually be something akin to the Cooking Terms or food storage questions.
