Some older meringue recipes call for salt, but adding salt to egg whites decreases their volume, Braun said. Follow recipe instructions to beat the egg whites to just the right stage. Underbeating reduces the volume. Overbeating makes the whites stiff and brittle, and it's harder to blend other ingredients into them. An overbeaten egg white also doesn't expand properly when heated.
Soft peaks refers to peaks that curl over slightly at the tip when the beater is lifted.
At the stiff peak stage, the whites stand straight without curling. The meringue also should touch the crust all around the edge so it doesn't shrink during baking. Although any degree of cooking helps, the egg board raises a red flag over Italian meringues, in which egg whites are beaten with a hot sugar syrup but not baked. The egg whites in an Italian meringue do not reach a temperature much above 125 degrees. All rights reserved.