Egg Whites Don’t Get Stiff – You Can Do That

Egg whites don’t set – avoid mistakes in preparation

In theory, whipping the egg whites sounds very simple: you stir the egg whites with a whisk until you get a solid egg white. If despite all your patience, the egg white simply does not stiffen, you should already pay attention to the following things when preparing to whip them.

• Carefully separate the egg white and yolk: To ensure that the egg white can be whipped stiff at all, you should make sure that no yolk gets into the mixing bowl. Therefore, separate the eggs over a cup or small bowl before adding them to the mixing bowl. If some egg yolk accidentally gets into the bowl, you can remove it with a spoon, for example, and then pour the clear egg white into the mixing bowl.
• Bad eggs: Unfortunately, it can always happen that you find a bad egg in the carton. This also applies if the eggs are actually still fresh. If you would like to prepare your beaten egg whites from several eggs, it is best to separate the eggs individually into separate cups. If you get a bad egg, you can throw it away one by one and replace it with a fresh egg.
• The main problem for failure is the emulsifiers of the yolk and fats. If a small trace of the liquid sticks, the egg white will not stiffen. The two substances envelop the proteins and prevent them from crosslinking and thus forming a strong surface. So if you follow the two tips mentioned during the preparation, it should actually no longer happen that the egg white does not become stiff.

Tips on how to beat the egg whites really stiff

Due to the air that is lifted under the egg white when stirring, you will end up with stiff egg whites. At least that’s the plan. In order for your egg white to actually become stiff, proceed as follows when stirring:

• It is best to beat the egg whites with an electronic hand mixer so that as many air bubbles as possible find their way into the egg whites. Although you can also achieve a good result by hand with a whisk, you will not achieve the same speed as with a hand mixer or whisk. It is important that you first stir the egg whites on a low speed.
• As soon as the egg white is no longer transparent but white and already a little frothy, turn the mixer up higher. Now beat the beaten egg white vigorously until it is completely firm and stands on its own. With this method, slowly stir as much air as possible into the egg whites. As a result, it stays stiff longer and does not immediately collapse again. Nevertheless, you should continue to process your whipped cream quickly after stirring, otherwise, it will dissolve and water will collect at the bottom of the bowl.
• Tip: To make your beaten egg whites last longer, you can gradually sprinkle some sugar into the egg whites while beating. It is best to add the sugar when your egg whites are already frothy but not quite set. The sugar binds the water in the beaten egg white a little, which means that the foam stays firm longer. As a test, you can carefully turn the mixing bowl upside down and hold it upside down. If the whipped cream stays on the bottom of the bowl and doesn’t fall out, it’s stiff.
• A common problem when egg whites don’t set is that you beat them too weak. As a result, there are not enough bubbles to form around the protein tissue. If you don’t beat fast and hard enough, the beaten egg whites will fall apart again immediately. You still only see liquid egg whites in the bowl.
• However, if you beat too hard, the whipped egg whites will not stay with you long enough. Although it stiffens very quickly, it also tears again after a while and then collects again as a liquid in the bottom of the bowl. So, keep in mind the above tip of hitting slowly first, then fast. Then it will not happen to you that the egg white does not become stiff.