- Start whisking gently to slowly start building the network of bubbles, then increase speed. Use a hand-held electric whisk, free-standing mixer or balloon whisk, rather than a food processor with a whisk attachment, as this rarely gives maximum volume.
- Once mixture turns opaque, the first stage the egg whites reach is soft peak. To test this, dip the beaters into mixture then turn them upside down. The peak of the white should flop over to the side and just hold its shape.
- The next stage is medium peak. To test this, dip the beaters into the mixture again. The peak of the white should only bend a little and hold its shape well.
- The final stage is stiff peak. To test this, dip the beaters into the mixture again. The egg whites will stand in a peak pointing straight up and shouldn't drop when you turn the bowl upside down!
- Don’t over whisk the whites anymore than stiff peak or they will be dry and powdery which makes them difficult to use. Use the egg whites as soon as they’re whisked, if left to stand they will lose volume and collapse.
Use your skills to make these triple-tested recipes:
Espresso Martini Meringue Tart
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Or, whisk up some egg whites to create 44 of the best marvellous meringue recipes
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
