Oh, the egg white foam! An ode to the power of air and the bubble! So, maybe I'm making it sound cooler than it is, but maybe not.
The almost pure protein in egg whites can be whipped up to a very stiff foam that can hold for a long time--it's pretty magical stuff. Egg white foams are the basis of angel food cake, so that is reason enough to love them, but here we're looking at the foams themselves.
You'll find everything from a straight-up whites/sugar French meringue to crispy baked sheets of dacquoise.
With meringue, you have a chance to experiment.
As long as your bowls and beaters are grease free and your whites aren't straight from the fridge, you'll get a good foam. You don't have to worry about that. Now, you can think about flavorings. Wait until the foam is just shy of where you want it to beat in some vanilla, a liqueur, citrus zest--whatever. Remember, I'm giving you the basics. Take it and run with it.
