On 2021-06-08 6:30 p.m., bruce bowser wrote:
> On Sunday, March 31, 1996 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-5, Josée Désautels wrote:
>> (Shankar Bhattacharyya) wrote:
>>> In article >, Jason Paul Chin <jchin> wrote:
>>>> Does anyone know what causes merengue to shrink away from the crust when
>>>> refridgerated? I have had this happen to me twice but don't know why.
>>> Meringue has the air in the bubbles rather effectively trapped. In
>>> regular cakes and breads the walls of the "bubbles" are relatively
>>> porous, certainly once the product is cooked. In meringues, on tthe
>>> other hand, you have a wall that is essentially a continuous film of
>>> coagulated egg albumen.
>>> So, when a meringue cools, and the air contracts, the bubbles are
>>> shrunk by the pressure of the air outside.
>>> I suspect that many of the bubbles fracture under these conditions
>>> and, of course, they are not completely impermeable to start with, so
>>> I suspect the contraction will be quite limited.
>>> - Shankar
>> I have something that helps: add the sugar at the very last moment.
>> Each grain will fill a bubble, and it won't fracture (or less, at
>> least.) Of course, you have to do this with a recipe that ask for
>> sugar!
>> Be sure also, to put your meringue when the bottom have cooled down.
>> Josee
>
> I've never heard of Merengue or Méringue.
>

Have you heard of responding to a post 25 years too late?