What does overbeating egg whites look like? Today, I used an electric hand
mixer to beat 3 egg whites and it came out "heavy" and creamy instead of
fluffy with peaks. What did I do wrong? The result resembled almost like
heavy cream.

Were you just playing with egg whites and not thinking about using it
to leaven a cake or a mousse?
The sure way to see if the whites are properly beaten is if you succeed
in your recipe where such meringue is the base ingredient.
Indeed there are technical details and characteristics of an optimally
beaten whites but you will not appreciate it unless you apply that to a
product.
Roy

"BMC" > wrote in message
...
> What does overbeating egg whites look like? Today, I used an electric
hand
> mixer to beat 3 egg whites and it came out "heavy" and creamy instead of
> fluffy with peaks. What did I do wrong? The result resembled almost like
> heavy cream.


Sounds like under-beating to me. You may have stopped too soon or there may
have been some contamination that prevented them from whipping. Even a
small amount of oil or a speck of yolk can inhibit foam formation. You
should always make sure your equipment is sparkling clean and never use
plastic. Warm eggs foam better than cold eggs. A little acid will help
stabilize the proteins so you can add some cream of tartar or wipe the bowl
with some vinegar. Beating in a copper bowl also helps, but most of us
don't have a special bowl for beating eggs. If you added sugar, you could
have added it too soon or too fast.

Properly beaten egg whites should be glossy. When you withdraw the beater
or whisk and turn it upside down, there should be a peak. A soft peak will
curl over and a stiff peak will remain upright. When over-beaten, the
whites will become dull and the volume will start to decrease. The foam
will lose its stability. When in doubt, under-beating.

How will you know when to add the sugar in the egg whites?

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> How will you know when to add the sugar in the egg whites?
>

I generally let them form a very soft, mounding foam - not one that forms
peaks, before starting to add the sugar. If you are using a stand mixer,
that will only be about a 90 seconds. I also put the metal bowl from the
mixer over a low flame and beat with a whisk for a few minutes until the
whites come up to about body temperate or slightly above. Then, I put them
on the machine and start off at about medium speed for 90 seconds, crank up
the speed to high and start adding the sugar.