How to Beat the Whites of Eggs

Blancs en neige teach the essential grammar of every soufflé, mousse, biscuit, and meringue: air must be added gradually to proteins kept utterly free of fat. The one true thing to know before you lift the whisk is that a trace of yolk or grease can prevent the whites from reaching full stiffness. Clean tools first. Everything after that is rhythm.

The original method assumed ten whites, a spherical copper or nickel basin, and an arm accustomed to brigade quantities. At home, four whites in a 2 1/2 to 3-quart copper bowl give the same advantage; impeccably clean stainless steel is the honest alternative, and a balloon whisk or clean electric beaters provide the motion. The rare nickel basin and the large batch are brigade scaffolding, so they go. The rounded bowl, gentle beginning, brisk finish, and proportional sugar rescue are the technique itself, so they stay. One cook, one bowl, ten minutes.

Begin gently, drawing the whites up until their ropey structure loosens into one even foam, then increase speed only as they stiffen. The step that matters is stopping at smooth, glossy stiff peaks, just before dry grains appear; keep the measured powdered sugar beside you, because if granulation begins, ça se rattrape.