[Sca-cooks] beating egg whites

[Stefan li Rous]

Okay, newbie cook question time.

A little over a year ago Hauviette posted to this list her redaction
for making "snow". I've decided to make this to go with some sweet
wafers for a baronial pot luck luck this coming Saturday. (I'm still
trying to introduce wafers to Ansteorra).

The original recipe and more commentary is available in the wafers-msg file
in the FOOD-BREADS section of the Florilegium.

The 'main work' herein after referred to is:  A Proper Newe Booke of
Cokerye,
16 Century, edited by Catherine Frances Frere, Cambridge; W. Heffer &
Sons
Ltd, 1913, Found in Cariadoc's Miscellany

Sixth dish:A Dish of  Snowe with French Wafers
<snip>

> Modern Version : Serves 8
> 1/2 pint whipping cream
> 1 egg white
> 2 tsp rosewater
> 1/4 cup sugar
>
> Beat the egg white and slowly add the sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat the
> whipping cream and rose water until stiff. Blend the two gently with a
> folding motion. Refridgerate until used.

My question is, how long should you have to beat the egg whites (I
doubled the recipe) to get "stiff peaks"? I thought I was getting some
peaks and kept beating (with a whisk and and egg beater), what peaks
I thought I might have, went away. And no matter what I did after this
it never did get thick. When spooned up it would quickly run off and
fall back in the liquid, without leaving any evidence. Is it possible
to beat the eggs 'too' much?

The whipping cream and rose water did seem to thicken some. What I
ended up with was sort of a thickish cream where waves and such would
stay for awhile on the surface. I've put it in the refrigerator, where
it was said to store it anyway, to see if it will thicken some more.

When the recipe says "stiff peaks" should that be like you see on
meringue pie?

Oh yes, tommorow night I'll be trying Adamantius' recipe for the
sweet wafers. I will probably decorate the "snow" with strawberries,
since they are in season, or with sprigs of mint from my new herb garden
and then arrange the wafers around the bowl of snow.
--
THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****