French meringue is the easiest to prepare.
It is produced by whipping the egg whites until stiff and, once it has reached the frothy consistency, incorporating the granulated sugar without interrupting the movement.
For this type of meringue, instead of "cooking", it is preferable to talk about drying.
There are two different procedures: for meringues that must remain very white, drying takes place at a low temperature. The small ones with a tender heart should be put in the oven at 85-90 ° C and proceeded for 90 minutes. Or, for large and crunchy ones, cooking goes on for several hours.
In the past, bakers slowly cooked meringues during the night; this system is known as the "old-fashioned" or " Meiringen " method.
To obtain hard and tasty meringues, they must be baked at a temperature of 120 ° C for a maximum of twenty minutes, then lowered to about 100 ° C and left in for up to two and a half hours (depending on the size).
These are slightly less white due to the caramelization of the sugar. The system was perfected in the sixties by Angelo Rime in Botterens, Switzerland, and is called by the name of the city.
Crispy meringues can be eaten on their own, but can also be used to supplement other recipes as decoration or coating, whole or crumbled.
The meringues can be served paired (like a sandwich), with whipped cream, diplomatic cream or other types of cream / icing inside. Usually white, they can be colored thanks to the use of food additives to create chromatic contrasts to other preparations.
With a neutral and sweet taste, they too are suitable to be flavored, more typically cocoa, vanilla, coconut, lemon and decorated with dried fruit (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, etc.).
