Hi all.

I was just reminded by Rafemama’s ‘french meringue’ post about something meringue-related I’ve always wondered:

Why did my mother teach me only to use older eggs for meringues? Apparently new eggs aren’t suitable, although I’ve never tried to find out why.

Any ideas?

Aged egg whites are recommended for macaroons because they are supposedly more stable.  I don’t recall seeing aging recommended for other types of meringue, so I have a hard time believing it’s very important.  Perhaps it only matters if you have access to very fresh eggs.

As whites age, they “loosen” and are easier to whip.  Think about it as an elastic band that, when new, is very tight, and “springy.”  As it gets older, it becomes stretchier.  (it’s the loosening of the protein molecules that makes it stretchy.)  Stretchier whites whip faster, and incorporate better in macaron batter.