Meringue????

[Deeau]

I know this topic has been brought up many time BUT..... I have made the Lemon Meringue Pie in the EDC about 5 times, the first time perfect meringue, every time since then I have ended up with foam rather than silky egg whites?
I don't know what I am doing wrong I have watched the videos, reread instructions, done the bowl with vinegar and boiling water. I know some people give up but I got it right the first time !!!
I don't know if I am under whipping, overwhipping etc, I get volume but it is not that shiny silky meringue, its "foamy"
Help ...please

[dyljon]

I know with mine that happens if there is even the tiniest bit of dirt or moisture in the bowl, lid or seal. I always pull everything apart and wash in very hot water then dry thoroughly before reassembling and it works every time. I've heard other people say the age of the the eggs can be an issue, or the temp of the bowl before you start, but I haven't found problems there yet...

[judydawn]

Are you using any heat with the whipping Deeau?  Some use 37^oC & others suggest 50^oC (which I use) with the butterfly in on speed 3. Must be so annoying seeing as how you did have success once.

[Deeau]

I have tried with both 37 and 50 degrees, dyljon did your go foamy, this time I did wash the bowl in boiling water and vinegar and then dried it, maybe it still had moisture, guess I will just have to keep making them till I get it perfect ! This is the only thing that I have had a failure with since changing over from my kenwood chef, I would really like to get it right.

[dyljon]

From memory it went kind of foamy but not thick, if that makes sense... more sort of bubbly?

[andiesenji]

I've had the same thing happen and I know the bowl, lid and blades are totally clean.
I mostly use my KA or other mixer but last week all my mixer bowls were in the dishwasher and I needed to whip egg whites.

I made sure everything was clean and dry  AND I scrubbed the butterfly with a strong vinegar solution followed with  dry baking soda which I scrubbed off with a dry stiff brush.
Success!     I came to the conclusion that the  butterfly was the culprit because  during the prior experiment I noticed that the whites would begin to aerate but then as the butterfly swept through the foam, the bubbles would collapse. 
There are a lot of little nooks and crannies on the butterfly that makes it difficult to clean.  If I did not have the other mixers, I think I would buy a second butterfly, just to use for egg whites.
 

[Deeau]

I do have two butterflys ( as I have two bowls ) I will run one throught the dishwaher and then try ...I would gladly use one for just egg whites if I could get consistant success, it does increase in volumne but as I said I get foam not nice silky meringue.

[andiesenji]

While I did have moderate success the last time I tried using the TMX for meringue,  I have subsequently used only my KA mixer because I get a lot more volume and more stable meringue.
It is one of my rare complaints about it.  For almost everything else it has performed beautifully.