Alex Guarnaschelli's Pro Tip For Perfect Meringue Isn't About Technique

Perfectly executed meringue is one of the few culinary feats that are likely to elicit literal oohs and ahhs after landing on the table. Though only requiring egg whites, sugar, and a bit of cream of tartar, meringue does take some patience and finesse (and lots and lots of air). Celebrity chef, cookbook author, and Food Network personality Alex Guarnaschelli suggests that as much of a given as it may seem, it is crucial to use a clean bowl and cooking implements, so you might want to stop making the most common kitchen sanitation mistakes. Also important is to cleanly separate the egg yolks from the whites. As Guarnaschelli told Vail Daily, "The whites tend to pick up any impurities, and it will also inhibit that nice rise you are looking for."

Cleaning your bowl and cooking utensils properly before use is vital to ensure that no "impurities" get into your egg whites, which are the star of the meringue show. Despite being the most important kitchen tool you own, the sponge isn't typically cleaned often enough, so ensure you clean yours before you get on with meringue prep.

Mixing said whites with yolk, even to a small extent, will make them difficult to whip to perfection, just as leftover dust and debris in your bowl can jeopardize how your egg whites rise. A handy temperature tip that makes it easier to separate the egg whites and yolks is parting the eggs when they are cold (ideally just out of the refrigerator) and then let the whites come to room temperature (you can save the yolks for future use) before you proceed. Another pro move is to separate each additional egg into a small staging bowl of sorts rather than directly into the larger bowl, so that if you do get some yolk into the white you are only down one egg and not the entire batch. Eggs are precious these days!

Now that you've scaled the peaks of meringue perfection, it's smooth sailing, right? Well, not so fast. Proper prep and a focus on timing are still going to be important to avoid common meringue-baking mistakes like cracking or improper cooking. Think of making meringue almost as a sort of moving meditation. You can't rush it and you have to be in the moment and watch as the meringue dictates what it needs. The exact timing that works well one cool day might not work in exactly the same way in a hot, crowded kitchen.

In the same vein, meringue doesn't like to be crowded in the oven and the optimal temperature on one oven may vary a good bit from another. This is one of the common mistakes everyone makes when baking pavlova, with its sweet fruit ladled over a gorgeous meringue nest. Meringue definitely likes to be coddled a bit but the results will be worth the effort when you serve up a tantalizing pie or glossy cookies. Just remember the die is cast well before you begin whipping those egg whites: Ensure your bowls are squeaky clean and your whites aren't tarnished even with a speck of yolk, and you'll be well on your way to the perfect meringue.