I sometimes have difficulty whipping egg whites that call for sugar in them.

I had a failure in two attempts. I think I overwhipped but didn't think the consistency was right, so I continued whipping.

The recipe called for whipping egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy and then slowly adding sugar. After a little while, it deflated and became soupy.

I tried it again, and egg whites doubled in volume nicely, but then deflated (I overwhipped this one I am sure)

Now, I saw two recipes, one asks for egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar whipped together until stiff peaks and other where egg whites and cream of tartar are whipped first to soft peaks then add the sugar.

What's the difference? These are both recipes for Italian meringue.

I am going to try another one that says to whip egg whites alone, then add the hot syrup sugar mixture, and then butter.

I have better handle in whipping egg whites alone to peaks, then adding sugar to them. I seem to overbeat for some reason...

I've never really had trouble with egg whites. You could try with room tempature eggs, or even organic eggs (the quality is much, much better)

could you use meringue powder instead??

I've just heard or saw on tv most people always say, room tempature eggs before you whip them up.

I have always been afraid of buttercream recipes with the egg whites. However, I do know from watching too much Food Network that egg whites must be room temp to whip.

What's your weather like? If it's humid in your kitchen nothing's going to whip well.

Sugar should make the whipped egg whites more stable. If putting sugar in is giving you problems, consider whether maybe you're introducing fat along with the sugar (mixing it in with a rubber scraper that's not entirely fat free?).

I am going to try again.... I am a stubborn creature by nature and don't give up until I get good results... I am not discouraged easily either... So, I will keep on trying until I get it right...

As far as humidity, it is humid here but not that much. I keep my house cool, so I don't think that that is a factor. I will make sure my egg whites are at room temp, and not to overwhip.

Is the cause of overwhipping deflation or just dry peaks...?

Both. If you're overbeating you'd have dry whites before adding sugar and the whole thing could collapse after. If that's what's going on, try adding the sugar (bit by bit, not all at once, which I'm guessing you already know) earlier. Stop beating while the whites are still glossy.

I should have probably mentioned also that I am using the pasteurzied (I think that's how you spell it) egg whites, already prepackaged in containers and not egg whites from actual eggs.

I have used raw egg whites with actual eggs before and whipped them to meringue adding sugar and didn't have a problem. I do this for a sponge cake I make.

But I am having a little trouble with this prepackaged egg whites.

Oh, well, I have another recipe that is easier, like the one Silvia Weinstock uses for hers.... She whips the egg whites, but doesn't add sugar, except for just cream of tartar.

Then she pours the hot sugar syrup...

Maria,
Pastuerized egg whites are not to be used for making any type of meringues. They are primarily made for cooking (such as an egg whilte omelet)as the heat of the pastuerization process breaks down the egg whites and the eggs cannot be whipped. Always use fresh eggs, the egg whites should be at room temperature and the bowl must be absolutely grease free or the egg whites will break down. Another trick to beating egg whites is to start beating slowly then gradually increase the speed, the cream of tartar and sugar will help stabilized the egg whites. the hot sugar syrup will cook the egg whites and therefore the chance of having salmonella poisoning or other type of food poisoning associated with the eggs are eleimated with the hot sugar syrup (similar to the pasteurization process as the sugar syrup is around 248 degrees (water boils at 100 degrees).

Hope this helps.
Karen

[quote="kalikw"]Maria,
Pastuerized egg whites are not to be used for making any type of meringues. They are primarily made for cooking (such as an egg whilte omelet)as the heat of the pastuerization process breaks down the egg whites and the eggs cannot be whipped. Always use fresh eggs, the egg whites should be at room temperature and the bowl must be absolutely grease free or the egg whites will break down. Another trick to beating egg whites is to start beating slowly then gradually increase the speed, the cream of tartar and sugar will help stabilized the egg whites. the hot sugar syrup will cook the egg whites and therefore the chance of having salmonella poisoning or other type of food poisoning associated with the eggs are eleimated with the hot sugar syrup (similar to the pasteurization process as the sugar syrup is around 248 degrees (water boils at 100 degrees).
Actually, if you have been reading up on recent articles about this theory, it is not accurate. I always wondered about it and never wanted to take risks with cakes leaving the house for folks outside the family. Apparently, I was correct in my assumption that much of the heat from the hot syrup is dissipated in the bowl and does not truly bring the temperature of the eggs to 160F which is the temperature they need to reach to kill off the salmonella. I believe there is an article about this on www.baking911.com or a similar site.
The risk of salmonella is very low, but there is always a risk even though it is less than 1 percent.
Your eggs should be about 3 days old at least, but still very fresh, to get maximum volume. You must work fast to incorporate also. But do pour your sugar very gradually into the egg whites, just afterwards speed up your process so they do not have time to separate. Also, are you making them dry first, you do not want dry egg whites.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Thanks Squirrelly,
I do add the sugar in slowly and then speed up the process after the sugar is added. When I add the sugar syrup I don't add it in all at once, usually in one or two batches and I usually increase the speed of the mixer to get the syrup fully incorporated into the egg white mixture , I check by feeling around the bowl that is very hot to the touch then I know I have the syrup fully incorporated then I slowed down the speed of the mixer at this point I change from the whisk beater to the paddle and I keep the mixing on a slow/medium speed until the egg white mixture is cool then I add the butter. I have never had a problem with the recipe (except in hot weather of course) and I have made it for people outside of my friends and family, so far so good! Thanks for the input concerning temperature and the egg whites I will check on the website. I have been on it the baking911 site before.
Karen

Well, actually ladies, I tried for the 4th time and IT WORKED!!! My pasteurized egg whites whipped up nicely and I was able to finish my Italian Meringue Buttercream.

I followed the recipe in Baking 911 because she gives you detailed info on how to store it. This one I made, I can store in the fridge for a week and up to 3 months in the freezer. So I made, and kept it there for a future cake I am going to make.

I made Swiss Meringue Buttercream with pasteurized egg whites also, and it came out too. They look similar in texture but the Italian one is more thick and firm.

I thought you could use this kind of whites for icings two because of salmonela issues....

I 've been finding some info on pasteurized egg whites. They say that you can use them for meringues but that it will take 3 to 5 times longer to whip...

http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?catitemid=2&id=184

This is a paragraph taken from the link below:

Now to create meringue: I whipped the "Just Whites" the same way I whip fresh whites, adding the cream of tartar, flavorings and sugar at the same stages. I was not disappointed. The "Just Whites" were equal in every way -- volume, density, snowy white appearance and taste. And they behaved the same way when baked -- no appreciable shrinkage.

http://www.texascooking.com/features/apr98nomoreshells.htm

Now I just found this site where it says that THERE ARE pasteurized egg whites that CAN be used for Meringue. But NOT ALL can be.

Just for FYI: ALL WHITES Brand Egg Whites CANNOT be used for Meringue. ("Darn, that's the one I used, still worked but probably not at its fullest)

EGG BEATERS WHITES CAN be used for Meringues. It will tell you so in the carton.

Here's the link to this one...
http://www.post-gazette.com/food/20010510mailbox.asp

Okay, I wished I had done this research before.... But thanks to you all for your suggestions, I did and found out all this good stuff.

THANKS!!!!!

Hi
I am happy to hear the frosting came out using the pasteurized egg whites.

could someone post a picture of Italian Meringue buttercream whipped but not put on a cake yet to see what its supposed to look like....?

Since I didn't use the proper whites, but got a very good consistency in the icing, I would love to comapre them to see how different they look..