Whenever I use RI, I use meringue powder. If I use raw eggs, is it safe? or is it one of those foods that i should not give to old/pregnant/young ppl? TIA

personally, IMHO.... please never use raw eggs in your RI..... anyone can get sick from it, why take the chance?

I always use raw eggs in my RI. I figure thats the ways its been done forver so why change it. Personally i think people are way too paranoid these days.

Whit6, when I first got started, I had an icing recipe that I was told was for wedding cakes. I used it for about a year before being given my Dream Whip recipe. Anyway ..... turns out the 1st recipe was a RI with raw egg whites. Can't tell you how many cakes I did that year with this icing. The only complaint I ever got was how it 'crunched' when it was cut. (I didn't know crap about icing back then, so my response was, "Of course it does .... it's wedding cake icing!" )

I was excited to get the dream whip recipe because the first thing I noticed was how much money I was going to save because I wasn't going to use any eggs in this icing!

I only use raw egg whites for my royal icing. Seems stronger than RI made with meringue powder.

Yes, it will be fine.

Egg whites are fine. If the fact that they are raw concerns you there is a dried egg white version you can get from Global Sugar Arts, http://www.globalsugarart.com/search.php?search=egg+white&searchimage.x=7&searchimage.y=3

I only use raw egg whites in mine as well... I think it's stronger than the meringue powder version, and I think it also handles better (better elasticity for piping, etc).