What does overbeating egg whites look like? Today, I used an electric hand mixer to beat 3 egg whites and it came out "heavy" and creamy instead of fluffy with peaks. What did I do wrong? The result resembled almost like heavy cream.
Were you just playing with egg whites and not thinking about using it to leaven a cake or a mousse? The sure way to see if the whites are properly beaten is if you succeed in your recipe where such meringue is the base ingredient. Indeed there are technical details and characteristics of an optimally beaten whites but you will not appreciate it unless you apply that to a product. Roy
Sounds like under-beating to me. You may have stopped too soon or there may have been some contamination that prevented them from whipping. Even a small amount of oil or a speck of yolk can inhibit foam formation. You should always make sure your equipment is sparkling clean and never use plastic. Warm eggs foam better than cold eggs. A little acid will help stabilize the proteins so you can add some cream of tartar or wipe the bowl with some vinegar. Beating in a copper bowl also helps, but most of us don't have a special bowl for beating eggs. If you added sugar, you could have added it too soon or too fast.
Properly beaten egg whites should be glossy. When you withdraw the beater or whisk and turn it upside down, there should be a peak. A soft peak will curl over and a stiff peak will remain upright. When over-beaten, the whites will become dull and the volume will start to decrease. The foam will lose its stability. When in doubt, under-beating.
How will you know when to add the sugar in the egg whites?
I generally let them form a very soft, mounding foam - not one that forms peaks, before starting to add the sugar. If you are using a stand mixer, that will only be about a 90 seconds. I also put the metal bowl from the mixer over a low flame and beat with a whisk for a few minutes until the whites come up to about body temperate or slightly above. Then, I put them on the machine and start off at about medium speed for 90 seconds, crank up the speed to high and start adding the sugar.
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