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Reply to "Egg Whites - Health Concern in Royal Icing?"

Judy J posted:

I was wondering if I could heat my egg whites up to pasteurize them the way I do when I make Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  

I don't think the heating process involved in making Italian or Swiss meringue actually hits high enough temperatures for a long enough period of time to kill all bacteria; it's certainly a safeguard, but I'm not sure it's a guarantee.

For instance, this site (http://www.foodsafetysite.com/...ing/processing2.html) says that whole eggs pasteurized in the shell are maintained at 130F for about 45 minutes (the temperature needs to remain lower than 140F to prevent coagulation of the eggs). I don't know of any meringue recipe that calls for heating this high for this long. Do you?

Last edited by Julia M. Usher
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