Mousse Problems

[Irland]

I made a cherry mousse last night, or attempted to. It has had about 16 hours to cool and is not set. I think the problem was in my egg whites. I was whipping them over a hot water bath and was interrupted for moment, and when I came back my foam was broken. I was out of eggs so I tried to save it by over-whipping them...

I have made mousse well before, but I was wondering if anyone had any info on perfect egg white whipping and what exactly it is that causes the foam to break.

Thanks all,

Eli

 

[Bilby]

Sorry - I'm no use to you but welcome to DC anyway!!

 

[Katie H]

Don't know why you had a problem but, when whipping egg whites, cleanliness is paramount. You have to be certain your bowl and beaters/whisk are pristine and free of any oils, etc. Same for when you crack the eggs to separate them. NEVER let your hands/fingers/skin touch the egg whites because any oil will affect the whites when they are beaten.

Another thing that will give your egg whites volume is to bring your eggs up to room temp before breaking them. Beyond that, except for being interrupted, I don't know what happened to your mousse.

 

[TATTRAT]

Welcome to DC.

I would have recommended using a little gelatin to help leaven things. As for the hot water bath, I have always just whipped egg whites to a peak, off heat, then simply fold them in the flavor base of which I am working.