Which meringue is safe to eat without baking?
I recently got my meringue game down and though I wouldn’t eat French meringue without baking it, I’ve seen numerous videos where it’s said that Swiss meringue is delicious straight out of the double boiler. I’ve not seen the same about Italian, but I thought that is cooked in the bowl, too?
So which meringue is safe to eat direct from the bowl?
Best Answer
As you're in the UK, they're all safe. Raw egg is safe according to the NHS
Because of improved food safety controls in recent years, infants, children, pregnant women and elderly people can now safely eat raw or lightly cooked hen eggs, or foods containing them, that are produced under the British Lion Code of Practice (regarding hygiene and especially salmonella).
This doesn't apply to all other countries, but it's worth checking in many EU countries, where dishes containing raw egg are traditional (such as chocolate mousse and tiramisu). I've failed to find a single reliable source covering many countries, but Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway are essentially salmonella-free. I read enough French to make sense of some sources, but can't find anything definitive more recent than 2013 in which products made from raw egg are advised against for high-risk groups, but generally acceptable; in particular recipes assume that pregnant women will be avoiding raw egg.
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Quick Answer about "Which meringue is safe to eat without baking?"
You can eat meringues made with pasteurized egg whites raw without risk of salmonella.Which meringue can you eat raw?
Cooking the sugar before adding it to the whipped egg whites makes a \u201csoft/wet\u201d Italian meringue. This kind of meringue is the most stable and edible without additional cooking.Does meringue need to be cooked to eat?
This meringue pie topping, known as a French or common meringue, is a simple combination of egg whites whipped with sugar. It's the easiest type of meringue to make. For safety, a meringue must be cooked to the safe minimum temperature of 160 F. Do not eat meringue raw, since it contains raw egg whites.Which meringue is the safest?
As a rule, dry meringue shells, divinity candy and seven-minute frostings are safe because they are made by combining a hot sugar syrup with beaten egg whites, so the egg whites are sufficiently heated. Meringue-topped pies and cookies will be safe when baked at 350 degrees for at least 15 minutes.What meringue do we not heat?
French meringue is thought to be the simplest to prepare, since it doesn't require any heat; it's simply combining egg whites with sugar. Using a stand mixer is the easiest and most efficient method to whisk egg whites, and sugar is gradually added one spoonful at a time.Meringue Cookies Recipe
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Answer 2
Considering the three main types of meringue (ignoring the 'vegan meringue' made with aquafaba), you would not eat French meringue without baking because it contains uncooked egg. While salmonella-contaminated eggs are increasingly rare in most (Western) countries, including the UK, this is probably wise.
Italian and Swiss meringue are both cooked to some extent; the former by whisking a hot sugar syrup into the eggs, the latter by heating the eggs over a double boiler. Unless you are measuring the temperature of your mixture and the time it takes to cool, you cannot be sure the eggs will be 'officially' safe, i.e. pasteurised.
Given you are in the UK, you will most likely not experience any negative effects from consuming raw eggs (see Chris H's answer for more details on this). If you want to be extra cautious, you could make any of these meringues with pasteurised eggs (recommended by the FDA in the US, where salmonella infections are a little more likely), after which any meringue would be safe to eat raw.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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