For today’s article I will be talking about the use of egg white powder in macarons. What does egg white powder actually do? Can egg white powder fix hollow shells? Can I use just egg white powder when making macarons? Do I have to change the macaron recipe when adding egg white powder? Is it right for everyone?
All of these questions will be answered today!
First, let’s talk about what is egg white powder. Egg white powder is simply dried egg whites, the egg whites have had their water content removed, and what is left is just the protein, which is ground up into a fine powder.
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Egg white powder is the pure albumen.
I first heard about it from Nicole at Bake Toujours. And then I saw a few people claiming to have fixed hollow shell issues using egg white powder.
So, does adding egg white powder to the meringue actually make your macaron shells fuller?
The answer is: not necessarily.
To be able to answer this, let’s see what adding egg white powder does to the meringue.
Let’s talk meringue for a second here.
Below you can see the structure of the meringue. The blue and teal circles would be air and water bubbles, the orange links around them would be the protein strands. The yellow represents the viscous sugar syrup that surrounds the air bubbles, the water bubbles, and the protein strands.
Basically to have a stable meringue, you need this whole structure to be solid and strong. It’s important to keep the air and the water bubbles in place, and for that you need the eggs to be whipped just right.
If you over whip the egg whites, the air bubbles will become too large and the protein strands will collapse, and you will have a broken meringue.
When you whip the meringue, essentially you are adding air to it, which is being captured within the foam. And for the air to remain where it is, you need the protein network to be solid. One thing that helps keep the protein strands strong is the sugar syrup that surrounds the whole structure, which is why you do need sugar when making macarons, and sugar substitutes don’t work well, but that’s a talk for another time.
And another thing that will help keep this network strong is to add more protein to it. And that’s where the egg white powder comes in.
You are basically making this whole structure stronger by adding the egg white powder in and giving a boost of protein “walls” to the meringue, which keep the air and water trapped in nice and safe.
So now we can answer the question:
Does egg white powder help with hollow macarons?
Egg white powder doesn’t necessarily help with hollow macarons as much as it helps you obtain a stronger, more stable meringue. And a stable meringue is needed for healthy shells.
So lots of people start to use egg white powder and notice improvement in their shells, which can come in the form of a sturdier, smooth, shiny top, beautiful feet, and fuller shells.
Does egg white powder work for everybody?
Adding egg white powder to the meringue doesn’t work for everybody. The climate you are in, the brands of the ingredients you use, the quality of the eggs, the recipe you use are all factors that will determine if egg white powder works for you or not.
Egg White Powder and Humidity
Egg white powder doesn’t work well if you are in a dry climate. Back in New York, during winter time it gets really dry inside the houses (around 20% or less) because of the heat being on all day long, if I added egg white powder to my meringue, the shells would turn out lopsided, they would be dry as soon as I even piped, not giving me time to poke the air bubbles, and the macarons would turn out dry and crunchy.
Now I am living in Florida, and the humidity inside my house during summer is around 50%, a bit less if I turn the dehumidifier on. This weather I am in right now is perfect for using egg white powder, just like summer in New York was also great for that. I haven’t been through winter here in Florida yet, but I will determine if I will use egg white powder or not based on the humidity levels of my environment.
Now, regardless of the environment, other things should also be considered when evaluating if you should or not use egg white powder as I mentioned above, such as the brands of ingredients, recipe, quality of eggs and what not.
The reason why egg white powder can often help bakers in humid climates is because, like we said above, it’s just like adding another layer of protein without the extra water that a fresh egg white would have. The sugar in the meringue will absorb moisture from the air, so the extra protein will be helpful to make up for the extra water that will be coming into the mixture.
Can I use just egg white powder when making macarons?
Yes, you can hydrate the egg white powder and make macarons like that. I’ve seen it done a few times around the facebook groups, and my friend Nicole from Bake Toujours has a video about it. While I haven’t tried it myself, just know it can be done.
Do I have to change my recipe when adding egg white powder?
If the recipe you are using doesn’t have instructions for the addition of egg white powder, you can try adding 4 grams for each 100 grams of egg whites, that’s what I usually add.
Unless the weather is becoming too dry, or unless I’ve added cocoa powder, or matcha powder to the shells, I use about 2 grams instead.
I’ve tried with 3 grams and it still made the shells super dry, but then again, I was on a different, drier climate. It’s important to experiment and try different amounts to see what works best.
In any case, you shouldn’t have to change the amount of any other ingredients, just add the egg white powder to the recipe on top of the dry ingredients, unless instructed differently by an instructor.
When to add the egg white powder to the meringue?
With the Swiss method, I like to whisk the egg white powder with the sugar before adding the fresh egg whites in. If you mix the egg white powder directly with the fresh egg whites, it will clump up. Whisking it with the sugar will prevent that from happening.
Is meringue powder the same thing as egg white powder?
Meringue powder and egg white powder are not the same thing. Egg white powder is simply dehydrated egg whites, when you read the label of the product, it should only say: egg whites.
Now meringue powder also has egg whites in it, but it has other ingredients too such as cornstarch, cream of tartar, sugar, citric acid, gum arabic, acid sulfate, artificial flavors, and silicone dioxide.
Essentially the meringue powder would perform similarly to egg white powder, again, it’s a matter of testing and using what you prefer.
To sum up, egg white powder can be a great addition to your meringue, and can be very beneficial depending on your circumstances. The only way of knowing is to try it out!
This is the egg white powder I use:
I hope you liked today’s article and that it was helpful to teach you a little bit about egg white powder and macarons.
To learn more about macarons and become a master baker, read my other articles here at Macaron School. There I share a lot of articles from troubleshooting guides, tips, tricks, the science behind macarons, and much more!
Thanks for reading!
Thank you for this very informative article! I bought powdered egg whites about a month ago but have not tried them yet. I really am glad to hear that they are helpful in a more humid climate because I live in North Carolina and it’s crazy humid!💙
I am so happy this was helpful and informative! Thank you!!
This was very helpful- Thank you!
I am so glad it was helpful!
Macarons maravilhosos!!!!!
Magnifica explicacion! Muchas gracias,gran ayuda.👏👏
so glad it was helpful!
I wonder if dried aquafaba powder would work similarly in vegan macaron?
that’s a great question!
Thank you for sharing the science around egg white powder Camila, this is so interesting! I am planning to try Nicole’s all-egg-white-powder recipe soon for fun and see what happens….
that’s so cool! ill have to try it sometime too!
Hello,
When using the egg white powder with the French method, when do you recommend adding and is this in addition to Cream of Tarter or instead of?
Thank you!
you’d use it instead of cream of tartar
similarly – which do you think works better, cream of tartar or egg white powder?
I prefer egg white powder for humid climates, and cream of tartar for dry climate
I used your recipe with egg white powder. My shells became too hard. So hard that even to cut the macaron with a knife was a struggle. What am I doing wrong? The feet were perfect, the shell was full but over all too hard. Especially if I didn’t add any filling in the macarons.
like I explain above, egg white powder is not right for everyone. it also could be an over baking issue. but like i explain on the article above, egg white powder might not be right for you.
Camila,
Thank you for your blog, and all your videos. I also live in Florida, (northeast to be specific). So far of all the macaron recipes I have tried, yours seem to work the best for me, 100% every time. One question, I’m wondering if you have modified the egg white powder to your recipe now that is winter? I have not change a thing, yet I have been having lots of troubles with my macs lately (trays full of lopsided and volcanos). Please help!
hi there, so it’s still been pretty humid here, like right now it’s almost 90%, so i’ve been still using egg white powder successfully. However, check the humidity of where you are, because egg white powder would give me major lopsided issues back in new york when it got super dry in our home during winter. If the humidity is anywhere under 45% I would skip egg white powder.
Thanks for the video link (on using just dehydrated egg whites) from your friend Nicole from Bake Toujours. I feel empowered 🙂 as I just keep dehydrated eggs (whole, just whites and just yokes) because I cook with them about once a month and it’s a waste to buy a dozen
Hello all … I actually did an experiment using a mixture of liquid egg whites and egg white powder – whisking the two in a bowl – letting it settle and then measuring out the amount needed using my scale. I was pleasantly surprised … every batch came out with shiny, hard to the ‘tap’ tops and feet. Some were slightly hollow but not enough to be noticeable when filled. The only downside for me is that they are not high – good distinct feet, not lopsided but not high. I also added one aged egg bite to the mixture and that worked great too.
Kathy
Have you rested them? Sometimes resting helps with the higher feet. Also whipping the meringue a tad longer can help as well, just be careful not to overwhip.
At what step does the egg white powder get added during the French method?
Would you use egg white powder if you’re at 30% humidity for the day?
probably not
How long does the egg white powder last? What’s the best way to store it if you don’t make macarons very often?
I store them in an air tight container. they last quite a while. I still have my bag from the end of last year.
Thank you so much for the help. I learned a lot from you. I love that you mentioned Ninja oven because I use it too. I’m still experimenting with it. I love your book “Macaron School”!!! The pomegranate flavor is the hit in my family!! Thank you !!!!
Ela