Meringue is stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar. Food Network will show you how to make two of our favorites. The first is French, which is an unheated meringue, and should be cooked on top of pie, like lemon meringue pie, or as the base of meringue cookies and shells. Make sure your egg whites and equipment are clean as the smallest drop of yolk or oil will keep them from reaching their full volume. Use room-temperature egg whites as they whip higher. Add a pinch of cream of tartar; if you don’t have any, use lemon juice. Whip eggs until foamy and starting to thicken. Then slowly add confectioner’s sugar and whip on high speed until it’s thick and foamy like shaving cream. If it’s glossy and tripled in volume, you did it. Whip until stiff peaks form. Swiss meringue is cooked and more stable, so it won’t collapse. It’s used in butter creams or poached for the classic dessert Floating Island. Begin by combining egg whites and granulated sugar over a double boiler. Consistently whisk or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. Whisk until the sugar melts and the meringue has a temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it’s hot, it goes into the mixer. You want the meringue to be thick and foamy when you’re done mixing. Whip until you get stiff peaks that stand up on the end of the whisk.