bubbles are broken into smaller and smaller bubbles, becoming so small that they are nearly invisible to the naked eye and thus the whites appear smooth and white, like shaving cream When pulled into peaks, they remain stiff and solid • Breakdown and weeping : Keep going past the stiff-peak stage, and the proteins begin to bond so tightly with each other that they squeeze the moisture right out of the bubbles, resulting in a meringue that weeps and breaks Acidic ingredients like cream of tartar or a touch of lemon juice can prevent egg white proteins from bonding too tightly, allowing you to form a foam that stays stable no matter how hard you beat it Add sugar and vanilla to the whites at the soft-peak stage, whip to stiff peaks, drop by the spoonful onto baking sheets, and bake at a low temperature, and you’ve got yourself classic meringue cookies If you instead drizzle in a cooked sugar syrup toward the end of whipping, you’ll end up with what’s called an Italian meringue, a meringue that stays soft and supple even when browned—the kind of thing you’d want to top a lemon meringue pie with Here the use for meringue is much more simple: all you’re going to is fold it into the pancake batter The extra air that the egg whites have incorporated expands as the pancakes cook, making them featherlight Whipped egg whites Plain eggs Pancake Flavor As far as flavoring buttermilk pancakes go, there are a few givens: Dairy fat, in the form of melted butter or milk, is essential Not only does it add richness and flavor to the mix, but by coating the flour and limiting gluten ... buttermilk pancakes go, there are a few givens: Dairy fat, in the form of melted butter or milk, is essential Not only does it add richness and flavor to the mix, but by coating the flour and limiting