There are 3 different techniques for meringue: French, Italian, and Swiss FRENCH MERINGUE French meringue, made with 2 parts sugar to 1 part egg white, is usually used for hard-shelled meringues This might seem like a lot of sugar, but it is required to produce a hard shell Reducing the amount of sugar results in a softer, gooey texture French meringue can be flavored, usually with dry ingredients such as chocolate, coffee powder, spices, or ground nuts Baked French meringues are always stored at room temperature in an airtight container Since they are free of water and loaded with sugar, they basically cannot spoil If stored in the refrigerator or freezer they will become soggy over time, because they’re very porous and will absorb the humidity in the air ITALIAN MERINGUE Italian meringue is much softer than French meringue It is never used to make hard shells Rather, it is usually a component of another recipe like butter cream or a mousse, added to create a lighter texture It can also be used to frost pastries such as baked Alaska, or to top a tart such as a lemon meringue pie SWISS MERINGUE The proportions of sugar and egg whites in Swiss meringue, also used for hard-shell recipes, are the same as in French meringue, 1 part egg whites to 2 parts sugar, but the method is different The egg whites and sugar are combined in the bowl of your mixer and are first whipped together by hand over a bain-marie (double boiler) of hot water until the mixture reaches ... very porous and will absorb the humidity in the air ITALIAN MERINGUE Italian meringue is much softer than French meringue It is never used to make hard shells Rather, it is usually a component of another recipe like butter cream or... meringue, 1 part egg whites to 2 parts sugar, but the method is different The egg whites and sugar are combined in the bowl of your mixer and are first whipped together by hand over a bain-marie (double boiler) of hot water until... top a tart such as a lemon meringue pie SWISS MERINGUE The proportions of sugar and egg whites in Swiss meringue, also used for hard-shell recipes, are the same as in French meringue, 1 part egg whites