Sweet and low in fat, meringue is a versatile and delicious dessert component. It can be made soft and fluffy as in a meringue pie, baked to a hardened shell to hold fresh fruit, or lightly toasted around ice cream as in baked Alaska.

Meringue is simply a mixture of egg whites and sugar, whipped to trap air bubbles that inflate its volume by six or eight times. The trick is beating it just enough. Stop too soon and the meringue won’t hold its shape; beat too long and it will curdle and collapse.

Properly whipped meringue is stiff enough to stand on its own and wet enough to shine. You can hold a spoonful of it upside down and none of will drop off.

Here are tips:

Cold eggs separate more easily because the whites hold together better. Bring the whites to room temperature before beating, though, for maximum volume.

Separate the eggs one at a time into a cup so the whole batch won’t be tainted if a speck of egg yolk falls in. If that happens, lift out the bit of yolk with an empty eggshell half.

The smallest amount of fat can prevent the whites from inflating, so make sure the bowl and beaters are spotless. Use a copper, glass or stainless steel bowl, not plastic, which can harbor grease.

Adding a small amount of cream of tartar or vinegar stabilizes the foam and makes it less likely to collapse.

Adding sugar too soon deflates the foam; wait until the whites hold soft peaks.

Don’t stop beating the whites once you begin.

Weeping, the leaching of liquid from the meringue, is caused by undercooking. You can prevent it when making a pie by spreading the meringue over the hot filling, which cooks the underside. The heat from the oven takes care of the top.

Lemon meringue pie

Ingredients:

Pastry dough for a single-crust pie

Raw rice or pie weights

6 large eggs, separated

2 cups sugar (divided use)

1/3 cup cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

½ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch of salt

Method:

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 13-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim and crimp edge. Prick dough in several places with a fork. Place in freezer, covered, for 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line chilled pie shell with aluminum foil and fill with rice or pie weights. Bake in middle of oven 10 minutes. Remove foil and rice carefully; return shell to oven and bake until golden, about 12 minutes more. Set aside to cool. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Beat egg yolks in a bowl; set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, whisk 1-¼ cups of the sugar with the cornstarch and salt. Gradually add milk and 1½ cups water, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil. Whisk about 1 cup of hot mixture into yolks, then whisk it all back into saucepan. Simmer, whisking, until very thick, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice, and zest. Pour into the pie shell; set aside.

With clean beaters, beat egg whites at high speed with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks. Spread on top of hot filling, covering it completely and sealing meringue to edge of crust. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely, then chill. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: 387 calories (27 percent from fat), 12 g fat (4.9 g saturated, 4.8 g monounsaturated), 166.2 mg cholesterol, 6 g protein, 65.3 g carbohydrates, 0.3 g fiber, 228.9 mg sodium.

Carole Kotkin is manager of the Ocean Reef Club cooking school and co-author of “Mmmmiami: Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere.” Contact her at [email protected].