bread or cake would not rise as much because the crushed crystals are tinier and not as pointed.

Conversely, you cannot substitute granular sugar for icing sugar in a cake frosting (except in recipes

where you dissolve the sugar first), because with granular sugar you will never get a smooth,

velvety, silk-like texture so desirable in frosting. In addition, icing sugar contains 3 percent

cornstarch (to inhibit clumping) that changes the correct ingredient proportions.

Sugar also contributes to moistness of baked desserts because of its ability to retain water (it

is hygroscopic). Low-sugar baked products dry out faster.

Finally, sugar has important contribution to flavor through browning. On heating, sugar goes

through a tremendous number of chemical changes. At a little below 350°F (175°C) it changes color

to amber, then darkens to caramel, and develops an intense flavor. The process is called

caramelization and that highly-desirable caramel flavor permeates whatever you are baking.

Eggs

For any food with egg as ingredient, the fresher the better. This is especially true when egg

is the star performer on your plate, like in scrambled, fried or cooked eggs but also in most desserts.

Our choices when buying eggs, however, are not very good, and it is a rare buyer who can be

certain of getting fresh eggs. The tips in Unscrambling Dairy and Eggs chapter help you in your

selection though most of us just pick the first carton of eggs in the supermarket egg case without

thinking freshness.

Recipes call for standard large eggs. Should you be using other than large, refer to the

conversion table in the egg chapter.

Foam from egg whites

Whether you fold the egg white foam into a cake batter or spread over a pie as a meringue,

the way you whip it into a foam is crucial. In a nutshell, put the egg whites into a bowl and whip

with an electric or hand beater until a proper foam forms in a few minutes. But with poor whipping

technique you achieve poor volume. With even poorer technique, you may have no volume at all.

The egg whites may even stubbornly refuse to turn into foam.

To get the maximum foam possible, however, takes more than this simple step. First, start

with egg whites at room temperature. Cold egg whites don't produce maximum volume and neither

do very fresh eggs. (Unless you have egg-laying hens, today you don't have to worry about too-fresh

eggs.)

Second, both bowl and beaters must be clean and completely free of fat or oil. Even a

minute amount in the egg whites reduces, or may prevent, foam development. And since egg yolk is

made up of 31 percent fat, you must be careful that no a trace of yolk sneaks into the whites when

separating.

Plastic bowls are not ideal for beating egg whites because they may retain traces of fat or oil

no matter how well you clean them. Avoid aluminum, too, which tends to discolor the foam, that

leaves stainless steel, glass, ceramic or copper bowl. A copper bowl produces the best, most stable,

highest volume foam with a slight yellowish tinge. If you happened to have one, clean it first with a

little vinegar and hand beat egg whites in it. Egg whites quickly turn into foam with ease. Food

scientists have explained the complex chemistry of interaction of egg whites and copper, but that is

far beyond the interest to most of us.

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