Meringue - History

History

The notion that meringue was invented in the Swiss town of Meiringen and improved by an Italian chef named Gasparini in the 18th century is contested; the Oxford English Dictionary states that the French word is of unknown origin. It is sure nevertheless that the name meringue for this confection first appeared in print in François Massialot's cookbook of 1692. The word meringue first appeared in English in 1706 in an English translation of Massialot's book. Two considerably earlier seventeenth-century English manuscript books of recipes give instructions for confections that are recognizable as meringue, though called "white biskit bread" in the book of recipes started in 1604 by Lady Elinor Fettiplace (c. 1570 - c. 1647) of Appleton in Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire), or called "pets" in the manuscript of collected recipes written by Lady Rachel Fane (1612/13 - 1680), of Knole, Kent. Slowly baked meringues are still referred to as "pets" (meaning farts in French) in the Loire region in France due to their light and fluffy texture.

Meringues were traditionally shaped between two large spoons, as they are generally at home today. Meringue piped through a pastry bag with a gored tip (illustration above) was introduced by Antonin Carême.