Ingredients
2 large egg whites, room temp
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
2 peppermint candies, crushed
Directions
Arrange oven racks to divide oven in thirds. Heat to 225 deg f. Line
two cookie sheets with foil. In a large bowl, beat egg whites, salt
and cream of tartar until peaks appear. Gradually add sugar and beat
at medium speed for 5 to 6 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie
sheets. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Bake 1 1/2 hours. Meringues
should look dry and white. Turn off oven. Keep door ajar and let
meringues cool. Loosen from foil with metal spatula. Store loosely
covered in a dry place. Makes about 48 meringues each = 0 g fat. Each
meringue: 13 calories, 0 g fat.
Servings: 24 servings
Peppermint Meringues (Woman's Day 12/92) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Candy; Dessert
The History of Recipes
It is quite possible to track the history of written cooking instructions way back into antiquity, certainly as far back as early Egypt, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that is, in the main part, these ancient cook books were just very basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing food.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to historians are a few tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel `blissful`. Progressing into The time of the romans around 25BC a roman called Apicius compiled a few documents describing recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his works, he describes how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into starters, main course and dessert, a very modern way of dining. Aspicius describes how the ancient chefs used many different herbs, including many that are still in use today like thyme, mint and dill. Later, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many foods and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including spices like basil and coriander. These new foods and tastes was responsible for a torrent in manuscripts on food, the majority of which are kept safe in private libraries. During the next few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Europe competed with each other to serve the most extravagent meals, and because of this the best chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the 19th century that fine cooking and recipe publications reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated the best years of their lives to collating, verifying, and recording recipes to help cooks of their time. By the time we get to the 20th century, cook books were starting to become popular mostly due to better eduction, people having increased spare time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Peppermint Meringues (Woman's Day 12_92) recipe.
