Will the carton egg whites whip up for baking?

Someone suggested using 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar with each egg white used, adding when eggs had been beaten to very foamy but nut stiff. Then mix in and start adding the sugar. I did this and it worked for me. I will post the name of the site in a few minutes because it gave a lot of information.

Carton egg whites will not work for meringue since they're pasteurized.

What I notice is no one has mentioned where they are, and the weather. Altitude and atmospheric pressure and humidity all affect cooking, especially anything with a meringue- when I started baking as a young woman, we did not have air-conditioning in Texas at least not in my house in San Antonio. I learned at that time that I could only make meringue on a clear crisp day which is fairly rare here given the high humidity.

I made Swiss chocolate macarons using Costco’s commercial egg whites that turned out perfect. That said, there were some differences: 1) macaron batter was a bit more runnier than normal, so I decided not to bang the sheet to remove air bubbles.
2) The macarons were slightly flatter than ones made with real eggs.

I’ve tried the carton of egg whites and I’ve found that while it may take a while, Pete and Gerry brand works wonderfully. Egg beaters does not work well at all. I can get it to come together but much softer than it should be and a bit slimy. I mixed it with about a cup of ABC as to not waste it and that was fine. I’ve also tried a store brand we have here (price chopper) and it’s worked beautifully. I think you need to experiment with different brands for sure. My preferred method is with actual egg whites but I hate wasting the yolks!

Hi! If anyone is still wondering, I did an experiment using Trader Joe’s carton egg whites vs. shelled egg whites and found no difference in the end result, even if the carton egg white meringue was not as stiff. I’m sure it varies by brand, but thought that people might like to know that TJ's egg whites work. Photos on my blog: https://wordpress.com/post/memroars.wordpress.com/1421

I made coffee meringues last night using Organic Valley egg whites. I used 1/2 cup whites, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, pinch of salt and 1+ Tbs instant espresso. I added the sugar when they were very frothy and had climbed way up the bowl, 1 Tbs at a time. They turned silky smooth in a reasonable time, but at least 10 min total and maybe more. They cooked about 2 hrs at 200 deg, a short while at 225, and stayed in the oven maybe 1/2 hr. They were perfect.

I used my Costco eggwhites for 7 minute frosting. I had to make it 15 minute frosting, but it worked. Next time, since a had a small amount left -- maybe one egg worth -- and some frozen egg whites, I combined them and it took only 7 minutes. I'm going to try some other experiments as well, and maybe the idea of combining fresh and these to save on egg yolks, which don't keep as well as the whites. These were from Costco.

Costco will take the product back as will Trader Joes--I plan on returning mine--glad I saw this post BEFORE I decided to make meringues --thanks everyone

I should know better. Tried to take the shortcut. Used the Costco liquid egg whites, six cartons to the box. In my defense, the box did not have all the information the cartons did. All the cartons recommended not using them for meringue or angel cake. Too late for me. When the egg whites were taking much too long to whip up, I started to research. So here I am. After 45 minutes (thank you Kitchen-Aid) of whipping the meringue actually looked beautiful. I continued adding the rest of the ingredients, getting them on the cookie sheet, in the oven and the oven turned off. A few minutes later I looked at them and they are all flattened out and full of craters. Hopefully, they will still taste decent but they will not be leaving my kitchen. Next time - I'll be separating eggs. In the meanwhile, I'll be eating a lot of egg white omelets. I have 51 serving left in the box.

My local Safeway carries a brand called Pete and Gerry's-- cage free liquid egg whites. Tried them yesterday for a Pavlova. They did not whip up quite as well as regular egg whites, but they did the job and in my opinion, the trade off is well worth it to avoid all the extra egg yolks. The batch I whipped with a pinch of cream of tartar did a little better than the batch whipped with a tsp vinegar.

Wow sounds like lots of variation in answers. Depending on what you're making, you could use the egg yolks for a french/swiss buttercream. If you're making maracon, you could use the buttercream as a filling. I've done this before, and the extra frosting kept well in the refrigerator.

After reading all the comments here, it seems there is no consensus, so allow me to add my own two cents.

I needed to make 3 batches swiss meringue buttercream in 3 different flavors. That's a dozen egg whites and no use for the yolks, so I purchased EW in a carton and the only ingredient was the EW. 2 of the frosting recipes were from Cook's Illustrated and had been successful in the past. Both turned out just fine with the carton EW. The 3rd flavor was a new one to me, but the recipe appeared to have the same ingredients, ratios, and process as the other two with the exception of the key ingredient, pureed strawberries. I actually did a test of the strawberry frosting, because I hadn't used it before and it eventually turned out alright. Because the frosting wouldn't come together and just appeared slimy, for lack of a better word, I ended up adding a couple pinches of cream of tartar and maybe a cup of powdered sugar. The extra sugar helped to "dry out" the frosting if you can imagine that. Today was the day I needed the strawberry frosting and it totally failed. The curdled mess wouldn't come together and so I tried again. This time using a recipe from Martha Stewart (CI didn't have a version of this frosting), and it all seemed to be just fine until I added the strawberry puree. Now, I used frozen strawberries, but it looked fine until I added the full amount that was called for in the recipe. Again, it looked "wet" and "slimy", so I added some powdered sugar to dry it out and it helped a bit.
It tastes absolutely delicious, like strawberry ice cream, but it makes me sad to look at it.

Just used 100% egg whites from the carton (Costco brand) to make merengue cookies. Was skeptical at first, but they whipped up beautifully with a 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar.

NO, NONE OF THEM!

I tried yesterday with two different type of egg whites. First I tried egg beaters egg whites and it was a disaster. I then tried Pete and Gerrys. At first I didn't think it would work, but then I tried it with a full teaspoon of cream of tartar and did not add the sugar until after I had soft peaks. It took much longer to beat up, but they worked beautifully.

If you decide to use fresh eggs from the shell, you can always freeze the yolks (you can freeze the whites as well in case you ever make a big batch of mayo or hollandaise).

only reason it says it is not suitable for meringue is because egg whites in a carton have chemical stabilizers added to them so the egg doesnt go bad in the carton. they do work for meringue but they DON'T work for making macaron cookies though

Agree with previous response - don't waste your ingredients only to find out the egg whites in the carton don't perform. As an experienced baker, I've tried twice and they don't firm up properly, especially if you're making a meringue. Take a few extra minutes to separate real eggs!

No. I just tried. I have been making meringue for decades and never had a problem until I tried to use prepackaged liquid egg whites today. I was going to make angel food cake and thought I would try this as a shortcut.
My first batch would not stiffen even after I added cream of tarter. I figured maybe I didn't let them warm enough to room temperature. I tried again. They just won't stiffen.
Out of desperation I turn to the internet to see most manufactures don't recommend their product for meringue or angel food cakes as the whites are pasteurized. I guess it somehow affects the molecular structure. That is what I get for trying to cheat.

The Cook's Illustrated people found that some carton egg whites whip better than others. http://www.cookscountry.com/taste_tests/580-processed-egg-whites
Be sure to watch the video.

After reading your answers here I decided to try it and made great Merengue for Pavlova dessert. I used a KitchenAid and Sunnyside egg whites which were pasteurized. And no, this is not a commercial. I fully intend never to waste egg yolks again in making Merengue.
Jopie

Says on the carton that they are pasturized and not suitable for meringues.

Was at the grocer today, says specifically on the carton that they can not be used for meringues or other baking requiring whipped whites. Thanks to all for replying.

Over the years, I've gone through I can't count how many gallons of batched EWs. Couldn't work without them, and you are incredibly lucky to find them in small quantities, and organic at them. Buy them, use them, and know how much I envy you.

No