Egg whites are most often included in recipes for sours, fizzes and flips, not to mention Eggnogs! At first it can often remind us of those unappetising hangover cures you often see touted or the type of hack a bodybuilder may attempt to convince themselves they are taking a healthier approach to drinking, so why do we use them in cocktail making?
Rather than affecting the taste, the protein from the eggs provides a velvety texture and thicker viscosity in a cocktail, as well as providing a nice white foam on top of your drink that softens the drink and balances out flavours that may be slightly too overpowering without it. Read on for our guide to prepare an egg-white based cocktail with ease.
How to prepare your egg whites:
- Separate the yolk from the white by cracking the egg gently in half and switching the yolk back and forth between the two shell halves, over the top of a bowl or measuring cup. Alternatively crack the egg through a slotted spoon or scoop the yolk out with a teaspoon.
- It’s best to ‘dry shake’ your egg white with other ingredients without ice at first for about 30 seconds, as this ensures that the egg is fully emulsified, by unwinding its the proteins and trapping plenty of air in your drink, to achieve plenty of foam.
- Following this, add your ice to the shaker to dilute and chill the cocktail and give it another good shake.
- Use a strainer when pouring your drink into the glass, to catch any gooey strands of egg white or shell that may have made its way into the mixture.
Top tips:
- Vegans can use aquafaba as a substitute although you may need to adjust your recipe as alcohol and acidity can overpower this emulsifier, so be sure to look up some tips for this.
- Use one egg white per drink.
- Drink your egg-white based cocktail in a timely manner, or risk warming up the ingredients and taking in some less than appetising aromas...
- Use refrigerated eggs so that they are kept as fresh as possible and make it easier to separate the white from the yolk.
- Keep the yolks to bake or make ice cream with.