HELP.....MY EGGS WHITES WONT WHISK, ONLY HAVE ONE LEFT NOW

[hulahoopsilove]

Am making an orange and almond cake but my egg whites wont whisk, Ive cleaned out the bowl and checked that there is no yolk or shell and had 2 attempts they are like watery foam :(

Im using a hand mixer ... the single one not double pronged one could this be the probem?

right I cant ask this now as only have 1 egg lefts

How long have you been whisking for? Was the bowl totally dry when you used it?
I hate it when things go wrong

whisking for around 5-6 mins, yes I dried bowl out on my 2nd attempt made sure everything was spick and span even added a bit of caster sugar to bulk but to no available will keep oranges Ive just cooked and have another go tomorrow. OH my bowl is plastic I may invest in a large glass bowl tomorrow its beaten me today

I would say that you have old eggs! They need to be less than 2 weeks old and more than 4 days old, plus (importantly) room temperature to whisk well.

first batch was sell by 2 Nov, just been out and bought some more to try and the sell by was 19 Nov

A pinch of salt sometimes helps

Not sugar, though

try in a clean metal pan?

will have another go tomorrow thanks everyone

Could you try adding a (small) pinch of cream of tartar?

Yes I don't think that plastic is a good material for egg whisking!

Plastic tends to "hold" grease, so that's probably why.

Better off using a metal or glass bowl.

Hopefully the newer eggs will be better! I am not sure how old they are when they reach their sell-by, but the are noticeably a bit on the old side, usually.

the eggs were fresh as the yolks were lovely and high Im guessing the plastic bowl was the problem as someone said plastic holds grease

i thought it was the other way about for eggs...old eggs whisk better!

I use a glass bowl or china, never plastic and I only ever use a hand whisk, the extra exercise means I can eat more ;)

I do remember a tip from my old HE teacher which was to separate the eggs the day before and let them sit overnight in the fridge before using them

....i often cba to make meringue when i have an egg yolk used and a white spare, so have done this many times. I put the white/s in a bowl and cover with clingfilm, like you would for no skin on a custard...no air gap and let the cling touch the white