Maybe a silly question...I've seen several recipes that call for meringue powder. I've never used this and haven't been able to find a product labeled "meringue powder" in the grocery. I found powdered egg whites, is this the same as meringue powder? If not, do regular grocery stores like Giant or Superfresh carry meringue powder or do I need to go to a cake/baking shop? Thanks!!
meringue powder is just a little bit different than just plain ole egg whites. I've substituted egg whites (powdered, fresh, and commercial) for meringue powder before and was not happy with the results. I only know of 2 brands of meringue powder available to the home baker... Wilton and Americolor. Americolor, I have found, that if used to make royal icing can sit in an air tight container and be used later with just a stir, you can't do that with royal icing made with Wilton's product, it breaks down faster than the Americolor one once into the recipe. However, if you are going to use the frosting right after making it then the Wilton is just fine! Wilton is easier to find, find it in crafts stores that carry Wilton products and it will in all likelihood be there (unless they are out of stock).
badgerang, what are you planning do make with the egg whites? If you are planning to make royal icing for, lets say, for a gingerbread house that will not be eaten, then go ahead and use the egg whites. Egg whites, IMO, set up royal so that it is harder than cement and is a perfect mortar for holding gingerbread structures together. But if you plan on eating the royal then I would recommend the meringue powder. If you HAVE NO Choice but to use the Powdered egg white, then you might want to add a little bit of corn starch to it. The corn starch will keep the protein bonds from forming into long, binding, over-lapping chains, this means it wont set up quite as hard but will still be firm; the more corn starch - the less firm the icing will be (to a degree).
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