Separated Egg Whites Compared To A Carton Of Egg Whites
Baking By cocobean Updated 30 Jul 2010 , 1:10am by _christina_
I noticed today that if I separate 8 egg to use the 8 whites and measure them they equal about 1 cup. My carton of egg whites I bought at the grocery store says 4 egg whites measure about 3/4 of a cup. That isn't close at all. Am I using too many egg whites if I am measuring according to the carton? Or not enough if I am separating eggs myself? Anyone ever noticed this.
Also, I just made a 14"x2 square wasc cake using 8 separated egg whites and i also added 1 t. soda to the recipe. The cake is still sunk in the middle. I haven't used the egg whites only in that recipe before. I usually use 6 whole eggs but this time I want a whiter batter.
Experience with using the above recipe (wasc) and egg whites??
Did you use regular egg whites or carton whites for the cake that sunk? It almost sounds like your eggs are small - recipes should specify the amount of egg whites rather than the number of egg whites! Macsmom and GrandmaG are the go to people for WASC recipes!
A standard volume for one large egg (which is what most recipes call for) is 1/4 cup. Either a white or a yolk, separately is 1/8 cup.
I can't answer your question about substituting all whites for whole eggs in the WASC recipe though, because I don't know a thing about mixes. Hopefully someone will chime in.
Did you use a flower nail and/or bake-even strips? A 14" square is a big cake. If your oven is hot and baked the sides too much before the middle is done, the cake will sink in the middle. I bake WASC cakes at 325, and I use THREE flower nails and bake-even strips for a cake that big and mine never sinks. I use four whites from large eggs. I've never used the boxed egg whites.
A standard volume for one large egg (which is what most recipes call for) is 1/4 cup. Either a white or a yolk, separately is 1/8 cup.
I can't answer your question about substituting all whites for whole eggs in the WASC recipe though, because I don't know a thing about mixes. Hopefully someone will chime in.
So do you think that when the box says 1/3c is equal to one egg they're meaning the ENTIRE egg being substituted with whites or that it's equal to 1 white?
I would hate to be using twice as much whites as needed, always good to save when you can.
I get the equivalent of 4 dozen eggs (just the whites) for about $5 at Sam's Club, I can't buy 4 doz. eggs and separate them myself for that price and then I don't have to worry about what to do with all the yolks, or feel guilty throwing out yolks, plus the little cartons take up less room in the fridge/freezer than a carton of eggs do.
Thanks Ruth, it's been awhile since I've made a 14" square. I did not use the bake even strips that I had. I think now that would have made the difference!! Duh! You can't ever loose concentration! 
Also, I did use one nail in the center. Maybe the three would be better. Too late now!
Thanks again!
[quote="KHalstead"]
So do you think that when the box says 1/3c is equal to one egg they're meaning the ENTIRE egg being substituted with whites or that it's equal to 1 white?
I'd say so, Khal. I'd say 1/3 cup is about one whole extra large or jumbo egg. If you take a large, whole, uncracked egg and place it in your 1/3 cup measuring cup, you can tell that the egg would barely fill it.
I don't buy the egg whites in cartons. But I used to buy Eggbeaters which are all egg white, colored yellow to simulate a whole eggs. I remember the carton stating that 1/4 cup of all-whites eggbeaters = 1 whole egg in recipes. So, maybe that's what your carton is telling you. That if you want to substitute all egg whites for whole eggs, 1/3 cup = 1 whole egg.
I actually weigh my eggs and think in ounces, not cup measurement.
1.75 ounces is a whole egg. 1 oz is the egg white and .75 is the yolk. This is pretty much the standard that I have read in several books, but you might find one or two that say 1.70. I weighed the egg brand I use and consistently got 1.75, so I use that.
If you are in doubt about the weight that you are using, you can weigh your egg weights - even the ones in the carton. That way you have doubt how much you are putting into a recipe.
Actually, Cocobean, the problem could be one or more of a couple of things....
The MOST likely culprit is your "carton" egg whites... unfortunately, there is no telling what type of processing those things go through at the plant. Meaning, they probably beat them to loosen the proteins to make them easier to pour. Unfortunately, that process also makes the whites extremely unstable molecularly. (They DO seem to be awfully runny when they come from a carton.) Not to mention that they are most likely pasteurized also--which equals MORE changes in the molecular make up. IF that is the problem, you can TRY adding in 1 or 2 FRESH egg whites to the batter (put them in your liquid measuring cup and then just pour the remaining amount needed from your carton). This will provide undisturbed proteins that haven't had their structure altered and will help with stabilization. (So, why have they worked before?? Who knows...I could bore you with the theories...trust me- I could talk for hours about this stuff!! LOL!!)
Other possibilities could be:
Over mixing the batter.
Under mixing the batter.
Back to "chemistry" in baking: The baking soda could have been too much or too little for the amount of flour being used in the recipe.
And, finally, my own personal favorite--I've been guilty of this too many times to mention---Opening the oven door before the cake has "set"... If I remember correctly, the standard time to wait before opening the oven door is 20 minutes for most cake sizes.
Anyway, I HTH!! Sorry if I was rambling...And, if you DO figure it out, would you mind sharing and letting us know what the culprit was??
Thanks!!
Desiree
Thanks for all the feedback. Ruth I did have one more 14" round to bake so I did use the bake even strips on that pan and also on an 8" pan. Sorry to say it did not help as I had hoped! The 8" pan sunk even more than before I had used it. So I guess that was not the problem.
Desiree, I agree with alot of what you said about the carton of egg whites! I did use egg whites in the shell in this recipe though so I am wondering about the sinking middle still. I'm not sure about the bk. soda. Maybe it was to much or not enough? All I know is I don't get that kind of sinking when I use the 6 whole eggs in that wasc recipe. I just have not been liking the yellowish color of the cake. I do like the taste of the cake using the whole eggs though. Also, I don't think I over or under mixed. I mixed about 2 and 1/2 - 3 min. with that wasc recipe that calls for 2 cake mixes. Also, I know I did not open the oven door until the last 10-15 minutes of baking time
I'm just going to forget about using the carton of egg whites and stick with the eggs in the shell but I still need and expert that uses the 8 egg white wasc recipe and has no sinking!
Linda I'm going to try measuring the egg whites to. Thanks!
The WASC recipe I use calls for 8 egg whites and mine never sinks in the middle.
No baking soda in mine and I generally bake it at 300-315 degrees. It takes a looooong time to bake but I've never had the sinking problem.
As for all those egg yolks...........make Lemon Curd! 
There are sugar cookie recipes that call for egg yolks only. Just search for "egg yolk cookie recipes"
I also use leftover egg yolks to make homemade egg noodles. These freeze up wonderfully!
I believe it was Melvira who just posted a thread about using carton'd egg whites and she loved them!
I used carton'd eggs in the shop and it was a fabulous time saver! Never noticed a difference in taste or performance of the cakes.
I love using carton egg whites!! I just started using them 2 months ago.. I think it was melvira who suggested it to me. anyway.. I am in love with them.
I cracked 3 large eggs and the egg whites measured 1/2 cup. So I just substitute 1/2 cup egg whites (carton) and have never had a problem.. except when my sister asked what I did different because my cakes tasted much lighter/fluffier.. I didnt tell her.. 
in my experience.. 1/2 cup carton egg whites = 3 large egg whites.
I haven't used the carton egg whites a lot, but it has frustrated me that the measurements they print on the carton are the equivalents for x number of WHOLE eggs -- not for x number of egg WHITES. And, of course, I've always used them as a substitute for separated egg whites.
I've done it infrequently enough that I've just guessed at the quantity, or looked up the equivalency in some other cookbook or something. And I haven't had a problem. But I've never used them for a white cake, only for frostings and fillings.
Sorry my suggestions didn't help. Maybe you have the opposite problem. Maybe your oven is too cool. Have you checked with an oven thermometer lately? I was having problems with my cakes until I determined that my oven runs 15 degrees cool. That makes a huge difference in performance! Now I just set it that much higher and it works fine. Better than the $200 they wanted to adjust the oven.
I have used carton whites before and they are great. I always get better volume from fresh, though. As to why there is the amount issue could be because most carton whites do add stabilizers but I'm not real sure about it. I would follow their insturctions, though. But I always use 8 whites for 1 cup (with large eggs).
Your cake sinking, though, I think has more to do with leaving out the yolks rather than the whites measurement...unless I read your post wrong. You cut out a lot of fat by cutting them totally. Seems like a lot of structure was also lost because of that.
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