The Meringue
From then on a light, airy shell made from egg whites was known as a „Meiring“ or, in the plural, as meringues. Since this new pastry creation soon found its way into Austria and Southern Germany, the new names of „Meirinken and „Merinken“ appeared in the local dialects. In Northern Germany, the noble phrase „Spanish Wind“ was later devised. The meringue began a triumphal March across Europe and even reached England where Queen Elisabeth I christened it a „Kiss“. In France, the original name was changes to „Meringue“ to suit the French tongue. Gasparini’s sweet, pastry creation was celebrated as a real triumph in the French courts. The meringue was served to King Stanislaus Leszczynski at his residence in Nancy.
Based on an idea by our hotelier and the tourist office, the pastry chefs of Meiringen made two giant meringue shells from 2500 eggs and 120 kg. Of sugar. At a public festival, this splendid dessert, plus 80 litres of cream, was consumed in a mere three hours by the inhabitants of the Haslital. The Bernese dialect rockstar Polo Hofer, composed a melodious meringue song especially for the event. To mention but a small detail about production: The World Record Meringues were baked in a specially adapted sauna cubicle. They were produced on the basis of an idea by the Meiringer pastry chef, Andreas Frutiger, who was awarded an entry in the Guinness Book of Records in 1986.
