Making meringues

[osprey]

Jamie Oliver admitted in his programme on Channel 4 recently that old egg whites were better than fresh when making meringues and he didn't know why.
Anyone have any idea why?

[monty0703]

'Older' (but not off) egg whites whipp up better. Never made them myself but my sister does and agees with this.

[Clanad]

This obviously qualifies as a study in differing opinions. We always use the freshest avaialbe, well chilled, by the way. I do find some references to "older" egg whites, but only 3 to 4 days, such as this quote:

"Whipping egg whites are much like blowing air into a balloon. Beating or whisking causes the protein in the egg whites to unfold, forming films that trap the air bubbles, and the sugar stiffens the foam. A meringue is really nothing but a foam, and foam is a big collection of bubbles. Fat interferes with the formation of a good foam in the egg whites. Fats tend to collapse egg foams. Meringue recipes work better with eggs that are at least 3 or 4 days old. Thin, older egg whites whip more easily to a higher volume than thick, fresh egg whites. Once whipped, the foam from thin whites is less stable because the liquid film drains more easily from the bubbles. If volume is more important than stability, then older eggs are better to use. For better stability, a good rule of thumb is to use fresher eggs for meringues, saving older ones for general baking." (Thanks to all-experts )
So, as you can see, there may be some small advantage to using older eggs, but the trade-off is a less stable meringue...