Meringue Making Tips: Helen Robertson

Helen Robertson is an incredibly talented Shetland designer, making jewellery inspired by Shetland's rich textile heritage. Her work is startingly original, knitted with fine wire to create bespoke, thought-provoking pieces.

She also has a wonky oven.

Folk in Shetland bake, and they bake a lot. Village gatherings usually involve cake of some sort, and well, a wonky oven makes wonky cakes, so Helen had to come up with something else to take to gatherings, saving her neighbours from witnessing her lopsided cakes.

As a result, she's perfected the art of making meringues, and she's kindly shared her tips with A Taste of Shetland readers.

Perfect, white (except when it's raining outdoors and the yellow glow of kitchen lights reflects off them, as pictured above!) meringues, with a marshmallowy soft centre and crispy outer are easily obtainable if you follow Helen's tips.

Her top tip #1: Use an ancient blender! Her trusted Kenwood Mini was her mother's blender about 30 years ago, and it's big enough to make meringues using five egg whites.

Secondly, don't use rubbish eggs. Local, Shetland grown eggs are the best, but if you can't get those, use the free range ones from your local shop. Rubbish eggs will take longer to peak than fresh, homegrown eggs, and they won't peak nearly as well.

A low heat is also required to keep the meringues white. "You're essentially drying them out", Helen says, "rather than cooking them. An hour and a half at 100 C is ideal, and then you switch the heat off, open the oven door and allow the meringues to cool down to room temperature. You can leave them in for an hour before leaving them to cool if you are in a hurry, but 90 minutes works best."

Waiting 90 minutes for meringues to cook means plenty of time to chat jewellery, crafting, kids and food over coffee with Hans Theessink crooning in the background (and to take a few cheeky snaps of Helen's gorgeous kitchen!).

Helen has always been a crafter. Ever since she was a bairn she's been makkin' things from wire, fimo and beads. Jewellery, especially, was her favourite thing to make as a teenager. Her mother's family come from Unst, and it was from them and from lessons at school that she learned how to knit.

She's always had an awareness of knitting and its importance, historically, as women's work on Shetland. Helen originally studied in Aberdeen to be a physics teacher (all the while still making things), but was struck down for several years with ME and was too ill to work.

After returning home to Shetland her old knitting teacher gave Helen the pattern for some knitted Fair Isle mice which she was making and selling in the Shetland Musesum & Archives Shop. Helen went on to make hundreds of these mice, each one unique. While making these she had her first lesson into business, and how to work with colour. She wanted to make a mouse set for a wedding gift but first she had to teach herself how to knit a lace veil.

The next step, logically, was to begin knitting with wire.

Helen began experimenting with wire and was commissioned to knit a wire tiara for a wedding. Bracelets and earrings soon followed.

Kathleen Kettles' Reverse Therapy quickly cured her ME, and Helen's been busy creating ever since in between raising four small children.

Helen is available for commission and she also runs nightclasses, workshops and speedcrafting events around Shetland. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and of course, her website. She's also on The Craft Trail, so you can always pop along and visit her in Sullom - she might even have some meringues on the go!