Many recipes ask for egg yolks, so the whites end up in meringues, but there are other delicious uses for them, from sorbets and mousses to cocktails

Recipes often call for one part of an egg, leaving the other equally valuable and nutritious part without a use. This is a common issue in restaurants, and can lead to huge amounts of waste if a kitchen doesn’t come up with a rescue recipe. But it needn’t be a problem: thankfully, there are as many lip-smacking ways to use the white albumen as there are the rich, yellow yolk, so you just need to plan to cook both.

This week, I’ll be looking at egg whites, and next week yolks. Whites can be whipped up into meringues, mixed into sorbets, turned into luscious cocktails, aerated to make the lightest mousse … I could go on.

To make two whisky sours, for instance, put 100ml (ie, two double shots) whisky, 50ml fresh lemon juice, a tablespoon of muscovado sugar, an egg white and some ice in a cocktail shaker (or jar with a lid). Shake firmly, with a little flair, then strain into a glass and top with an optional dash of angostura bitters.

Chocolate mousse

This classic recipe will never grow old because it’s so damned tasty. Unlike some dishes such as meringues, it uses a lot of whites, so it’s good news when you have an abundance that need using up. Serves two.

100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

4 egg whites

¼ tsp lemon juice

20g unrefined sugar

Put the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of hot but not boiling water, stirring occasionally, until melted. Take off the heat and leave to cool for two to three minutes. Meanwhile, in a metal or glass bowl, whisk the egg whites and lemon juice to stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar. Add a spoonful of the egg white mix to the chocolate and whisk in quickly, to thin it out a little. Now very carefully fold in the rest of the egg whites using a metal spoon, maintaining as much air in the mix as possible. Transfer to two glasses and refrigerate to set. To serve, top with chocolate shavings.