What exactly is meringue?

Meringue is a mixture of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar that is used in confections and desserts. Meringues are eaten as small kisses or as cases and toppings for fruits, ice cream, puddings, and the like. Vacherins and schaumtorten are plain meringue shells. Italian meringue, in which the sugar takes the form of a hot syrup, is used to cover puddings and ice creams. In the United States, a soft, moist meringue is used to top pies, especially lemon meringue pie.