According to the legend, egg whites were left overnight at room temperature. In the case of contamination, it could’ve increased the risk of food-borne illness. They should’ve been discarded, not used for inventing a new cake. Most likely, they were not spoiled, they were aged. In the professional world of baking and pastry arts, the process of keeping separated egg whites at room temperature (for a few hours) or refrigerated (for a few days) is called aging. It is done in a clean closed container. Aged egg whites contain less moisture and become more alkaline, which helps to unwind the proteins and whip them into a more stable and dense foam.
