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kaberett... they say, abruptly realising they left their copy of Molecular Gastronomy on the wrong side of town again.
Item the first: A appears to be very much in favour of the bit where these days he will sometimes get home from work to find that meringue has happened essentially because I was bored. (Note-to-self: this oven wants you to do the thing at 120 degrees; at one hour it's still gooey in the middle but you have an appreciative audience for that so wevs.) This is going to be happening with rather greater frequency over the next little bit, I expect, because...
Item the second: I am attempting to Acquire the skill of Custard. By which I do, very specifically, mean Custard Without Cornflour. Thus far established (on my third attempt): 150ml whole milk/one egg yolk/one tablespoon of sugar yields a very thin pouring custard, but importantly this is not a failure mode of "never thickens", it's actually how it's supposed to end up, so technically my first attempt at custard lo these many years ago was, in fact, a success. (I did actually curdle the second attempt.) To get the kind of thick custard I'm actually after, though -- and again I say, without cornflour, because I'm in a one-upmanship contest with myself -- it looks like I want to be using double cream, and a higher proportion of yolk to dairy (e.g. the Nigella Lawson creme brulee recipe; the Guardian; the Beeb; some other BBC recipes advocate a mix of milk and double cream, to which I say: naaaaah). I did use a double boiler and think I'm going to stick with that; I think I'm probably superstitiously more comfortable with beating the sugar and yolk together than with adding the sugar to the dairy though I've absolutely no scientific basis for this (this time round I put the sugar in with the milk; it worked). (Additional note: I do not own a kitchen blowtorch. A, however, owns a gas-fired soldering iron. There is a not insubstantial risk that at some point over the next few weeks I will, therefore, end up making creme brulee with a soldering iron. I am absolutely delighted by my life choices.)
Item the first: A appears to be very much in favour of the bit where these days he will sometimes get home from work to find that meringue has happened essentially because I was bored. (Note-to-self: this oven wants you to do the thing at 120 degrees; at one hour it's still gooey in the middle but you have an appreciative audience for that so wevs.) This is going to be happening with rather greater frequency over the next little bit, I expect, because...
Item the second: I am attempting to Acquire the skill of Custard. By which I do, very specifically, mean Custard Without Cornflour. Thus far established (on my third attempt): 150ml whole milk/one egg yolk/one tablespoon of sugar yields a very thin pouring custard, but importantly this is not a failure mode of "never thickens", it's actually how it's supposed to end up, so technically my first attempt at custard lo these many years ago was, in fact, a success. (I did actually curdle the second attempt.) To get the kind of thick custard I'm actually after, though -- and again I say, without cornflour, because I'm in a one-upmanship contest with myself -- it looks like I want to be using double cream, and a higher proportion of yolk to dairy (e.g. the Nigella Lawson creme brulee recipe; the Guardian; the Beeb; some other BBC recipes advocate a mix of milk and double cream, to which I say: naaaaah). I did use a double boiler and think I'm going to stick with that; I think I'm probably superstitiously more comfortable with beating the sugar and yolk together than with adding the sugar to the dairy though I've absolutely no scientific basis for this (this time round I put the sugar in with the milk; it worked). (Additional note: I do not own a kitchen blowtorch. A, however, owns a gas-fired soldering iron. There is a not insubstantial risk that at some point over the next few weeks I will, therefore, end up making creme brulee with a soldering iron. I am absolutely delighted by my life choices.)
(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-28 06:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 09:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-28 07:23 pm (UTC)I think you'll find that one is near universal. (At least for those who can eat meringue).
Book in line for half-written "Currently Reading" post has custard as a sub-plot!
(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 09:09 pm (UTC)(He is gently encouraging me to experiment further with custard. What actually happened on this occasion was he got home to find I'd done salad/peas/omelette/chips -- second batch of chips coming out the oil as he walked in the door -- and I looked a bit sheepish at him about having over-catered a little. He sort of shrugged amiably and we sat down to eat and a little while after that I went, right, okay, the reason you're missing that this actually constitutes over-catering is there's a batch of meringue in the oven. ..., he said. ... love you, he said, laughing at me.)
(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-30 01:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-28 07:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-28 07:30 pm (UTC)In practice eggs are a thing I will Reliably Eat in a lot of contexts so I'm willing to deal with the ethics of eating (free range, preferably organic) eggs, but I may at some point experiment with the thing.
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Date: 2016-01-28 07:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 01:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 09:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-28 07:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 09:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 01:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-01-29 09:10 pm (UTC)Ganache is pretty excellent, and I should Do Something about the fridgeful of it I have in west London...
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Date: 2016-02-01 05:34 am (UTC)IRON
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Date: 2016-02-02 04:49 pm (UTC)Best luck with your custard! I have never managed it, but creme brulee is the custard that breaks all the custard rules, and the only one I can successfully replicate.