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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)