CUSTARDS

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CUSTARDS

• BASICS FOR ONE OF THE PROFESSIONAL KITCHENS
  STAPLES

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What is a Custard?

• Custards are a mixture, generally cream based,
  that is thickened, gelled or set by the heat
  coagulation of egg proteins.
• They have both sweet and savory applications and
  the flavor profiles are limited only by the
  imagination, once we know how the ingredients
  interact.
• Is it a Crème Brulee for dessert or a Roasted
  Pepper flan as a dinner side? The choice is up to
  you.

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Stuff You Should Know!

• The Two Basic Custard types.
• STIRRED and BAKED
• STIRRED Crème Anglaise, Pastry Cream, Sabayon,
  Lemon Curd, Various puddings and creams
• BAKED Crème Caramel, Crème Brulee, Quiche,
  Pumpkin pie, Cheesecake, Bread Pudding

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Temperatures

• An undiluted egg will properly coagulate at 160
  degrees.
• Diluted with milk, sugar or water , most custard
  sauces coagulate between 170 and 180 degrees.
• Stirred custards will generally curdle above 195
  degrees. (many before 185 degrees)
• Baked custards usually set between 160 and 175
  degrees.
• How do I test baked custards for doneness?

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Temperature Tips

• If Crème Anglaise curdles, can it be saved?
• Yes if not too excessive. Add 1 ounce of cold
  milk and process immediately with a stich
  blender, blender or processor, strain through a
  Chinoise. There will be some differences. The
  excess heat will cause a more egg flavor and a
  deeper yellow color. The saved sauce is typically
  thicker, not always a negative!
• Why do we use a water bath for baked custards?
• This allows for a steady temperature as water
  baths will rarely exceed a simmer 180-190
  degrees. It prevents the outer edges from over
  baking before the center is set.

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Tempering

• Tempering is an important technique where we add
  two ingredients of different temperatures
  together. The goal is to combine without damage
  to either ingredient. If we were to add eggs
  directly to hot milk, they would instantly
  coagulate, leaving bits of cooked egg throughout.
  To avoid this, we add a small amount of the hot
  liquid to our eggs. Many think tempering is to
  raise the egg temperature, but it is really to
  dilute the egg without significantly raising the
  temperature. Once diluted, the eggs are less
  likely to be damaged as we add the remaining
  milk. The addition of sugar, or other room
  temperature ingredients also aides in this.

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Cooked Eggs

• When egg yolks and sugar set together in a bowl,
  and not immediately mixed, they will cook. This
  is a term used to describe the look of the yolks
  as they gel, appearing to cook. Sugars being
  hygroscopic, pull moisture from the yolk (yolks
  are only 50 water) drying them out. Without
  moisture, the proteins quickly aggregate, as if
  heat were applied, thus cooked.
• Avoid this by mixing the two immediately. The
  yolks will thicken but will not solidify.

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Factors Affecting Coagulation

• Proportion of egg Dilution raises the
  coagulation temperature, thus slowing it down.
  Use of milk, sugar and creams further slows the
  coagulation.
• Rate of Cooking The faster the rate of cooking,
  the less time for coagulation but when this takes
  place too quickly, the egg proteins dont unfold
  properly and fail to gel or thicken as well. A
  lower, gentle heat will produce better products.
• Part of Egg used Egg yolks coagulate at a higher
  temperature (150-160) than whites ( 140-150),
  making them less likely to weep and curdle.
  Remember that egg yolks are also emulsifiers and
  bond to fats. Also impacts taste and texture of
  finished products
• Sugar Sugar helps prevent curdling by slowing
  protein coagulation and formation of egg
  structure. Excess sugar can cause coagulation to
  stop, and the baked good appears undercooked.

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Factors Affecting Coagulation

• Lipids Fats, oils and emulsifiers interfere with
  coagulation of egg proteins, thus tenderizing
  custards, like they do baked goods.
• Acids Acid speeds up egg coagulation, lowering
  the temperature of coagulation. This can come
  from lemon juice, or other fruit juice, raisins
  or other fruit or cultured dairy products. When
  using acidic ingredients, carefully monitor
  baking times.
• Starch Increases the temperature of egg
  coagulation by interfering with the process. The
  starch protects the egg proteins, thus raising
  the temperature and as with pastry cream, allows,
  in fact it is a must to bring to a boil.

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Use of Starches Tip

• Be certain to fully cook your starch based
  custards. If they are not baked or brought to the
  boil the proper length of time, the starches will
  not properly gelatinize and Amylase that is
  present in egg yolks will not be inactivated,
  thus starches will be broken down into sugar and
  can liquefy pastry cream or a cream pie overnight.

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Crème Caramel

•  
• Temperature 325 Time 50-60 minutes Yield 10
  Ea. 4 oz. servings
•  
•  
• Ingredients Measure
•  
• Water 2 fl. ozs.
• Sugar, granulated 5.75 ozs
• Milk 23 fl. ozs.
• Sugar 6 ozs.
• Vanilla Extract 2 tsp.
• Eggs, lightly beaten 4 ea.
• Egg Yolks 3 ea.
•   
• Procedure
•  
• Prepare the caramel add the water and a small
  amount of first amount of sugar to a pan set over
  medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt.

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Crème Brulee

• Temperature 325 Time 20-25 minutes Yield 10
  ea. Standard Brulee
•  
•  
• Ingredients Measure
•  
• Heavy Cream 32 fl. ozs.
• Sugar, granulated 4 ozs
• Salt pinch
• Vanilla Bean 1 ea.
• Sugar 2 ozs.
• Egg yolks, beaten 5.5 ozs.
•  
• Procedure
•  
• Combine the cream, 4 ozs. of the sugar, and the
  salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat,
  stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Remove from
  heat. Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds
  from the pod, add both the pod and the scrapings
  to the pan, cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
• Return to the heat and bring to a boil.
• Combine the egg yolks and the rest of the sugar
  and temper the mixture into the hot cream. Strain
  the custard and ladle into 6- fl. oz. Crème
  Brulee ramekins, filling them ¾ full.
• Bake in a water bath at 325 until just set, 20-25
  minutes.