Custard - Wikipedia

Semi-solid cooked mixture of milk and egg This article is about egg-thickened custards. For other uses, see Custard (disambiguation). Custard

A bowl of crème anglaise custard, dusted with nutmeg
Course	Dessert
Main ingredients	Milk or cream, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla
Cookbook: Custard   Media: Custard

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise) to the thick pastry cream (crème pâtissière) used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used in custard desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla; however, savory custards are also found, e.g., in quiche.

Preparation

Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler (bain-marie), or heated very gently in a saucepan on a stove, though custard can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a water bath, or even cooked in a pressure cooker. Custard preparation is a delicate operation because a temperature increase of 3–6 °C (5.4–10.8 °F) leads to overcooking and curdling. Generally, a fully cooked custard should not exceed 80 °C (176 °F); it begins setting at 70 °C (158 °F).[1] A bain marie water bath slows heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles.[2] Adding a small amount of cornflour (known in Canada and the US as 'corn starch') to the egg-sugar mixture stabilises the resulting custard, allowing it to be cooked in a single pan as well as in a double-boiler. A sous-vide water bath may be used to precisely control temperature.

Variations

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While custard may refer to a wide variety of thickened dishes, technically (and in French cookery) the word custard (crème or more precisely crème moulée, [kʁɛmmule]) refers only to an egg-thickened custard.

When starch is added, the result is called 'pastry cream' (French: crème pâtissière, pronounced [kʁɛmpɑtisjɛːʁ]) or confectioners' custard, made with a combination of milk or cream, egg yolks, fine sugar, flour or some other starch, and usually a flavoring such as vanilla, chocolate, or lemon. Crème pâtissière is a key ingredient in many French desserts, including mille-feuille (or Napoleons) and filed tarts. It is also used in Italian pastry and sometimes in Boston cream pie. The starch prevents over-cooking the eggs, and sets the cream (usually requiring it to be beaten or whipped before use).

When gelatin is added, it is known as crème anglaise collée ([kʁɛmɑ̃ɡlɛzkɔle]).

In the United Kingdom, custard has various traditional recipes some thickened principally with cornflour (cornstarch) rather than the egg component, others involving regular flour; see custard powder.

A quiche is a savoury custard tart. Some kinds of timbale or vegetable loaf are made of a custard base mixed with chopped savoury ingredients. Custard royale is a thick custard cut into decorative shapes and used to garnish soup, stew or broth. In German, it is known as Eierstich and is used as a garnish in German wedding soup (Hochzeitssuppe).[3] Chawanmushi is a Japanese savoury custard, steamed and served in a small bowl or on a saucer. Chinese steamed egg is a similar but larger savoury egg dish. Bougatsa is a Greek breakfast pastry whose sweet version consists of semolina custard filling between layers of phyllo. In Peru, leche asada ('baked milk') is custard baked in individual molds.[4] It is considered a restaurant dish.[5]

Uses

See also: List of custard desserts

Recipes involving sweet custard are listed in the custard dessert category, and include:

• Banana custard
• Bavarian cream
• Bienenstich
• Boston cream pie
• Bougatsa
• Chiboust cream
• Cream pie
• Crème brûlée
• Crème caramel
• Cremeschnitte
• Custard tart
• Danish pastry
• Egg tart
• Eggnog
• English trifle
• Flan
• Floating island
• Frangipane, with almonds
• Frozen custard
• Fruit salad
• Galaktoboureko
• Manchester tart
• Muhallebi
• Natillas
• Pastel de nata
• Pudding
• Taiyaki
• Vanilla slice
• Vla
• Zabaione

History

Custards baked in pastry (custard tarts) were very popular in the Middle Ages, and are the origin of the English word 'custard': the French term croustade originally referred to the crust of a tart,[6] and is derived from the Italian word crostata, and ultimately the Latin crustāre.[7]

Examples include Crustardes of flessh and Crustade, in the 14th century English collection The Forme of Cury. These recipes include solid ingredients such as meat, fish, and fruit bound by the custard.[8][9] Stirred custards cooked in pots are also found under the names Creme Boylede and Creme boiled.[9] Some custards especially in the Elizabethan era used marigold (calendula) to give the custard color.[10][11]

In modern times, the name 'custard' is sometimes applied to starch-thickened preparations like blancmange and Bird's Custard powder.

Chemistry

Stirred custard is thickened by coagulation of egg protein, while the same gives baked custard its gel structure. The type of milk used also impacts the result. Most important to a successfully stirred custard is to avoid excessive heat that will cause over-coagulation and syneresis that will result in a curdled custard.[12]

Eggs contain the proteins necessary for the gel structure to form, and emulsifiers to maintain the structure. Egg yolk also contains enzymes like amylase, which can break down added starch.[13] This enzyme activity contributes to the overall thinning of custard in the mouth. Egg yolk lecithin also helps to maintain the milk-egg interface. The proteins in egg whites are set at 60–80 °C (140–176 °F).[14]

Starch is sometimes added to custard to prevent premature curdling. The starch acts as a heat buffer in the mixture: as they hydrate, they absorb heat and help maintain a constant rate of heat transfer. Starches also make for a smoother texture and thicker mouth feel.[13]

If the mixture pH is 9 or higher, the gel is too hard; if it is below 5, the gel structure has difficulty forming because protonation prevents the formation of covalent bonds.[15]

Physical-chemical properties

Cooked (set) custard is a weak gel, viscous, and thixotropic; while it does become easier to stir the more it is manipulated, it does not, unlike many other thixotropic liquids, recover its lost viscosity over time.[16] On the other hand, a suspension of uncooked imitation custard powder (starch) in water, with the proper proportions, has the opposite rheological property: it is negative thixotropic, or dilatant, allowing the demonstration of "walking on custard".[17]

See also

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on

• Custard

• List of desserts
• List of custard desserts
• Custard cream
• Bird's Custard – brand of imitation custard
• Eggnog – sweetened dairy-based beverage
• Pudding – dessert or savory dish

References

1. ^ Barham, Peter (2001). The science of cooking. Berlin: Springer. p. 126. ISBN 978-3-540-67466-5.
2. ^ McGee, Harold (1984). On Food and Cooking. Scribner. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-684-18132-5.
3. ^ McGavin, Jennifer. "Easy Eierstich Recipe- Royale as a Soup Garnish". About.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
4. ^ Elichondo, Margarita (1997). La comida criolla: memorias y recetas. Ediciones Del Sol. p. 207. ISBN 978-950-9413-76-4.
5. ^ Morena, Cuadra; Morena, Escardo (18 January 2013). The Everything Peruvian Cookbook: Includes Conchitas a la Parmesana, Chicken Empanadas, Arroz con Mariscos, Classic Fish Cebiche, Tres Leches Cake and hundreds more!. Adams Media. p. 420. ISBN 978-1-4405-5678-4.
6. ^ Davidson, Alan (2006-01-01). Jaine, Tom (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Food. doi:10.1093/acref/9780192806819.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-280681-9.
7. ^ Skeat, Walter William (1911). A concise etymological dictionary of the English language. Oxford: American Book Company. LCCN 11035890. OL 16525337M. Page 125.
8. ^ Hieatt, Constance; Butler, Sharon. Curye on Inglysch: English culinary manuscripts of the fourteenth century (including the forme of cury).
9. ^ a b Austin, Thomas, ed. (1964). Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books.
10. ^ DeBaggio, Thomas (September 2009). The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance. Timber Press. ISBN 9781604691344. Page 183.
11. ^ Kowalchik, Claire; Hylton, William H. (15 January 1998). Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs. Rodale. ISBN 9780875969640.
12. ^ Penfield, Marjorie P. (2 December 2012). Experimental Food Science. Academic Press. p. 144. ISBN 9780323140041. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
13. ^ a b McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking. Scribner. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-684-18132-5.
14. ^ Kovacs-Nolan, Jennifer; Phillips, Marshall; Mine, Yoshinori (2005-11-01). "Advances in the Value of Eggs and Egg Components for Human Health". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 53 (22): 8421–8431. doi:10.1021/jf050964f. ISSN 0021-8561. PMID 16248532.
15. ^ Matringe, E.; Tan Luu, R. Phan; Lorient, D. (1999-09-01). "Functional Properties of Milk-Egg Mixtures". Journal of Food Science. 64 (5): 787–791. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1999.tb15912.x. ISSN 1750-3841.
16. ^ Longrée, Karla; Beaver, Sharie; Buck, Paul; Nowrey, Joseph E. (1966). "Viscous Behavior of Custard Systems". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 14 (6): 653–659. doi:10.1021/jf60148a033.
17. ^ BRAINIAC Science Abuse – John Tickle Walks On Custard (25 June 2008) on YouTube

External links

• The dictionary definition of custard at Wiktionary

v t e Dessert sauces
List of dessert sauces
Banana sauce Blueberry sauce Brandy butter Caramel sauce Chancaca Chocolate syrup Coulis Crème anglaise Custard Fruit curd Hard sauce Magic Shell / Ice Magic Rumtopf Slatko Wet walnuts Whipped topping
Category: Dessert sauces

v t e English cuisine
Roman times	Dishes Sausages
Middle Agesto 15th century	Exemplars Utilis Coquinario (c. 1300) The Forme of Cury (c. 1390) Dishes Apple pie Bacon Banbury cake Cheesecake Custard Game pie Gingerbread Kippers Mince pie Mortis Pasty Pease pudding Pie Pottage
16th century	Exemplars Richard Pynson (The Boke of Cokery, 1500) Thomas Dawson (The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1585) Dishes Black pudding Fruit fool Pancake Scones Syllabub Trifle (without jelly)
17th century	Exemplars Elinor Fettiplace (Receipt Book, 1604) Gervase Markham (The English Huswife, 1615) Robert May (The Accomplisht Cook, 1660) Hannah Woolley (The Queen-like Closet or Rich Cabinet 1670) John Evelyn (Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets 1699) Kenelm Digby (The Closet Opened 1699) Dishes Battalia pie Currant bun Queen of Puddings Sponge cake Sussex pond pudding Sweet and sour Tea
18th century	Exemplars Mary Kettilby (A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick and Surgery 1714) Mary Eales (Mrs Mary Eales's Receipts 1718) John Nott (The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary, 1723) Eliza Smith (The Compleat Housewife 1727) Hannah Glasse (The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy 1747) Ann Cook (Professed Cookery, 1754) Martha Bradley (The British Housewife 1758) Primitive Cookery (1767) Elizabeth Raffald (The Experienced English Housekeeper 1769) Richard Briggs (The English Art of Cookery 1788) William Augustus Henderson (The Housekeeper's Instructor 1791) Dishes Bread and butter pudding Christmas pudding Chutney Curry Cottage or Shepherd's pie Eccles cake Jellied eels Jugged hare Ketchup Marmalade Parkin Piccalilli Pork pie Roast beef Sandwich Scouse Suet pudding Toad in the hole Trifle (with jelly) Welsh rarebit Yorkshire pudding
19th century	Exemplars Maria Rundell (A New System of Domestic Cookery 1806) Martha Brotherton (Vegetable Cookery 1812) Eliza Acton (Modern Cookery for Private Families 1845) Charles Elmé Francatelli (The Modern Cook 1846) Isabella Beeton (Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management 1861) Dishes Battenberg cake Bubble and squeak Cauliflower cheese Cobbler Devilled kidneys Eton mess Eve's pudding Faggots Fish and chips Full English breakfast HP Sauce Ice cream cone Jam roly-poly Lancashire hotpot Lardy cake Madeira cake Potted shrimps Sausage roll Steak and kidney pudding Summer pudding Windsor soup Worcestershire sauce
20th century	Exemplars Florence Petty Elizabeth David (A Book of Mediterranean Food 1950) Dorothy Hartley (Food in England 1954) Constance Spry Fanny Cradock Marguerite Patten Jane Grigson Delia Smith Rick Stein Nigel Slater Keith Floyd Marco Pierre White Nigella Lawson Jamie Oliver Fergus Henderson (The Whole Beast 1999) Gordon Ramsay Gary Rhodes Mary Berry Dishes Bakewell tart Beef Wellington Carrot cake Chicken tikka masala Coronation chicken Crumble Knickerbocker glory Ploughman's lunch Salad cream Steak Diane Sticky toffee pudding
21st century	Exemplars Heston Blumenthal (The Fat Duck) Lizzie Collingham Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (River Cottage) Rachel Khoo Michel Roux Jr. (Le Gavroche) Antony Worrall Thompson Clarissa Dickson Wright (A History of English Food 2011) Dishes Coronation quiche Platinum Pudding
Related	List of English dishes List of English cheeses List of savoury puddings List of sweet puddings Rationing in the United Kingdom