Custard

After the custard has thickened, it may be mixed with other ingredients: mixed with stiffly beaten egg whites and gelatin, it is chiboust cream; mixed with whipped cream, it is crème légère, [kʁɛm leʒɛːʁ]. Beating in softened butter produces German buttercream or crème mousseline.

A quiche is a savoury custard tart. Some kinds of

Custard may also be used as a top layer in gratins, such as the South African bobotie and many Balkan versions of moussaka.

In Peru, leche asada ("baked milk") is custard baked in individual molds.^[4] It is considered a restaurant dish.^[5]

In French cuisine

French cuisine has several named variations on custard:^[6][7]

• Crème anglaise is a light custard made with eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla (with the possible addition of starch), with other flavoring agents as desired
  • With cream instead of milk, and more sugar, it is the basis of crème brûlée
  • With egg yolks and
    heavy cream, it is the basis of ice cream
  • With egg yolks and whipped cream, and stabilised with gelatin, it is the basis of Bavarian cream
  • Thickened with butter, chocolate, or gelatin, it is a popular basis for a crémeux
• Crème pâtissière (pastry cream) is similar to crème anglaise, but thickened with flour
  • With added flavoring or fresh fruit, it is the basis of crème plombières
• Crème Saint-Honoré is crème pâtissière enriched with whipped egg whites
• Crème chiboust is similar to crème Saint-Honoré, but stabilised with gelatin
• Crème diplomate and crème légère are variations of crème pâtissière enriched with whipped cream
• Crème mousseline is a variation of crème pâtissière enriched with butter
• Frangipane is crème pâtissière mixed with powdered macarons or almond powder

Uses

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

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,^[8] and is derived from the Italian word crostata, and ultimately the Latin crustāre.^[9]

Examples include Crustardes of flessh and Crustade, in the 14th century English collection

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

curdled custard.^[14]

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.[15] 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 (140–180 °F).^[16]

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.^[15]

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.^[17]

Physical-chemical properties

Cooked (set) custard is a weak

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.^[18] 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".^[19]

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. ISBN 978-3-540-67466-5
   .
2. 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. ISBN 978-950-9413-76-4
   .
5. ISBN 978-1-4405-5678-4
   .
6. ^ Beck, Simone; Bertholle, Louisette; Child, Julia (1964) [1961]. "Desserts and Cakes". Mastering the art of French cooking. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
7. OCLC 753351232.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link
   )
8. ISBN 978-0-19-280681-9
   .
9. OL 16525337M
   . Page 125.
10. ^ Hieatt, Constance; Butler, Sharon. Curye on Inglysch: English culinary manuscripts of the fourteenth century (including the forme of cury).
11. ^ ^{a b} Austin, Thomas, ed. (1964). Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books.
12. ISBN 9781604691344
    . Page 183.
13. ISBN 9780875969640
    .
14. ISBN 9780323140041. Retrieved 4 November 2013. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
15. ^
    ISBN 978-0-684-18132-5
    .
16. PMID 16248532
    .
17. ISSN 1750-3841
    .
18. doi:10.1021/jf60148a033
    .
19. YouTube

External links

• The dictionary definition of custard at Wiktionary