How to temper eggs | Canadian Living

Canadian Living

18 May 201601:25

Summary

TLDRThis video script offers a masterclass in tempering eggs, a culinary technique essential for creating velvety sauces like ice cream custard and creme anglaise. The host debunks the myth of tempering being complicated, demonstrating how to whisk egg yolks with warm milk and cream until they form a smooth, luscious sauce. The key is to avoid boiling the mixture to prevent lumpy, scrambled eggs. The tutorial promises to turn viewers into sauce-making experts, ensuring silky smooth results every time.

Takeaways

🍳 Tempering eggs is essential for making custards, ice creams, and creme anglaise without curdling.
🥚 Egg yolks are typically whisked with a mixture of warm milk to create a smooth sauce.
🥄 The process involves gentle cooking of the egg yolks to avoid creating a lumpy or scrambled texture.
🔥 Heating the milk and cream until bubbles form around the edges is a crucial step, but it should not boil.
🥣 Combining eggs and sugar before adding the heated milk and cream is a common preparation method.
🍲 Once the milk and cream are heated, they should be gradually incorporated into the egg yolk mixture to temper it.
🔥 Cooking the mixture on medium-low heat is important to ensure a smooth texture and prevent scrambling.
📏 The mixture is ready when it coats the back of a spoon, indicating the right consistency for custards and sauces.
🚫 Avoiding a boil is key to prevent lumps and maintain a silky texture in the final product.
🍦 The technique is applicable to various desserts, including ice cream and custard-based dishes.
👩‍🍳 Mastery of tempering eggs is a fundamental skill in the culinary arts for creating luscious sauces and desserts.

Q & A

What is the common process among ice cream, custard, creme anglaise, and other similar dishes?
-The common process is tempering eggs, which involves whisking egg yolks with a mixture of warm milk until they gently cook to form a smooth sauce.
What does 'tempering eggs' mean in the context of cooking?
-Tempering eggs means gradually incorporating a hot liquid into beaten egg yolks to slowly raise their temperature without curdling.
Why is it important to avoid boiling the milk and cream mixture when tempering eggs?
-Boiling the mixture can cause the eggs to cook too quickly, resulting in lumps and a scrambled, goopy texture instead of a smooth sauce.
What should you do with the milk and cream mixture before adding it to the egg yolks?
-You should heat the milk and cream mixture until bubbles form around the edges without boiling.
How do you know when the egg yolk and milk mixture is ready for use in these recipes?
-The mixture is ready when it coats the back of a spoon, indicating that it has thickened sufficiently without boiling.
What is the purpose of adding sugar to the egg yolks before tempering?
-Adding sugar to the egg yolks helps to stabilize them and can also add sweetness to the final dish.
Why is it necessary to scrape the heated milk and cream mixture back into the saucepan?
-This step is to combine the hot milk and cream with the egg yolks gradually, ensuring a smooth mixture without curdling.
What is the recommended heat setting for cooking the egg yolk and milk mixture to achieve a silky texture?
-Cooking the mixture on medium-low heat is recommended to gently cook the eggs without scrambling them.
How can you tell if the egg yolk mixture has cooked enough to create a luscious sauce?
-The mixture has cooked enough when it has thickened to the point where it coats the back of a spoon smoothly.
What is the main difference between a successful sauce and a failed, goopy scrambled mess when tempering eggs?
-The main difference is the temperature control and gradual incorporation of the hot liquid, which prevents the eggs from curdling and scrambling.
Can you provide an example of a failed egg tempering result?
-A failed result would be a lumpy, separated, and goopy scrambled mess, which indicates that the eggs have cooked too quickly or the mixture boiled.

Outlines

00:00

🍳 Mastering Egg Tempering for Creamy Sauces

This paragraph introduces the concept of tempering eggs, which is essential for creating smooth and luscious sauces like custard, creme anglaise, and ice cream custard. The speaker clarifies that tempering is not as complicated as it sounds, involving the whisking of egg yolks with warm milk until they gently cook. The process is demonstrated with a mixture of eggs, sugar, milk, and cream, which is heated until bubbles form around the edges without boiling to avoid a lumpy mess. The final product should be a silky smooth sauce that coats the back of a spoon, contrasting with the undesirable scrambled eggs texture.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Tempering

Tempering refers to the process of gradually incorporating a hot liquid into a mixture of eggs and sugar while whisking continuously to prevent the eggs from curdling. In the context of the video, tempering is a crucial technique for making custards and sauces like creme anglaise, ensuring a smooth texture without scrambled eggs.

💡Egg Yolks

Egg yolks are the yellow part of an egg, rich in fat and protein, which play a vital role in thickening and enriching mixtures in cooking. In the video, egg yolks are combined with sugar and then tempered with hot milk and cream to create a luscious sauce.

💡Sugar

Sugar is a sweet crystalline substance often used to add sweetness to food and beverages. In the script, sugar is combined with egg yolks to form the base of the sauce, which is then tempered with hot milk and cream.

💡Milk

Milk is a nutrient-rich liquid produced by mammals, commonly used in cooking and baking. In the video, milk is heated and combined with cream to create a base that is tempered into the egg yolk and sugar mixture.

💡Cream

Cream is the high-fat part of milk, which can be used to add richness and flavor to various dishes. The script mentions heating cream with milk to be tempered into the egg yolk mixture, contributing to the creaminess of the final sauce.

💡Bubbles

Bubbles in cooking indicate that the liquid is heating up and approaching boiling. The video script warns against boiling the milk and cream mixture, as it can lead to a lumpy texture in the final sauce.

💡Lumpy Mess

A 'lumpy mess' refers to a sauce or mixture that has curdled or separated due to improper cooking techniques. In the video, the term is used to describe the undesirable outcome if the milk and cream mixture is boiled before tempering.

💡Custard

Custard is a type of dessert made with a mixture of milk or cream and eggs, typically sweetened and cooked until thickened. The video discusses the process of making custard, emphasizing the importance of tempering to achieve a smooth texture.

💡Creme Anglaise

Creme anglaise is a type of custard sauce made with milk, sugar, and egg yolks. It is a classic accompaniment to various desserts. The script describes the process of making creme anglaise, highlighting the tempering technique.

💡Sauce

A sauce is a liquid or semi-solid food item, typically served with other foods to add flavor. In the video, the focus is on creating a smooth and luscious sauce through the proper tempering of eggs with milk and cream.

💡Silky Smooth

The term 'silky smooth' describes a texture that is very smooth and creamy, without any lumps or separation. The video aims to achieve this texture in the sauce by correctly tempering the egg yolks with the hot milk and cream mixture.

Highlights

Tempering eggs is a key technique for making ice cream, custard, and creme anglaise.

Tempering is often misunderstood as a complex term but is essentially whisking egg yolks with warm milk.

The goal of tempering is to gently cook eggs to create a smooth sauce without scrambling.

Failure in tempering can result in a lumpy, separated, and goopy texture.

To temper correctly, combine eggs and sugar first, then add milk and cream.

Heat the milk and cream mixture until bubbles form around the edges without boiling.

Care must be taken to avoid boiling the mixture to prevent lumps.

Pour the heated milk and cream back into the egg yolk mixture to temper.

Cook the combined mixture on medium-low heat until it coats the back of a spoon.

The final texture should be silky smooth, unlike scrambled eggs.

Understanding the tempering process is crucial for successful dessert making.

The technique ensures a creamy texture in custards and ice creams.

Proper tempering prevents the eggs from curdling and ensures a uniform mixture.

The process involves gradual heat introduction to the egg yolks.

A successful temper results in a luscious and velvety sauce base.

The importance of temperature control in achieving a perfect custard or ice cream.

The method described is a fundamental cooking technique for various desserts.

Mastering tempering can elevate the quality of homemade ice cream and custards.