| Baking Science Question - Eggs [message #76385] |
Sun, 15 May 2005 03:24 |
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I don't know if anyone here would know this kind of thing, but thought
I'd ask anyway....
I have 2 baked custard recipes (actually Pots de Creme au Chocolat).
One calls for whisking the egg yolks and sugar to a "lazy ribbon" then
combining with the cream/chocolate/vanilla mixture and bake.
The other says to stir the egg yolks to mix lightly, then combine with
the cream/chocolate/sugar/vanilla mixture, then put it all in a double
boiler and stir them over low heat for about 3 minutes.
My question is this: after baking and cooling, how would the custards be
different? Would the textures be different, and if so, how? Would one be
thinner than the other? Smoother? Creamier? Richer?
Would those made with the partially-cooked mixture bake faster than
those made with the whisked yolks?
What difference, if any, does the air incorporated into the whisked
yolks make?
Or is the purpose of both just to thicken the egg yolks, and they would
turn out the same? Does whisking egg yolks with sugar have the same
effect on the proteins in the yolks as gentle heating would?
Are there any food scientists here who know this kind of thing?
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| Re: Baking Science Question - Eggs [message #76389 ] |
Sun, 15 May 2005 05:48 |
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In article <zvxhe.6133$eU.3100 [at] fed1read07>,
Mary Sara <marysara [at] cox.net> wrote:
> I don't know if anyone here would know this kind of thing, but thought
> I'd ask anyway....
>
>
> I have 2 baked custard recipes (actually Pots de Creme au Chocolat).
>
> One calls for whisking the egg yolks and sugar to a "lazy ribbon" then
> combining with the cream/chocolate/vanilla mixture and bake.
>
> The other says to stir the egg yolks to mix lightly, then combine with
> the cream/chocolate/sugar/vanilla mixture, then put it all in a double
> boiler and stir them over low heat for about 3 minutes.
>
> My question is this: after baking and cooling, how would the custards be
> different? Would the textures be different, and if so, how? Would one be
> thinner than the other? Smoother? Creamier? Richer?
>
> Would those made with the partially-cooked mixture bake faster than
> those made with the whisked yolks?
>
> What difference, if any, does the air incorporated into the whisked
> yolks make?
>
> Or is the purpose of both just to thicken the egg yolks, and they would
> turn out the same? Does whisking egg yolks with sugar have the same
> effect on the proteins in the yolks as gentle heating would?
>
>
> Are there any food scientists here who know this kind of thing?
I don't know what the differences in the finished products would be, but
I do know that with egg yolks, "beating to a yellow ribbon", or
"beating until pale yellow" is not about incorporating air into the
yolks; it's about altering the structure of the proteins that make up
the yolks. It can take several minutes even with a power mixer.
Isaac
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| Re: Baking Science Question - Eggs [message #76390 ] |
Sun, 15 May 2005 09:48 |
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Mary Sara wrote:
> I don't know if anyone here would know this kind of thing, but thought
> I'd ask anyway....
>
>
> I have 2 baked custard recipes (actually Pots de Creme au Chocolat).
>
> One calls for whisking the egg yolks and sugar to a "lazy ribbon" then
> combining with the cream/chocolate/vanilla mixture and bake.
>
> The other says to stir the egg yolks to mix lightly, then combine with
> the cream/chocolate/sugar/vanilla mixture, then put it all in a double
> boiler and stir them over low heat for about 3 minutes.
>
> My question is this: after baking and cooling, how would the custards be
> different? Would the textures be different, and if so, how? Would one be
> thinner than the other? Smoother? Creamier? Richer?
>
> Would those made with the partially-cooked mixture bake faster than
> those made with the whisked yolks?
>
> What difference, if any, does the air incorporated into the whisked
> yolks make?
>
I am not a scientist but as you whisk the whole recipe in variation #2
it should have a better rise than #1.
I think the whisking is about incorporating air - the low heat is for
altering the structure of the proteins so that they are a bit thicker to
hold more of the air.
The incorporated air will expand with the heat and give a nice rise.
Faster bake? I donīt think so.
The best thing is to try both and see what happens. I bet someone will
volunteer to eat the results.
I figured out to bake a cake without baking soda by thoroughly whisking
the egg yolks with sugar until light yellow. Then I add the softened
butter (whisk) and after that the flour - very gently. After that I mix
the batter with the separately whisked egg whites. Makes a very light
cake... yum
Joschi
--
Address to mail me:
Um mir eine Nachricht zu schicken:
non_tox ::AT:: web ::DOT:: de
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| Re: Baking Science Question - Eggs [message #76392 ] |
Sun, 15 May 2005 20:19 |
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>Or is the purpose of both just to thicken the egg yolks, and they
would
>turn out the same? Does whisking egg yolks with sugar have the same
>effect on the proteins in the yolks as gentle heating would
Egg yolks contain protein and phospholipids( lecithin). Its
incorporation to any food item is to stabilize the food structure due
to such interaction of proteins and the emulsifiers with the fat
present in the recipe.
The beating process which incorporates air will lighten up the mixture
and will confer some textural difference to the end product. In
addition it will tend to alter its protein conformation as well as
enhance the degree of binding of the other components which results in
a more stable structure that the air bubbles are retained within the
composition.
Gentle heating of the yolks with the other food components will just
promote the protein to unfold and loosen it up but as increased
temperature favors rapid molecular movement then that will help
initiate the emulsification process.
But heating without any agitations will just denature the yolk proteins
and will not led to intermingling with the other food components.
If you have made whole egg sponge cake and had beaten the yolks with
sugar both at room temperature and at warmer conditions you will
notice that it is faster to attain the ribbon stage of mixing with the
latter.
Therefore there is more efficient incorporation then if compared to
doing the same thing at ambient conditions.
Roy
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