All Topics  
Custard

 
Custard

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Custard
 
 
  Topics Custard Topic Home

Custard is a range of preparations based on milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 and egg
Egg (food)

An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves....
s, thickened with heat. Most commonly, custard refers to a dessert or dessert sauce, but custard bases are also used for quiche
Quiche

File:Quiches 2.jpgFile:Lorraine map.pngIn French cuisine, a quiche is a baked dish that is based on a custard made from Egg s and milk or cream in a pastry crust....
s and other savoury foods. As a dessert
Dessert

Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses....
, it is made from a combination of milk or cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
, egg yolk
Egg yolk

An egg yolk is the part of an Egg which serves as the food source for the developing embryo inside. Prior to fertilization the yolk together with the germinal disc is a single Cell ....
s, sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, and vanilla
Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish language word "", little pod....
. Sometimes flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
, corn starch, or gelatin
Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
 are also added.

Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler (bain-marie
Bain-marie

A bain-marie is a French language term for a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently and gradually to fixed temperatures, or to keep materials warm over a period of time....
) or heated very gently in a saucepan on a stove, though custard can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a hot water bath, or even cooked in a pressure cooker.






Nutrition Facts







Discussion
Ask a question about 'Custard'
Start a new discussion about 'Custard'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts

Silly question, but I am making a Triffle for the first time and have used Birds custard for ease......
What are the materials used in the production of custard? and the packaging material?
Is it true that if you were to fill an olympic sized swimming pool with custard you could run from o...








Encyclopedia


Custard is a range of preparations based on milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 and egg
Egg (food)

An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves....
s, thickened with heat. Most commonly, custard refers to a dessert or dessert sauce, but custard bases are also used for quiche
Quiche

File:Quiches 2.jpgFile:Lorraine map.pngIn French cuisine, a quiche is a baked dish that is based on a custard made from Egg s and milk or cream in a pastry crust....
s and other savoury foods. As a dessert
Dessert

Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses....
, it is made from a combination of milk or cream
Cream

Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top....
, egg yolk
Egg yolk

An egg yolk is the part of an Egg which serves as the food source for the developing embryo inside. Prior to fertilization the yolk together with the germinal disc is a single Cell ....
s, sugar
Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
, and vanilla
Vanilla

Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla native to Mexico. Etymologically, vanilla derives from the Spanish language word "", little pod....
. Sometimes flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
, corn starch, or gelatin
Gelatin

Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and mostly bones. It has been commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing....
 are also added.

Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler (bain-marie
Bain-marie

A bain-marie is a French language term for a piece of equipment used in science, industry, and cooking to heat materials gently and gradually to fixed temperatures, or to keep materials warm over a period of time....
) or heated very gently in a saucepan on a stove, though custard can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a hot water bath, or even cooked in a pressure cooker. Cooking until it is set without cooking it so much that it curdles is a delicate operation, because only 3-5°C (5-10°F) separate the two. A water bath slows heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles.

Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce
Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish....
 (crème anglaise
Crème anglaise

Cr?me anglaise is a light pouring custard used as a dessert cream or sauce. It is a mix of sugar, Egg yolks and hot milk, often flavoured with vanilla....
), to a thick blancmange
Blancmange

Blancmange is a sweet dessert commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with gelatin, cornstarch or Chondrus_crispus, and often flavored with almonds....
 like that used for vanilla slice or the pastry cream used to fill éclairs.

Custard is an important part of dessert recipes from many countries.

History


Custard was known in English cuisine at least as early as the fourteenth century. Recipes for custards baked in pastry (custard tart
Custard tart

Custard tarts have long been a favourite pastry in the British Isles, and are also widely enjoyed in Australia and New Zealand. They are often called egg custard tarts or simply egg custards to distinguish the egg-based filling from the commonly-served Bird's Custard....
s) appear , under titles such as Crustardes of flessh and Crustade, in The Forme of Cury and Harleian MSS 279 and 4016. These recipes include solid ingredients such as meat, fish, and fruit, which are baked in the custard. Meanwhile, recipes for stirred custards cooked in pots appear in the same Harleian MSS as Creme Boylede and Creme boiled.

Custard variations