Harlett O'Dowd wrote:
> Anyone else have any secrets of the custard trade?
>
> For the record, my custards almost always taste good, and rarely
> curdle, but it's usually a bit lumpy and I know I can do better.
>
> Many thanks!
>
> PS - btw, apart from cooking the egg yolks, why does one want to boil
> milk/cream/H&H in custards and other simialr desserts? What chemical
> process occurs that aids in the cooking that you wouldn't have if you
> just used cold dairy?
>

This is quite different from the custards most folks are used to. It's a
thick, spreadable custard-type filling with a pasty consistency? You
have to cook the heck out of it cause of the flour thickener used. I
typically will use a whisk and a non-stick saucepan for these kinds of
things although this stuff might be so thick that you'd have to use a
spoon.

I had a had a soybean custard in a Chinese restaurant that was most
remarkable. It tasted like the freshest, thickest, whitest, and sweetest
cream in existence. It was as if you got fresh sweetened cream to gently
curdle and then you strained it and molded it into a gentle dome onto a
plate with a drizzle of raspberry and a small ball of intensely flavored
mango sherbet. The amazing thing is that there is no milk in this
dessert at all. At least that's what the cook said. That guy is holding
out on me! I've tried to make this using soymilk and agar agar but it
comes out like soybean Jello. Bleech! I'd kill to find that recipe!