On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 193

in a thick cast iron pan or passes through
infrared-transparent glass than is
transmitted by thin stainless steel. So in a
moderateoven,acast-ironwaterbathmay
reach195ºF/87ºC,aglassbath185ºF/83ºC,
andastainlessone180ºF/80ºC.Ifthepans
are covered with foil, then evaporative
cooling is prevented, and all of them will
cometoafullboil.
Custards are tenderest when heated
gently, and so are best cooked in an open
waterbath—one,however,thatissureto
reach at least 185ºF; otherwise the mix
may never completely set. Many cooks
take the precaution of folding a kitchen
towel in the bottom of the water bath so
that the custard cups or dish won’t be in
directcontactwiththehotpan,butthiscan
backfire:thetowelpreventsthewaterfrom
circulating under the cups, so the water
trappedtherereachestheboilandrocksthe
cupsaround.Awirerackworksbetter.


CheesecakeWedon’tordinarilythinkof
cheesecakeasacustard,probablybecausethe
presenceofeggsismaskedbytherichnessof
thefillingtheybindtogether,whichissome
combinationofricottacheese,creamcheese,
sourcream,heavycream,andbutter.The
proportionsforcheesecakearesimilarto

thoseforothercustards,approaching1egg
percup/250mloffilling,thoughthegreater
richnessandtartnessofthefillingdemand
moresugarforbalance,around4tablespoons
percup(60gmper250ml)insteadof2.Flour
orcornstarchissometimesincludedto
stabilizethegeland,inthecaseofricotta
cheesecakes,toabsorbwaterthatmaybe
releasedfromthefreshcheese.
Thethicktextureandhighfatcontentof
cheesecakefillingnecessitatemoredelicate
treatmentthanastandardcustard.Insteadofa
preliminarycookingonthestovetop,thesugar
isfirstmixedintothecreamingredients,and
theeggsthenincorporatedalongwithother