On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 196

creamthroughastrainerbeforeit’sserved.
Pourable and Stiff Creams There are two
broad classes of creams, and they demand
entirely different handling by the cook. The
pourablecreams,crèmeanglaiseforexample,
are meant to have the consistency of heavy
cream at serving temperature. They contain
the standard eggs, milk, and sugar (sugar is
omitted for a savory cream), and are cooked
onlyuntiltheyjustbegintothicken,farbelow
the boil. Thecream fillings — crème
pâtissière, banana cream, and so on — are
meant to stay put in a dish and hold their
shape. They are therefore stiffened with a
substantial dose of flour or cornstarch; and
thismeansnotonlythattheycanbeheatedto
the boil, theymust be boiled. Egg yolks
contain a starch-digesting enzyme, amylase,
that is remarkably resistant to heat. Unless a
starch-egg mix is brought to a full boil, the
yolk amylase will survive, digest the starch,


andturnthestiffcreamintoapourableone.
Whenstoredforanytime,creamsshould
beprotectedagainsttheformationofthe
leatheryskinthatresultsfromevaporation,
whichconcentratesandtoughensthesurface
layerofproteinandstarch.Buttercanbe
dottedontothewarmsurface,wherethemilk
fatwillmeltandspreadintoaprotective

layer;andsprinkledsugarwillformalayerof
concentratedsyrupthatresistsevaporation.
Themoststraightforwardsolutionistopress
waxedpaperorbutteredparchmentdirectly
ontothecream.Avoidplasticwrap;its
plasticizingchemicalstendtomigrateinto
fat-richfoods.
AMedievalCheesecake
Tartdebry
Takerawyolksofeggs,andgoodfat
cheese,anddressit,andmixitwell
together;andaddpowderofginger,andof
cinnamon,andsugar,andsaffron,andput