Custard
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2008-07-15T17:49:25Z
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Deleting junk sentence on custard and sex acts.
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{{dablink|This article focuses on egg-thickened custards. For versions based on "custard powder" and their derivatives, see [[Bird's Custard]].}}<!--***** Separate entry, see talk page *****-->
[[Image:Custard.jpg|right|230px|Custard in a glass bowl.]]
[[Image:Dessertcustard.jpg|right|thumb|230px|Dessert custard.]]
'''Custard''' is a range of preparations based on [[milk]] and [[Egg (food)|egg]]s, thickened with heat. Most commonly, custard refers to a dessert or dessert sauce, but custard bases are also used for [[quiche]]s and other savoury foods.
As a [[dessert]], it is made from a combination of milk or [[cream]], [[egg yolk]]s, [[sugar]], and [[vanilla]]. Sometimes [[flour]], [[corn starch]], or [[gelatin]] are also added.
Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler ([[bain-marie]]) or heated very gently on the stove in a saucepan, 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 5-10°F (3-5°C) separate the two. A water bath slows heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles.<ref>Harold McGee, ''On Food and Cooking'', 1984, ISBN 0-684-18132-0, p. 71</ref>
Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring [[sauce]] ([[crème anglaise]]), to a thick [[blancmange]] like that used for [[vanilla slice]] or the pastry cream used to fill [[Éclair (pastry)|éclair]]s.
Custard is an important part of dessert recipes from many countries.
==Custard variations==
While 'custard' may refer to a wide variety of thickened dishes, technically (and in French cookery) the word custard (''crème'' or more precisely ''crème moulée''<!-- we are NOT talking about crème anglaise here, which is a thinner pouring custard used as a sauce-->) refers only to an egg-thickened custard.
When starch is added, the result is called pastry cream (''crème pâtissière''), which is made with a combination of milk or cream, egg yolks, fine sugar, flour or starch, and usually a flavoring such as vanilla, chocolate, or lemon. Crème pâtissière is a key ingredient in many French desserts including [[millefeuille]] (or Napoleons) and filled tarts. It also used in Italian pastry and sometimes in [[Boston cream pie]].
When gelatin is added, the result is ''crème anglaise collée''.
When starch is used alone as a thickener (without eggs), the result is referred to as a [[blancmange]].
Instant and ready-made 'custards' such as are also marketed, though they are not true custards if they are not thickened with egg; [[Bird's Custard]] is a well-known brand of packaged custard mix. In the [[United Kingdom]], ''school custard'' is a common name for the 'custard' (usually made from cornflour) served for pudding at schools. Its poor quality and thick consistency are often the source of jokes. Pink school custard is made by combining Angel Delight (strawberry) with custard mix, generally starch-based packet custard. {{fact|date=April 2007}}
==Savoury custards==
Not all custards are sweet. A [[quiche]] is a savoury custard tart. Some kinds of [[timbale]] or vegetable loaf are made of a custard base mixed with chopped savoury ingredients. ''Custard royale'' is a thick custard cut into decorative shapes and used to garnish [[soup]] or [[broth]]. [[Chawanmushi]] is a [[Japanese cuisine|Japanese]] savory custard, cooked and served in a small bowl or on a saucer.
==Uses==
Recipes involving sweet custard are listed in the [[:Category:Custard desserts|custard dessert category]], and include:
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* [[Bavarian cream]]
* [[Cream pie]]
* [[Crème brûlée]]
* [[Crème caramel]]
* [[Custard tart]]
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* [[English trifle]]
* [[Egg tart]]
* [[Creme caramel|Flan]]
* [[Frozen custard]]
* [[Galaktoboureko]]
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* [[Kremna rezina]]
* [[Pastel de nata]]
* [[Pumpkin pie]]
* [[Taiyaki]]
* [[Vanilla slice]]
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* [[Vla]]
* [[Zabaglione]]
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==Physical properties==
Cooked (set) custard is a weak [[gel]] which is viscous and [[thixotropic]]; while it does become easier to stir the more it is manipulated, it does not, unlike many other thixotropic liquids, recover its lost viscosity over time.<ref>Karla Longrée, Sharie Beaver, Paul Buck, Joseph E. Nowrey, "Viscous Behavior of Custard Systems", ''Journal of agricultural and food chemistry'' '''14''':6:653 (1966)[http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/1966/14/i06/f-pdf/f_jf60148a033.pdf]</ref>
A [[suspension (chemistry)|suspension]] of uncooked imitation custard powder or [[starch]] mixed with water in the right proportions has the opposite [[rheology|rheological]] property: it is negative thixotropic, or [[dilatant]], which is to say that it becomes more [[viscosity|viscous]] when under pressure. It is often used in science demonstrations of [[non-Newtonian liquid]]s: see [[Oobleck]]. The British popular-science program [[Brainiac: Science Abuse]] demonstrated dilatancy dramatically by filling a swimming pool with this mixture and having presenter [[Jon Tickle]] walk across it; this was misleadingly called "walking on custard".
==References==
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[[Category:Food ingredients]]
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[[Category:Eggs]]
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