Why is my pastry cream (custard) grainy?
I made a simple pastry cream from a recipe that I've used once before uneventfully, and this time it turned out with a grainy texture.
The procedure was basically to: whisk together 3 egg yolks and an egg together with sugar and cornstarch in one bowl, separately bring milk with butter to a boil, temper the egg mixture with the hot milk, and then add the warm egg mixture to the milk and boiling for three minutes.
What might I have done wrong that would cause a grainy temperature? Did I not get the eggs warm enough before adding to the boiling milk? Did I boil for too long or too short a time? Are there any other potential culprits I'm not considering.
Best Answer
I think it all got too hot, but there might be other problems.
- Did you mix the cornstarch in completely? Leaving undissolved cornstarch is a sure way to obtain 'blobs'.
- Did you pour the hot milk onto the egg-mixture? You should do that very slowly and whisk vigorously (while trying to splash everything). If the eggs get too hot, they will coagulate.
- Did you use a double boiler? Putting the pan on an open flame will make the bottom too hot and the eggs will coagulate.
- Even if you did use a double boiler, did you whisk regularly while heating? The eggs at the bottom will become far warmer than the eggs in the center...
As rumtscho mentioned, a thermometer will be useful for monitoring the done-ness of the custard.
Generally, a fully cooked custard should not exceed 80 °C; it begins setting at 70 °C.
Source: Wikipedia
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Quick Answer about "Why is my pastry cream (custard) grainy?"
This happens if the pastry cream was cooked at too high of a heat and it curdled at some point. Even though you whisked the mixture to break down the curdled egg, and passed it through a sieve, some of the curdled egg is still there. It has dispersed through the custard making it feel grainy.How do you fix grainy pastry cream?
Also, when custards are overheated, the egg proteins over-coagulate and grainy curds occur in the cream - or, what you feel as a grainy texture in the pumpkin pie filling. A small amount of cornstarch (or flour) added to the recipe helps with this.Why did my custard turn out grainy?
The grainy texture is caused by the proteins in the egg yolk clumping together. The custard is still safe to eat, but the texture can be unpalatable. Sometimes it is possible to rescue a curdled custard enough so that it can be used as a base for ice cream, it depends how badly the custard has curdled.Can you rescue grainy custard?
If you notice lumps beginning to form in a custard, immediately pour it out of the hot pot into a bowl and pulse it with a handheld blender in five-second intervals until it is nearly smooth.Why did my pudding turn out grainy?
If, while you are waiting for the milk mixture to simmer, you combine the sugar and eggs too early but do not whisk often, the sugar can start to coagulate the eggs, which will result in a grainy final texture.Vanilla Bean Custard | Jamie Oliver - AD
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