The Glade 4.0

So I made grilled prawns with a parsley oil coating, green salsa, focacia bread, rice and creme caramel

The creme caramel didn't entirely set - portions are the right consistency but some is soft enough to be verging on (but not quite) custard... left long enough it will spread over the plate.

What did I do wrong? ;-p

Can provide recipes used if it helps.

Creme caramel can be thrown off by using the wrong size egg or by using skim milk. Undercooking will also leave it soft. Lets see the recipe?

Size of eggs? Eek! They were medium sized, I guess ;-p

I used 1% fat milk, so maybe that was the problem.

5 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspon vanilla essence
2 cups milk
grated nutmeg

Beat eggs & sugar to mix - did gently to get well mixed, but avoid air bubbles in mixture. mostly worked, though some bubbles on surface

Scald milk (brought slowly to point before boiling - steam coming off milk, *tiny* bubbles starting around the edge, not actually boiling)

Pour the milk *slowly* into egg mixture - literally dribbled it in, while stirring

add salt, vanilla

sieve'd into a single baking dish (metal)

nutmeg on top of custard

put dish in a large baking tray, and filled that halfway with hot water so the pan was in a bath - maybe water not hot enough?

Baked at 160 degrees for 45 minutes

Cool to room temperature sitting on side, then refrigerated over night


Caramel worked out fine, so this was the question ;-p

That recipe seems to have a lot of eggs to sugar/milk, from what I recall. I usually just use yolks in this type item as well.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

That eggs are what sets it, and I agree that that's a lot of egg... but if that was causing trouble it would have been in the other direction. My ratio is 1 egg + 1 yolk per cup of milk and it sets up fine. I suspect undercooking, especially if the hot water wasn't boiling when it went in and you cooked by time. And to keep it from having a jelly-like texture I recommend either switching to a richer milk or swapping an egg for two yolks.

Next question!

My very good friend Cat, a long time Sri Lankan cook, recommended a Henckel 4 star chefs knife to start with. She also mentioned a water sharpener, http://www.verynice2.com/sharpener-minosharp-water.php

Reading on the interwebs a bit it seems the sharpener is intended for Japanese knives, and european knives are edged differently; the implication being that it could change, possibly detrimentally, the knife edge.

Nontheless, Cat swears by it and has been using it on her henckels for 13 years - I wonder if perhaps by doing so she's put a japanese edge on her euro knives

thoughts? worry about nothing? l;-p

The difference between the edge you put on a German knife and the edge you put on a Japanese knife comes down to angle. The Japanese is thinner overall, and is sharpened to a more acute angle, leaving it with a sharper but more brittle edge that wears easier and can be nicked. The German knife is thicker overall and can be manhandled a little more. If you consistently sharpen a German knife to a Japanese angle you will, over time, end up removing quite a lot of metal.

Honestly, if you get a good knife and use a honing steel every time you shouldn't need to sharpen it more than 2-3 times a year. 4 star is a great knife to start with, by the way, but you should try several premium knives to see which feels best in YOUR hand. You really only need 2 knives to start with, a paring knife and an 8" chef. Buy the best you can, you'll use them for life.

Made lamb tagine and moroccan rice yesterday. Was edible ;-p Lamb needed time to marinade properly though, wasnt quite rich and spicy enough.

So Tamaar, it sounds like using the japanese thingy wont hurt the knife badly even if it marginally changes it? Ok!

I currently have 4 star II 16" chefs knife, and Im using it for everything, even cutting garlic and onions ;-p

I was never into cooking until last year when I bought Cooking for Geeks. I'll never be at Taamar's level but I've gotten into it more. I found the "science of cooking" thing to be fascinating and increases my fun in the kitchen. I even go into kitchen stores on purpose now! I made my own sous vide controller and I'm fooling around with slow-cooked meat. Just don't ask about the brisket that I accidentally boiled.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko