I have this recipe (from a really great book that has never failed me) for a custard and it says to
- Bring the milk to the boil.
- Put to the side for 10 mins.
- Whisk the yolks and sugar.
- Return the milk to the boil.
- Add milk to eggs.
- Heat till thick.
But why the double boil step?
It has made a lovely thick custard, my best recipe yet.
Edit: I have eaten it now and it was the most scrummy custard I have ever eaten. but that may be the 4 egg yolks and double cream 🙂
Best Answer
I can't say about this particular recipe, but 'scalding' milk was a commonly used to change the milk (cooking proteins, deactivating enzymes, etc) in the days before pasteurization ... but that was normally done when the milk was to be used at a non-boiling temperature.
It's possible that this 10 minute cool down gives it sufficient time for the desired changes to the milk to happen, without the problems of boil-over and evaporation that might happen if you tried to hold the milk at a boil for an extended period.
It's also possible that this is related to another question on here in which someone noticed that re-boiling milk was less likely to foam up. (but then couldn't re-create it, so there might be something else going on)