On Food and Cooking

Cookbooks often assert the importance of
beating yolks with sugar until they lighten
in color and thicken sufficiently to form a
ribbon when trailed from a spoon. This
stage does not mark any critical change in
the yolk components. It’s simply a sign
that much of the sugar has dissolved in the
limited yolk water (about half the volume
of the yolks themselves), which makes the
mix viscous enough to pour thickly and
retain air bubbles (the cause of the
whitening). Sugar grains are a convenient
means for mixing the yolks and albumen
remnants thoroughly, but the quality of a
cream or custard will not suffer if you mix
the yolks and sugar thoroughly but stop
short of the ribbon.
Savory Custards: The Quiche The quiche (a
French version of the German Kuchen, “little
cake”) can be thought of either as a savory
custard or a close relative of the omelet. It is a
pie-shaped mixture of eggs and cream or milk