whip for several minutes until the mix
becomes foamy and thick. During the mixing
and initial foaming, the elaborately nested
spheres of yolk proteins are unpacked for
action. Dilution, the wine’s acidity and
alcohol, and air bubbles all disrupt the yolk
granules and lipoprotein complexes into their
component molecules so that those molecules
can coat the air bubbles and stabilize them.
When the temperature reaches 120ºF/50ºC,
high enough to unfold some of the yolk
proteins, the mix thickens, traps air more
efficiently, and begins to expand. As the
proteins continue to unfold and then bond to
each other, the foam rises into fluffy mounds.
The key to a maximally light zabaglione is to
stop the heating just when the foam teeters on
the cusp between liquid and solid. Further
cooking will produce a stiffer, denser,
eventually tough sponge as the proteins over-
coagulate.
Zabaglione is traditionally made in a
barry
(Barry)
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