Thursday, June 16, 2005

quick homage to Julia Child

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking:
The maximum amount of oil one U.S. Large egg will absorb is 6 ounces or 3/4 of a cup. When this maximum is exceeded, the binding properties of the egg yolks break down, and the sauce thins out or curdles.

#1 - I wish that I had a use for this information. Really, isn't that kind of cool to know? Do you suppose Julia figured this out, or was it common knowlege in 1966 and just something not discussed in today's fat-free world?

#2 - What a great bit of writing. It's assumed that you know (perhaps from reading other cookbooks) what "bind" and "curdle" mean, whiich I also love.The advisor (may he live forever) would not approve of this passage, as Child writes in longer, more complex sentences and he laments my inability to contruct short & declarative sentences.

#3 - Naturally I now feel an tug to make some mayonaise at home. That's Child's gift. She was able to make people feel that cooking, even a dish with an impossibly long and complex name, could be easily accomplished if taken on a step by step basis.

Instead I will pour another cup of coffee and look at my e-mail.

Words Written: zero (sigh)
Lessons Graded: lots

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I wonder how a British large egg would get on? lol Not that I really care how much a large egg can absorb as I only ever buy medium or small eggs. ;)

Steven