It's been quite a while since I last wrote. I blame the end of term and Christmas. I had completely intended to write something over the Christmas period about, oooh, I don’t know, some funky chemicals in cranberries that make them a superfood, or the exact make-up of Brussels sprouts. But I failed miserably to do this, largely because I was at home eating vast quantities of the aforementioned (and other foods as well- it wasn’t some ridiculous diet effort!) and hanging out with my family. All very lovely, but not very productive, and now the moment for a festive post has pretty much passed. Maybe next year. Or actually, this year!
So this time, in a fit of New Year guilt, I will firstly make a resolution to pull my blogging socks up and write at least once a month, and then write a proper post, of decent length and appropriate content. Fortunately, yet again, I don’t have to look much further than my email inbox for inspiration. I was renewing my subscription to the RSC the other day and half wondering why I was doing it, as I am a terrible member and very rarely take advantage of the many benefits that could come my way if I was slightly more organised and had a little more time. The last six months’ copies of Chemistry World are sitting unloved and unread on my desk and I keep promising myself that I will read them instead of buying Glamour. However, whilst pondering this, an email popped into my inbox with the title “RSC Yorkshire Pudding on BBC Countryfile.” Bingo! £17 well spent. Apparently, a few years back the RSC put out a press release detailing how high Yorkshires should be, along with a recipe for achieving the necessary 4 inches. Countryfile got hold of this and voila, a Sunday evening segment was born. A quick hop onto iPlayer and I was disastrously disappointed. Aside from renaming the ingredients with ridiculous scientific terms (milk= lactose solution, eggs= protein ovoids) there was no science mentioned at all. Furthermore, the scientific recipe, whilst obtaining a great rise and good flavour, didn’t even win the challenge against a farmer’s wife’s traditional recipe. Maybe that £17 wasn’t worth it, after all.
The obvious thing to do next was to consult the great King of Molecular Gastronomy, Mr Hervé This himself. I had read his highly informative account of how to get a soufflé to rise (the answer is to use very firmly whipped egg whites to create a stable foam from which air finds it harder to escape, to seal the top of the soufflé by grilling slightly before cooking to prevent air being lost from the top, and to heat from the bottom by placing the dish on the floor of the oven, because hot air rises- simplicity itself, isn’t it?) so I wondered whether he would have a similar missive on the science of the humble Yorkshire pudding to allay my disappointment. Alas, no such luck. Still, I’m grateful for the soufflé tips!
Finally, I resorted to a Google search and triumphed. According to this website:
the secret is all in the egg content. Eggs contain a large amount of protein, which forms a stable structure, allowing the Yorkshire to support its own weight. This is due to the unravelling of the protein strands in the egg, which then form bonds to other unravelled protein strands. Also, in order to achieve the rise in the first place, the mixture must be poured straight into really hot fat (carefully) which is almost smoking. This starts to cook the batter instantly and creates steam, which rises and takes the batter with it. Finally, the batter must be cooked enough to get a crispy outside, helping to prevent the pudding from collapsing when it is removed from the oven.
There you have it; the perfect Yorkshire pudding. Maybe someone should tell the RSC...
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