# Reheating hollandaise



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

How do you reheat hollandaise?  And why do people consider hollandaise as having raw eggs, isn't it heated through?


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

I've never reheated hollandaise. I have my doubts it can be done successfully.

I thinkI'd start in a double boiler whisking like mad and have the extra yolks and water handy and be ready to try to fix the broken sauce.

But in all honesty, I'd probably really just make a new small batch. It's easy enough and fast enough to just make as needed and discard any extra. I often only work with 1 yolk for a batch.


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## abbot (Jul 24, 2006)

Heat it up on the cooktop to pretty warm, add an egg yolk and put it in the blender.


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

WHY?


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

You can't.

Seen a few cooks heat it up untill it breaks, then strain off the butter and use it over again, but I never subscribed to that.

Make it fresh and in small quantities....


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## prairiechef (May 22, 2010)

If you cook the egg yolk, you make scrambled eggs.

I suppose you could make Hollandaise and keep the temperature at a perfect 60 degrees celsius, never going over it during preparation, and have a pasteurized hollandaise. But the yolks would not be "cooked". That happens at around 65 degrees.

Most of us don't have perfect temperature regulated water baths in which to prepare our sauces, so we do it over an open flame, never reaching 60 degrees for a steady 3.5 minutes for pasteurization, and never cooking the eggs. So, for all practical purposes, the eggs in hollandaise sauce are "raw".

Which leads me to the next point... why would you want to reheat hollandaise? Practicality aside, It has the potential to be a bacterial stew just waiting to make someone ill.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

Béarnaise, Hollandaise, mousseline etc. can turn out too thick even when making it and certainly when it cools down.

THE trick to loosen it again is to add a tbsp of very hot water. Plain and simple.

These sauces are never served hot, always luke warm.

A good dosage may prevent left-overs; I mostly make Hollandaise for 2 or 3 people and it's mostly gone. I use 2 eggyolks, 2 tbsp of water and a very small dash of lemonjuice (about 1 teaspoon), start whisking on the smallest fire and remove the pot frequently from the fire. It takes around 5 minutes of vigourous beating to get to the next stage.

When doubled in volume and no liquid left over at the bottom of the pan, add small cubes of fresh butter, a few at a time and keep stirring until dissolved. I guess I use no more than 50 grams of butter (in fact; to taste)!!! Taste for seasoning; add more lemonjuice if needed and s& white pepper.

Using clarified butter is old skool; raw butter gives a nicer taste much faster so you don't need an excess of butter to make Hollandaise or similar sauces. You don't need to believe me, just try it.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

PrairieChef said:


> .... So, for all practical purposes, the eggs in hollandaise sauce are "raw".


Not quite, chef. Before you add the butter, you need a temperature in the starting eggyolk mixture of 82°C to get a nice binding. I wouldn't call that "raw".


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## titomike (May 20, 2009)

imho...the eggs _are_ cooked the way a brulee is cooked without splitting (over-cooking)...

Not reaching the ribbon stage (& thus removing the smell of raw egg) will not produce as light & voluminous (Tbsp of hot water helps) sauce and is less likely to brown under the grill without splitting...a test of good technique

For speed I always make it over a direct flame and then pass it...I pour in the clarified butter and discard the buttermilk & whey but now I see the sense in replacing the water used earlier with this more flavourful by-product...

For flavour I firmly believe in a proper reduction but still finish with lemon juice though we pre-make it so as to always have on hand...

The quickest way to fix a split holly is to whisk it slowly into a splash of warmed cream...once cold this and other methods are notoriously unreliable...I've tried & failed enough to be sure. Re-using the flavoured, seasoned butter is also problematic...you're better off saving for saute go fresh!


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

How do restaurants keep hollandaise on hand then throughout a busy day?  there has to be some way.

When my hollandaise breaks I take it off the heat and add a dash of cold heavy cream.  Usually binds it right up.  I like to add just a pinch of cornstarch as well, it help sit bind and becomes nice and thick rather than runny.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Thermos. Pour some boiling water in the thermos to basically pre-heat it. Pour it out, pour in the hollandaise. Cap and hold. Will hold an hour or so this way , or so I've read. I've not personally done this.


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## prairiechef (May 22, 2010)

"Not quite, chef. Before you add the butter, you need a temperature in the starting eggyolk mixture of 82°C to get a nice binding. I wouldn't call that "raw".  "

Ok. Go heat an egg yolk to 85 degrees, tell me what happens. No the egg yolk cannot reach 85 degrees... or they will solidify. All the stirring in the world will not keep them from coagulating at that temperature. It is the lecithin contained in the egg yolk that "binds" (properly "emulsifies") the butter into the sauce. Lecithin will emulsify both water and oil. These properties are not made "better" by heating to 85 degrees celsius.

restaurants won't "hold a hollandaise all day long", if they're worth their salt. They will make a new batch as needed.

Uncooked cornstarch in a sauce does not sound pleasant, regardless of stablizing properties.

and adding whipped cream to a hollandaise means it's no longer a hollandaise, it becomes a mousseline.


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Koukouvagia said:


> How do restaurants keep hollandaise on hand then throughout a busy day? there has to be some way.


For me, it is simple, it takes about five minutes for a batch, I make it as necessary

Mise en place:

Reduction, prepped & cooked and in cooler in the anticipated quantity for service
Eggs yolks separated and portioned for batches
Lemon juice
Clarified butter ( my preference)
Batches sized for 15-30 minutes of service.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

ChrisBelgium said:


> THE trick to loosen it again is to add a tbsp of very hot water. Plain and simple.


More like a couple drops.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Over the weekend I did a search on google about "how to reheat hollandaise" and up popped my post first thing.  So I had some hollandaise left over in the fridge and I didn't want to throw it out.  To me, hollandaise is expensive stuff with all the yolks and butter in it!  When I first posted this I believe I threw out my perfectly good hollandaise because I didn't want to reheat it.  But this time I stuck it in the microwave.  Heated for 5sec and stirred.  Another 5sec and stirred.  I did this about 4times until the hollandaise was warm.  It didn't split, it held together and it was delicious the next day.  So, there is a way.  I stopped using cornstarch long ago though, don't do that anymore


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

This is good to know.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

I know of no state, city or county Health Dept that would permit this. For the risk involved it's not worth saving. And no the yolks are not cooked and you have left it out at higher then average room temp then refrigerated it then reheated again. The Bacteria and salmonella count would have to be high.  I would not eat it therefore I would not serve it.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

PrairieChef said:


> Ok. Go heat an egg yolk to 85 degrees, tell me what happens. No the egg yolk cannot reach 85 degrees... or they will solidify. All the stirring in the world will not keep them from coagulating at that temperature. It is the lecithin contained in the egg yolk that "binds" (properly "emulsifies") the butter into the sauce. Lecithin will emulsify both water and oil. These properties are not made "better" by heating to 85 degrees celsius.
> 
> restaurants won't "hold a hollandaise all day long", if they're worth their salt. They will make a new batch as needed.
> 
> ...


Ummm.. I know this is a very old post, but I just noticed this post.

Yes you can heat a yolk to 85, you can heat rocks to 85. The thing is, you are making a _*sabayon*_ when you add liquids (ie reductions, water etc) to the yolk and beat over heat. No liquids added to the yolk plus heat, and you have an inedible mess.

When you make a holly with a good sabayon, the only time it will split is when you subject it to very high temperatures.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Chris I use clarified butter  not that it's better. But myself and others have slightly high blood pressure and I have to keep my salt  down clarifying helps. Plus I make blender Hollandaise


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

ED BUCHANAN said:


> I know of no state, city or county Health Dept that would permit this. For the risk involved it's not worth saving. And no the yolks are not cooked and you have left it out at higher then average room temp then refrigerated it then reheated again. The Bacteria and salmonella count would have to be high. I would not eat it therefore I would not serve it.


I'm in the privacy of my own home feeding no one but myself. It can be done, it was done, and now it's done and no harm done. Everyone chillax!


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## soesje (Dec 6, 2012)

ED BUCHANAN said:


> Chris I use clarified butter not that it's better. But myself and others have slightly high blood pressure and I have to keep my salt down clarifying helps. Plus I make blender Hollandaise


I am somewhat surprised by your statement that clarifying does help the salt content.

please can you explain to me then, how it works? this is unlike anything I've learned...

that said, dunno whether in your country, unsalted butter is available too?


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

You are not open to suits and litigation, so do what you would like to yourself. Keep in mind yours is not laying out in a hot kitchen for 2 hours of a dinner service.

Sorry but often things I  talk about and answer do not pertain to a home cook. They are based mostly and for commercial applications.


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## black dog (Mar 26, 2014)

Hello, There does seem to be quite a bit of confusion about Sauce Hollandaise and it really isn't complicated.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (15g) good white wine vinegar (homemade is best)

4 tbsp (60g) cold water

1 tsp (5g) white peppercorns, crushed

4 egg yolks

250g unsalted butter, clarified (melted butter with the milk solids and water removed), cooled to tepid

Salt to taste

Juice of ½ lemon

Method

In a thick-bottomed stainless steel pan, mix the white wine vinegar with the 4tbsp of cold water and the crushed peppercorns.
Boil to reduce by one-third, transfer to a clean bowl and leave to cool completely. Add the egg yolks to the cold reduction and whisk in thoroughly.
Put the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and continue whisking, making sure that the whisk comes into contact with the bottom of the bowl.
Gradually increase the heat so that the sauce emulsifies progressively, becoming very smooth and creamy after 8-10 mins. Do not allow the temperature of the sauce to rise above 65°C.
When the sauce is thick and creamy, remove from the heat and still whisking, pour in the tepid clarified butter in a steady stream. Whisk like mad to get a good emulsion.
Season to taste with salt and lemon juice. Pass the sauce through a muslin-lined chinois to eliminate the crushed peppercorns if required, then serve immediately.

Hollandaise is a sauce that does not really like to wait. It is served warm, NOT HOT. So do never reheat it.
You can, and I have, placed the bowl over warm water and whisked it for a minute or two, but just enough to make it tepid and no more.
Remember you are going to serve it on piping hot salmon, or asparagus spears, so where is the problem?

Since the egg yolks have been cooked for several minutes at around 60c, there should be absolutely no risk from bacteria.

As for the risk of the yolks turning to scrambled eggs at 60c, this is nonsense. You just need to whisk like mad and keep the sauce moving.

When we prepare a simple Crème Anglaise, or Crème Patissier, we cook and whisk the preparation up to 83c, or 84c in order to get the correct creamy consistency.

These temperatures are given by all of the leading Michelin star and MOF patissiers, who know what they are talking about.

Lastly I don't understand the comments from Ed Buchanan.

Ed, the classic recipe for Hollandaise always calls for clarified butter.

Then the thing about salt? You always use the very best quality unsalted butter to make Hollandaise, and at the end, season with salt and lemon juice to taste.

If you don't season it, it's going to wind up being a pretty piss poor Hollandaise. The salt and lemon juice give the final all important touch.

Can you explain to me what Blender Hollandaise is? Surely you can't mean that you make yours in a blender?

As for leaving it out in a hot kitchen for two hours during the service? Why would anyone do that?

As Pete McCracken says, you prep everything, keep in the fridge (NOT the clarified butter obviously!) and make it as required.

It only takes minutes, and it is supposed to be served immediately for best results.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Hey Blackdog  when it comes to Hollandaise, "Wotcher"

A "standard" recipie was never carved in stone.  ol' Escoffier calls for "pommade" soft butter, not clarified.

Many places do use clarified butter--and many places use whole melted butter, some places use whole softened butter, a'la Escoffier. And I've worked in all kinds.  I mean what I say about making a sabayon with the yolks and reduction though.  Once you have a good sabayon, the sauce is virtually bomb-proof.  I 've done this with single portion a'la cart sizes and using the 30 qt Hobart for banquets.

A lot of places make a batch of Hollandaise and use it for various things, whisk in a little chopped tarragon, or fold in some whipped cream and use that to glaze or gratinee menu items with, so it does stay out in the kitchen for a few hours.  Also, it can stay out for a few hours in banqueting or catering scenerios--people are so unpredictable


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## soesje (Dec 6, 2012)

ED BUCHANAN said:


> You are not open to suits and litigation, so do what you would like to yourself. Keep in mind yours is not laying out in a hot kitchen for 2 hours of a dinner service.
> 
> Sorry but often things I talk about and answer do not pertain to a home cook. They are based mostly and for commercial applications.


excuse me? who was that aimed to? why?


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## black dog (Mar 26, 2014)

Hi there,

True in my 1907 "A guide to modern cookery" Escoffier writes 1.5 lbs of butter, saying: "Gradually pour the butter onto the yolks while briskly stirring the sauce!"

In my Paul Bocuse recipe it calls for softened butter.

In my Leçons de Cuisine, Ecole Ritz Escoffier, Paris, founded in 1988 in his honour, at the Hotel Ritz, Paris, the recipe clearly calls for clarified butter.

Most of the leading chefs recommend clarified butter because it removes the impurities.

Why would you want those white milky bits in your lovely sauce when they are so easy to remove?

Anyway, this got away from the subject which was Can you reheat Hollandaise?

Hollandaise should be made fresh to order. It can be kept for an hour, or so, and at a push, you can beat it and re-warm it just a very little, over a bain marie for a moment.

Hollandaise is served warm, not hot, so I don't understand the issue.

All this business of using microwaves, blenders, or corn starch is frankly speaking Unbelievable.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing properly. I think it takes just as much time to f it up, royally, as it does to just do it again, correctly. Maybe it's just a question of a lack of professional pride, or laziness, or a lack of knowledge. Maybe all three. In the end, it ain't my problem.

In today's modern, slapdash world, anything goes, as we have seen when Mr Ramsay goes in to some kitchens.

Honestly, some of those chefs, well they aren't even chefs, nor cooks really, should not even be in the business. They are positively dangerous.

As a direct result of that show, these days I NEVER walk in off the street in a restaurant unless I know it personally, or by reputation. 

God only knows what is hiding in those fridges and bowls and how long they've been there. No thanks not worth the risk.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

black dog said:


> All this business of using microwaves, blenders, or corn starch is frankly speaking Unbelievable.
> 
> If it's worth doing, it's worth doing properly. I think it takes just as much time to f it up, royally, as it does to just do it again, correctly. Maybe it's just a question of *a lack of professional pride, or laziness, or a lack of knowledge. Maybe all three. In the end, it ain't my problem*.


Wow, tell us how you really feel. Welcome to the forum, thanks for sharing your recipe for hollandaise and please do be polite if you can.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

Soesje said:


> excuse me? who was that aimed to? why?


It was directed at me, Ed is simply stating that the method I used to reheat hollandaise would not be fitting in a commercial kitchen and he's right. I wouldn't have done that even for my dinner guests. In this particular case I had some delicious hollandaise left over from the previous night and I wanted to see if I could reuse it the next morning for a quick eggs benedict using left overs. I put it in the microwave and it worked. It really did reheat. I didn't take it to piping hot of course, just warmed through and I ate it all myself. Certainly not my finest work, but I was glad I could use up the left overs and the sauce did not break or anything, it was fine and delicious.

Why do I feel like I constantly need a disclaimer for being a home cook?


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

To All The Home Cooks.

Keep in mind when we make HOLLANDAISE or Bernaise, I am not talking about a cup I am talking about quarts and gallons.  hot butter is put in blender with cayenne, lemon,then yolks are put in slowly through blender or processer top opening. Saves time and your arm when you do volume. Its not that anyone is lazy  it is practical and labor saving.

 AND IF YOU HAVE NEVER DONE IT DON'T KNOCK IT. Many commercial places do it this way and have been doing it with success probably before many here were  born.

Because it is held at a tepid temp for a few hours is more the reason to make just what you need if left over dump it as its a great breeding place for bacteria and salmonella growth. In fact most health departments insist you dump the leftover sauce.


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## black dog (Mar 26, 2014)

Sorry if I offended you, and I do understand what you were trying to do, aka rewarm leftovers, but you do see so much rubbish out there on the net, and I find it quite irritating.

Some people quite boldly want to reinvent a classic dish and then put their name on it. Happens all the time in Europe too! 

Guess I'm just an old dinosaur who is fighting to preserve the classic and traditional recipes.

Thank you for the welcome and I will try to be polite, if at all possible


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

The owners of a Thermomix know how easy their machine can make a perfect Hollandaise and much more. That's modern technique introduced by the molecular cooks; a very powerful variable and highspeed mixer with built-in precision heater, weighing scale and timer. There are few restaurants in Europe who don't have a Thermomix. Even better, more and more amateur cooks have a Thermomix.

Making and reheating Hollandaise is the simplest thing and can be made à la minute whenever needed. Restaurants don't need a person to keep working on it all the time. I took this recipe for a Thermomix made Hollandaise to show how simple it is for restaurants to make Hollandaise anno 2014... using the most classic recipe ever;

For 8 to 10 persons

Ingredients; 8 eggyolks (160 g) - 40 g lemon juice - 70 g water - 250 g semi-salted soft butter - pepper to taste

Add lemon juice, water and eggyolks to the Thermomix bowl. Turn with these settings; 5 minutes - temperature setting 80°C - mixing setting 3,5. Sabayon done.

Add butter cut in chunks. Turn 5 minutes at 80°C, mixing setting 3,5. Pepper. Hollandaise done.

-> optional re-warming during service at 80°C - setting 3,5

-> Reheat 4 minutes at 70-80°C mixing setting 2. Can be kept during service at 70°C.

http://www.thermomix.com/en/home/


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

black dog said:


> Sorry if I offended you, and I do understand what you were trying to do, aka rewarm leftovers, but you do see so much rubbish out there on the net, and I find it quite irritating.
> 
> Some people quite boldly want to reinvent a classic dish and then put their name on it. Happens all the time in Europe too!
> 
> ...


I'm not offended. This site is quite useful, not at all rubbish and I find that I have learned loads here from all the talented chefs and home cooks. We are good folks who are very serious about our cooking, I may not be a chef but if you look around you'll see that I've put out some spectacular dishes in other threads, and you'll find dishes by other people that knock my socks off. You'll be glad to know that when I searched out "reheating hollandaise" on the internet I found an overwhelming concensus that it cannot be done. I took it as a challenge and did it in the microwave out of curiosity and lo and behold it did work. Not as great as fresh, and it did require extreme attentiveness but it worked and I ate it and I'm fine and the world did not stop spinning and it is a technique I plan to use again if necessary.

Bad photo, not my finest moment, but here it is right out of the microwave.





  








egg.jpg




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koukouvagia


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Mar 28, 2014


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## black dog (Mar 26, 2014)

Looks v nice, but the fries do look just a tad greasy, or is that just the photo ???  

Delighted that you were not offended. Have a great weekend.


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## black dog (Mar 26, 2014)

Hi,

I have actually been looking at the Thermomix because it has a powerful motor and apparently you can freeze things and then wiz them into a very fine powder. Also you can do many other interesting preparations with it.

I also looked at the Kenwood Cooking Chef which looks brill.

I fully understand why professional chefs, in busy kitchens, would want a Thermomix, or three, on the team because they are like having another pair of hands, they definitely save time, and work load, with very good results.

But I personally do just really love to get my big copper bowl and my huge whisk out and get stuck in.

I'm "à l'ancienne",  an old Whatsit. What can I say???


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

They are oven roasted potatoes and they too were reheated in the microwave. I hate the word greasy, that is pure olive oil, in which I like my potatoes bathed.


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

black dog said:


> ....
> 
> But I personally do just really love to get my big copper bowl and my huge whisk out and get stuck in.
> 
> I'm "à l'ancienne", an old Whatsit. What can I say???


Don't get me wrong black dog, I'm a home cook, drooling all over the Thermomix that is still on my most wanted list! It's not exactly the cheapest thing you can buy.

I had the opportunity though to try one of those machines and they are truly stunning. I still make a good Hollandaise or béarnaise by hand but I'm now very convinced that a Thermomix is unbeatable in making the most fluffy emulsion sauces!


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## black dog (Mar 26, 2014)

Chris, I agree totally.

Like the Kenwood Cooking Chef, the Thermomix is a brilliant tool, no doubt about it.

I know several Michelin star chefs who have bought, not just one Thermomix, but two, or three. You can whip up all sorts of things very quickly. It's another pair of hands, in busy restaurant and hotel kitchens.

I think that you can really play with all sorts of emulsions with it, and if you freeze any sort of nuts, or whatever, you can wizz them to create extremely fine powders.

But, from what I saw, I would have liked the Thermomix to have a see through cover, so you can look inside and check what is going on.

Also I don't much like the fact that you can only control temperatures in 10 degree increments. I would have liked it better if you could have temperature settings by individual degree increments (which you can with the Kenwood C C.)

If for example, I am preparing a Crème Anglaise, or Crème Patissière, I want to whisk my crème to 84C, to make the creamy emulsion and pasteurize the eggs. 

I will probably buy one too, eventually, and a Kenwood C C as well, but I'm always going to make my sauces by hand just because I love the process.

There's just something about putting a pan of water on to simmer, and getting the whisk and bowl out. One of life's little pleasures.

Yesterday for a dinner party I was giving, I made Raymond Blanc's Chocolate Delice, with toasted Hazel nuts dipped in long clear strands of golden caramel, and a Drambuie flavoured Expresso espuma.

I mention this only because I had never attempted a coffee foam before. Simplicity itself.

50g hot lightly sugared espresso, and 50g cold espresso with a little splash of Drambuie. 1 sheet of gelatine softened, squeezed and dissolved in the hot espresso.

Then just whisk in the remaining cold Drambuie flavoured espresso, like mad, with an electric hand whisk.

Ended up with a huge bowl of extremely light and very tasty espuma.

There was some of this left this morning, and I've just whisked it up again for a Chocolate Delice afternoon tea treat. Really very good indeed. 

Thank you Raymond Blanc.....

You could perhaps approach the Thermomix agent where you are and sign up to become an agent. You would then get one free to play with. I've met several people near me who have done this. Just a thought!


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