Anyone else a fan of rice pudding, vanilla custard or pastry cream? 🙂 I love them all, and I love the skin that forms over the top, as they cool down. Of course, this skin/film is a no-no in professional cooking. What causes it, and how can we prevent it, if we so wish?
In her article “Food Science: Why Skin Forms on Milk,” thekitchn’s Emma Christensen explains that milk is made up of several elements including water, proteins, and fat. “When milk is heated, the water starts to evaporate and the other elements become increasingly concentrated. The proteins – casein and whey – also have a tendency to coagulate once the milk reaches a temperature of about 150°. Both the evaporation of water and the coagulation of the proteins work together to form a skin on the surface of cooked milk dishes like creamy soups, puddings, and even a mug of hot chocolate.”
How to prevent this? Christensen offers 2 solutions:
- ️As you take the pudding off the heat, you can cover it with plastic wrap or parchment paper, making sure there is no gap between the pudding and the wrap/paper. “This prevents evaporation and keeps the surface moist.”
- You can stir the milk as it heats, and then continue stirring occasionally as it cools: “This breaks up the protein clumps and makes sure the temperature of the milk stays even throughout.”
️I remember my mom making rice pudding, many years ago. The ingredient list was very short – rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon- and the end result was magical. ️Minimal ingredients would come together to deliver much-needed warmth and goodness, complete with a chewy, satisfying film on top (the best part, lol). Sooo good!
Are you a fan of rice pudding, and do you have a favorite recipe? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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