Talk:Crème brûlée
This is an absolutely "Heavenly" dessert which I am sure is quite fattening. The Ocean Princess's Sterling Steakhouse served this during a cruise in May of 2002. Crême Brûlée is without a doubt excellent. It's kind of interesting to use shop tools in the kitchen.
This should be crème. Or US write crême to make it look more French ?
Que'est-ce que c'est que "turbinado sugar"????? I'm baffled. Does it need a definition or is it just me being iggerant? :) Nevilley 21:37 Jan 18, 2003 (UTC)
A quick googling tells me it's US Equivalent of Demerara sugar. I substituted brown sugar. Mintguy
- If you want to substitute, use regular granulated sugar. JSF
- Yum yum, well done and thanks. Deliberately, and contrary to normal practice, I've linked to sugar a second time in the article, to help people like me who might otherwise not have found that definition. ta! :) Nevilley 21:51 Jan 18, 2003 (UTC)
Do US recipe books still use fahrenheit? Everything is in Centigrade/Celsius in the UK and Europe. Mintguy
- Yes, we still use Fahrenheit in the U.S. Dumb, aren't we!
The temperature window is very critical in this recipe. For the benefit of Centigrade users the window should read 77-79°C.
Heron's definition is indeed correct. Turbinado sugar is a blond, raw sugar generally available in major U.S. supermarkets. I do not think that I would care for the stronger flavor of brown sugar in this delicately flavored dessert.
Terbinado is unheard of in the UK, it is virtually the same as Demerara sugar in the UK. Can I suggest - light brown sugar? Or - light brown sugar (Demerara or Turbinado)? Mintguy
Both spellings: "crème" and "crême", are present in the Wikipedia index for this dessert. I do not know which is more common in the U.S. Perhaps, since the Creole people speak French, the latter is preferred.
JSF 15:18 Jan 22, 2003 (UTC)
- "crème" is the French spelling. (some of the stray ^s might well be due to me. *kicks self*) -- Tarquin 15:00 Jan 22, 2003 (UTC)
Delia Smith (veteran TV cook in UK) spells it crème brûlée (note the circumflex on the u), but the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors (OUP, 2000) spells it without the circumflex. OED2 records crème as the main spelling with crême as an alternative, and shows examples of brulée with and without a circumflex. So take your pick. -- Heron
- Correct French spelling (Petit Larousse) is crème (accent grave). - Montréalais
- Hm. we need to convert these values to the international standard. -- Tarquin
I've found out that a US cup is 225ml liquid measure, but what is it in terms of grams for dry measure for sugar!, obviously it varies on whatever you're trying to measure? Also found out that a US tablespoon is 16ml, while a UK tablespoon is 15ml.
- Mintguy
- See also Cooking weights and measures
Mintguy, I will accept Turbinado or Demerara sugar, but not light brown, dark brown, or brown sugar. They are different sugar products, at least in the U.S.
They have a much different flavor and texture than raw sugar. Also, brown sugars tend to lump, especially in a humid environment, so are difficult to spread evenly. I am assuming that Demerara sugar is coarse-grained raw sugar and not fine-grained brown sugar.
I have not mastered the editing protocol yet, so I have destroyed your sugar links in the recipe. You are free to reinstate them, but please don't change my raw sugar choices. Thanks for adding the Centigrade temperature window.
I will edit my recipe to present both the International and the U.S. measures. Thank you Tarquin for your inputs.
JSF 15:48 Jan 22, 2003 (UTC)
Could someone add a description of what this is in the first line - before "it isn't French". Rmhermen 16:16 Jan 22, 2003 (UTC)
The recipe calls for twelve teaspoons of sugar. This is the same (US) as a quarter-cup. Why not just call for a quarter-cup of sugar?
- By procedure I spoon out 1 teaspoon of sugar at a time from my macro supply as I spread it on each serving. This is easier than measuring a quarter-cup and then spooning. JSF
- Also "teaspoon" is a much more international measure than "cup". You only find cups mentioned in US cookbooks whereas you'll find teaspoons mentioned in cookbooks around the world. Thus teaspoon is a more suitable measure for the Wikipedia than cup. -- Derek Ross
After a bit of research prompted by Heron, and confirming the Delia claim in my own copy, I've found other references to it being invented at Trinity College in the late 18th century (at least 1769).
http://ae.boston.com/dining/recipes/t/trinity_cream.html
- http://www.porters.uk.com/menu/default.asp?menuID=14
- http://www.eng.umu.se/tt/proj1/recipes.htm
- http://www.recipegoldmine.com/desspudd/desspudd49.html
- http://www.hwatson.force9.co.uk/cookbook/recipes/desserts/cambridgeburntcream.htm
This site (http://emenus.ca/Victoria_and_Vancouver_Island/dictionary/C.htm) states the following Creme brulee It is a simple custard of nothing more than cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla that is topped with a caramelized topping. History: The origins of this custard are very much in contention, with the English, Spanish, and French all staking claim. (1) The Spanish have taken credit for this dessert as crema catalana since the 18th century. (2) The English claim it originated in 17th century Britian in Trinity College, Cambridge. It is said that it was born when an English chef accidentally burned a custard he had sprinkled with sugar. The chef then passed it off as an original creation calling it burnt cream. It is also called trinity cream in England. Some old cookbooks even refer to it as Cambridge cream after Cambridge University.
There seems to be little evidence that it's a Creole dish.
Also crème brûlée seems to be more common than other forms.
Well, brûlée is completely wrong French. Google don't make it right. I protest at yet another move. -- Tarquin 00:24 Jan 25, 2003 (UTC)
Google test:
- site:fr brûlée = 10,800
- site:fr brulée = 1040
What other options are there. i'm confused now. Mintguy
- brûlée looks 100% correct to me, native french speaker. Of course I'm not infallible, but the nearest dictionary (which happens to be a French-English one) thinks like me. --FvdP 00:32 Jan 25, 2003 (UTC)
- More importantly, "brulée" looks wrong both to me and to my dictionary. --FvdP
- Stupid accented letters makes me glad of English's esoteric spelling and it's inconsistent pronunciation. At least I don't have to try to figure out how to get a grave accent on a letter. Mintguy
Can we all agree that the spelling is Crème brûlée? The Anome
It is in dispute. You should have moved the talk. Now one will have to be deleted. Mintguy
The previous talk has now been moved here (see above). The Anome 00:36 Jan 25, 2003 (UTC)