1. ESTRATIGRAFÍA
1.3. CUATERNARIO
LIBERALLY MISUSED AND CHANGED FROM THEIR ORIGINAL DEFINITIONS. There is no USDA defi nition for them, and even in France, where the majority of them originated, there is no legislation on their defi nitions. In France they actually fall into a category they call “non-controlled,” but they are protected by “legal stipulations” and “general custom within the trade,” which might sound a little contradicting.
What one pastry chef thinks of as a frozen parfait is not necessarily what another one does, for example. What is known as a parfait in France may not be known as a parfait in the United States. For accuracy’s sake, the defi nitions used in this book were taken from their country of origin.
chapter six Aerated
Still-Frozen Desserts
All still-frozen desserts have at least one ingredient that has the capacity to foam. It can be eggs, egg yolks, egg whites, or heavy cream, alone or in combination (e.g., whipped heavy cream and whipped egg whites). The desired texture of this type of dessert is similar to ice cream; it must be smooth in a frozen state. This smoothness is determined by the foam. Techni-cally, a foam is the dispersion of air (or gas) in a liquid. This applies to any foam, like the foam on top of soda pop, the foam in a bubble bath, or whipped egg whites. During whipping, air or gas is dispersed into bubbles. These bubbles may have a very short life span if there are no proteins present to stabilize them. They will fl oat to the top while the water that surrounds them drops to the bottom, and at this point they begin to defl ate rather quickly. The interface (or surface
of the bubble) is very fragile and can easily pop.
Proteins trap the air bubble by surrounding it and vary from ingredient to ingredient. Egg whites contain albumin, egg yolks contain leci-thin, and heavy cream contains fat molecules.
Milk, which contains whey protein, can also be foamed, but because the proteins are very sparse (about 3 percent of the total weight of milk as opposed to egg whites, which are 10 percent protein), milk foams have a very short life span.
Milk is foamed usually through steam (think of coffee drinks like cappuccino), and this steam is what disperses the air into the milk. Milk foams should be served as soon as they are foamed so that they don’t lose signifi cant volume. However, the addition of a protein, such as powdered soy lecithin, will make for stable and voluminous milk foam.
This category of frozen desserts distinguishes itself by two basic factors. The fi rst is that the product is aerated before it is frozen. Remember that when an ice cream is churned in a batch freezer, it is not only freezing, but it is also being foamed through the beating of the blade. This results in the incorporation of minuscule air bubbles that contribute to its texture. Aerated still-frozen desserts have at least one foamed ingredient (see foaming principles of ingredients, page 91), which can be heavy cream and/or egg whites, egg yolks, and/or whole eggs, as a major ingredient (to provide a smooth fi nal product) that is folded into another set of combined ingredients we will refer to as the “fl avor base” (fl avored pâte à bombe, fruit purée or juice, custard such as crème anglaise, chocolate, etc.). The second distinct characteristic is that the products are frozen in a freezer, not a batch freezer, hence the name “still-frozen.”
FROZEN PARFAIT
In French, parfait means “perfect.” It is composed of a cooked egg yolk foam (pâte à bombe, cooled to room tem-perature) or an Italian meringue, a whipped heavy cream foam (which will be the dominant foam), sugar, and a fl avor base, usually a fruit purée or chocolate, melted but then cooled. In the United States, a parfait is served in a tall glass and is lay-ered with fruit and sauces and is not typically fro-zen. In France parfaits are poured into a mold and then frozen. It is not written in stone that a parfait must be served in a glass or mold. It can be frozen into a desired mold (such as a sheet panextender or terrine mold) and cut into the desired shape. The vessel does not make the parfait, the ingredients do. Proper foaming is crucial, as is in all frozen desserts.
BOMBE
Bombe is the French word for“bomb.” It has the same components as a frozen parfait, but with 50 percent more heavy cream. The fi nished base is poured into a dome-shaped mold, which is how it got its name.
Thanks to this term, many desserts that have a dome shape are called bombes.
Varieties and Defi nitions
Parfaits are characterized by their airy, porous texture and richness, both a factor of the addition of egg yolk foam.
A bombe, a reference to both a frozen dessert and a shape, contains a high percentage of heavy cream and is molded into a demi-sphere shape.
SEMIFREDDO
Semifreddo is the Italian word for “semi-cold” or “half-cold.” It is a par-tially frozen dessert that is made from all three foams—yolks, whites (French meringue), and whipped heavy cream—plus the addition of fl a-vor typically added in a liquid form, which makes it incredibly light. Even though it is frozen, it gives the impression of not being completely frozen when you taste it, hence the name. It is usually frozen and served in a vessel (cup, glass, bowl), but not necessarily. As with a parfait, it can be frozen into any mold (such as a sheet pan extender or terrine mold), then extracted and portioned into the desired shape and size.The French equivalent is known as a biscuit glacé or ice-sponge. In Spanish they are known as semifríos.
FROZEN SOUFFLÉ
The word souffl é is the past participle of the French verb souffl er, which means “to blow up” or, more loosely,“to puff up.” This defi nition is intended for hot souffl és, which contain an egg white foam that, when baked, puffs up and is very light in texture.
Frozen souffl és contain an egg white foam and
are made to resemble a hot souffl é. The mixture is placed in a ramekin or souffl é mold, whose height is increased by a band of parchment pa-per or aluminum foil, and then frozen. Once it is frozen, the band of paper or foil is taken off so that the souffl é rises above the level of the mold, looking like a hot souffl é does when it comes out of the oven.
A frozen souffl é can be made with a combi-nation of foams, such as whipped heavy cream and egg whites or egg yolks and egg whites, but never the three together, and a fl avor base, usually a fruit purée or chocolate. A souffl é is distinguished by containing a large proportion of foamed egg whites (French or Italian meringue) in relation to its other components, which will give it a very light texture, even when frozen.
FROZEN MOUSSE
Mousse is a French term that means “foam” or “froth.” A frozen mousse is composed of two foams: either an egg yolk foam and whipped heavy cream, or an egg yolk foam and an egg white foam, plus a fl avor base (fruit purée or chocolate). Typically a frozen mousse will contain equal parts of the combinedSemifreddos combine all three foams, giving them a light,
“half-frozen” feel on the palate.
Work quickly with frozen mousse to minimize the risk of defl ation.
foams and the fl avor base (1:1 ratio), which makes it the densest aerated frozen dessert.
A recipe for mousse that is intended for refrigeration should not be frozen. If you have such a recipe and you want a frozen version of it, you must adjust your ratio of foam to fl avor base, as more foam is required for a frozen item
in order for it to give you a smooth consistency.
Also, don’t forget that refrigerated mousses of-ten contain gelatin, which helps the foam remain stable in those temperatures. A frozen mousse does not require gelatin, because once the foam is frozen, the air bubbles will stay in place.