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The Royal Society muscles in on our turf

Hugh
2008-11-14 15:42:00 UTC

Those bloody Actual Scientists are getting in on the cooking game, it would seem.

Reader Kris forwards us this piece from UK tech site The Register, in which the Royal Society, one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific institutions in the world, gets into the cooking business with a recipe for the perfect Yorkshire Pudding

Cambridge University chemist and science author John Elmsey wrote the following in response to the Society’s national request for feedback:

“"I have seen many grim results from people who have tried to get their Yorkshires to rise. They frequently made gross errors. After all, cooking is chemistry in the kitchen and one has to have the correct formula, equipment and procedures. To translate the ingredients into chemical terms, these are carbohydrate + H2O + protein + NaCl + lipids.”

Anyone care to try the recipe (in the article above) and tell us what they think?

Comments

pajh \| 2008-11-14 18:05:00 UTC The recipe seems reasonable enough at first glance. I’ll give it a go in my CFT.
Mark Sutherland \| 2008-11-16 20:26:08 UTC Never mind the royal society, Top Gear itself are getting in on the Xtreme Blending business judging by this weeks episode…
Hugh \| 2008-11-17 12:51:47 UTC Dammit, we’re just so ahead of the curve…
Liz \| 2008-11-19 12:16:48 UTC Right, here’s the Yorkshire pudding recipe that I learnt from my mum and she from hers and so on (and yes, I’m originally from Yorkshire). You can scale the recipe up or down by keeping the proportions the same. This does a couple of large puddings or 2 dozen small. 2 tbsp plain flour 2 eggs 2 tbps cold water Mix until smooth then add slowly add milk until the consistency is runny but not too runny – you want the mixture to be able to coat the back of a spoon. It’ll probably be about a third of a pint or so. It’s one of those things that’s a matter of practice or instinct or something, or maybe many years of having to get the batter ready for Sunday lunch as a kid. The batter as made so far can also be used for pancakes. Add a pinch of salt and, if you want, a teaspoon or two of mixed herbs and leave the mixture to stand for at least ten minutes (I leave it for about half an hour). The oven has to be pre-heated (sorry) to very hot – 200C in a fan oven. Leave your cake tins/bun trays/pyrex dish (I’ve done toad in the hole in a slightly deeper dish than normal) with fat/oil to coat in the oven while it’s heating as the fat needs to be up to temperature too. Once everything’s hot/rested, open the oven door and quickly put the mixture in the tins. Do not take the tins out of the oven, but leave them on the shelf – carrying hot fat around is a really bad idea. Don’t fill your tins/hollows/whatever-you’re-cooking-in more than half full. Once you start cooking, do not open the oven door until they’re done. This does mean you’re kinda screwed if you don’t have a glass-fronted oven or haven’t had a lot of practice. Small puddings should take about 15-20 minutes, large are about 25-30 minutes. Having other things cooking at the same time will extend the time. Ideally, the sides of the puddings should rise up above the top of the tins and be crisp around the rim but soft at the base (but still firm enough that they can be picked up without falling apart). Large puddings that are going to have something in should be a little more well-done. If I remember my science right, the oven must be pre-heated and the door kept closed throughout cooking as the water in the puddings quickly turns to steam and it’s this steam than makes the puddings rise. If the oven isn’t hot enough, the steam dissipates before the risen puddings have a chance to set.
Hugh \| 2008-11-19 13:04:46 UTC Interesting! Paul’s our Yorkshire Pudding expert (although I’m actually the only non-Yorkshireman of our three presenters), so I’ll let him give his opinions here! I understand he’s been off testing the Royal Society Pudding, too, so expect a report later in the week…
pajh \| 2008-11-19 13:52:39 UTC Liz: that’s a good recipe too, and it’s significantly more informative than the Royal Society version. I’ve covered it and mentioned yours in a long review here.

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pajh \| 2008-11-14 18:05:00 UTC The recipe seems reasonable enough at first glance. I’ll give it a go in my CFT.
Mark Sutherland \| 2008-11-16 20:26:08 UTC Never mind the royal society, Top Gear itself are getting in on the Xtreme Blending business judging by this weeks episode…
Hugh \| 2008-11-17 12:51:47 UTC Dammit, we’re just so ahead of the curve…
Liz \| 2008-11-19 12:16:48 UTC Right, here’s the Yorkshire pudding recipe that I learnt from my mum and she from hers and so on (and yes, I’m originally from Yorkshire). You can scale the recipe up or down by keeping the proportions the same. This does a couple of large puddings or 2 dozen small. 2 tbsp plain flour 2 eggs 2 tbps cold water Mix until smooth then add slowly add milk until the consistency is runny but not too runny – you want the mixture to be able to coat the back of a spoon. It’ll probably be about a third of a pint or so. It’s one of those things that’s a matter of practice or instinct or something, or maybe many years of having to get the batter ready for Sunday lunch as a kid. The batter as made so far can also be used for pancakes. Add a pinch of salt and, if you want, a teaspoon or two of mixed herbs and leave the mixture to stand for at least ten minutes (I leave it for about half an hour). The oven has to be pre-heated (sorry) to very hot – 200C in a fan oven. Leave your cake tins/bun trays/pyrex dish (I’ve done toad in the hole in a slightly deeper dish than normal) with fat/oil to coat in the oven while it’s heating as the fat needs to be up to temperature too. Once everything’s hot/rested, open the oven door and quickly put the mixture in the tins. Do not take the tins out of the oven, but leave them on the shelf – carrying hot fat around is a really bad idea. Don’t fill your tins/hollows/whatever-you’re-cooking-in more than half full. Once you start cooking, do not open the oven door until they’re done. This does mean you’re kinda screwed if you don’t have a glass-fronted oven or haven’t had a lot of practice. Small puddings should take about 15-20 minutes, large are about 25-30 minutes. Having other things cooking at the same time will extend the time. Ideally, the sides of the puddings should rise up above the top of the tins and be crisp around the rim but soft at the base (but still firm enough that they can be picked up without falling apart). Large puddings that are going to have something in should be a little more well-done. If I remember my science right, the oven must be pre-heated and the door kept closed throughout cooking as the water in the puddings quickly turns to steam and it’s this steam than makes the puddings rise. If the oven isn’t hot enough, the steam dissipates before the risen puddings have a chance to set.
Hugh \| 2008-11-19 13:04:46 UTC Interesting! Paul’s our Yorkshire Pudding expert (although I’m actually the only non-Yorkshireman of our three presenters), so I’ll let him give his opinions here! I understand he’s been off testing the Royal Society Pudding, too, so expect a report later in the week…
pajh \| 2008-11-19 13:52:39 UTC Liz: that’s a good recipe too, and it’s significantly more informative than the Royal Society version. I’ve covered it and mentioned yours in a long review here.