Second Floor Common Room, Saturday Afternoon

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

After a handwavy trip into town for ingredients, Sam took the carefully printed recipe out of her pocket and laid it on the counter. She'd memorized it by now, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to get some practice in before the workshop.

The fact that the recipe didn't involve an open flame? Well, that was just being prudent.

"So, double boiler...." She began hunting for the appropriate hardware.


[ooc: Open to all. Feel free to help, mock, or ignore her completely.]

Comments

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's my problem," Sam admitted, "or one of them, anyway--there's always something more interesting going on. I'll keep your advice in mind, though."

"Salty, huh?" She chuckled.

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

Tempe nodded. "You'll be fine. And if you do invent that substitute for nitroglycerin, then you'll be rich and famous, and won't ever need to cook for yourself."

Tempe shuddered. "Very. Chocolate and salt do not mix. I still get a little queasy when I look at a chocolate chip cookie."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"I really like the way you think, Tempe," Sam chuckled. "And I promise not to offer you chocolate chip cookies, okay?"

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

"Deal," Tempe said. "Though, should a plate of cookies happen to show up on your doorstep, rest assured that they're from me, and they will be sweet and not salty. I can say this because I don't actually own any salt. At all."

She grinned as she watched Sam cook. She really did hope it would turn out okay.

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"You don't own any salt? How come?"

Sam walked over and pulled a metal bowl and beaters out of the refrigerator from where she'd handwavily put them earlier, then grabbed the heavy cream and a mixer. Within minutes, she was peering into the bowl, trying to determine what kind of peaks she had.

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

"I've read too many articles about sodium causing high blood pressure and clogging arteries," Tempe replied. "That, and I think there's enough salt used in cooking today that adding any more would just be disgusting. And, of course, I wouldn't want to make the same mistake my mother made, multiple times."

"I think you could probably stop mixing the cream now," Tempe replied, glancing at the recipe. "It says soft peaks, and you don't want to overmix it."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam obediently turned off the mixer and looked into the bowl, then at Tempe. "How can you tell?"

[ooc: I win at html. *facepalm*]

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

Tempe picked up the mixer, allowing the beater to dip into the mixture. As she moved the beater upwards, the mixture stood up by itself (in a peak), and then folded back over and back down into the mixture.

"You see how the peak stays up by itself, but then folds over and goes back down? If it was a stiff peak, when you moved the beater up out of the mixture, the peak would stick up and stay there. When you're mixing something, and it has to be to a certain consistency, you always want to mix it a little, test it, and then mix it a little more. If the mixture was still gloopy and didn't stick up at all, you'd know it hadn't been mixed enough."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Okay, I'm impressed," Sam told Tempe. "Now I think I'm supposed to mix some of the whipped cream mixture with the melted chocolate," she said, double checking the recipe, then going to get the bowl off the pot on the stove. Using potholders.

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

"Did you remember to fold the egg whites into the chocolate? I think you need to do that before you can add the cream," Tempe said.

"And then, when you're adding the cream to the chocolate, you'll want to do it carefully so that the cream doesn't curdle, and the mixture doesn't go stiff."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Egg whites?" Sam looked mystified. "Er, no, I forgot. I should do that."

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

"And before you add the egg whites, you'll need to," Tempe paused, looking more closely at the recipe. "Beat them until they're foamy and white, add cream of tartar and continue beating, whisk in the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form."

"Remember, a peak should be able to stand up by itself."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam carried the beaters over to the sink to wash them very well before beating the egg whites, then dried them off. "Right. Think light and fluffy, but stiff."

She cracked some egg whites into a bowl, reserving the yolks.

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

Tempe smiled as she watched Sam. "Very good. It took me years and several dozen eggs to learn how to separate the yolks and the whites properly."

"When you mix the whites, you'll know that they're starting to stiffen when the mixture holds itself around the beaters. When this happens, test the stiffness of the peak, and beat a little more if necessary. Overmixing is bad, again, because it completely unravels the protein molecules and releases the water."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"See, now that makes sense!" Sam said, dumbfounded. "Why didn't anyone explain the science before? No unraveling the protein molecules."

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

Tempe grinned. "I thought maybe that explanation might appeal to you. When you unravel the protein molecules only partially, you get the foamy good stuff. When you overmix it, you've unravelled them completely, and you have water."

"I could probably also tell you about cream products curdle. When you add it to a hot mixture, or an acidic or salty one, the casein coagulates and forms clumps. And while it's less likely to happen in a fattier dairy product, such as cream, it's still possible. Which is why you cook the chocolate first, and then add the cream, rather than the other way around."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Huh," Sam looked at the cream and the chocolate with more respect. "I don't know if it'll make me a better cook," she acknowledged, "but it certainly makes cooking more interesting."

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

"It certainly does," Tempe replied. "Although, I'd totally understand if knowing this stuff would make someone less likely to want to cook."

"Cooking is all about a chemical transformation of food, which is why you can't cook something, and then make it raw again. You've denatured proteins."

"How is the egg white mixing going?"

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam processed that, then looked into the bowl. She lowered the beaters, then raised them again. "Uh, still kind of limp, I think."

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

"Okay, keep going for a bit longer. Remember that the egg whites should start clinging to the beater when it's getting there," Tempe said.

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

Sam lowered the beaters again and turned it on. "Okay. It's probably a good thing we don't get graded, or I'd have to give you half of my D," she grinned.

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

Tempe grinned back. "Well, a D would be better than a complete fail, right? Personally, I'm just happy to be of help. I kind of hate feeling useless."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Well, you've been a huge help to me," Sam nodded affirmatively, "and all that knowledge must come in helpful sometimes."

[fatalvoyage.livejournal.com]

Tempe grinned. "It has. It's a lot easier to understand biology and chemistry when you can apply it to something practical. Plus, should we ever be attacked by a giant whipped cream monster, or a particularly angry bowl of egg whites, we'll know what to do."

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"If I get attacked by a meringue, I'm blaming you, you realize," Sam snickered, turning the beaters off.