Eggs and dairy
How to temper eggs into a hot liquid
Warm eggs gradually with a little hot liquid before adding them to the pot, so they thicken instead of scrambling. The same trick keeps sour cream and yogurt from curdling.
Step by step
- Whisk the eggs or yolks in a bowl (with the sugar, if the recipe says).
- While whisking, pour in a small ladle of the hot liquid in a thin stream.
- Add a second ladle the same way.
- Pour the warmed egg mixture back into the pot, whisking.
- Cook over gentle heat, stirring, until it thickens.
How you know it's done
The sauce is smooth with no cooked bits of egg and coats the back of a spoon; custards reach 160°F.
Common mistakes
- Pouring the hot liquid in all at once.
- Stopping whisking for even a few seconds.
- Boiling the sauce afterward.
Simmerbee recipes that use it (1)
In those recipes the word is underlined in the steps; tap it for the short version. In hands-free cook mode, ask “How do I temper?”
Related techniques
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