Loading…
10
TIL you can save a broken hollandaise with a splash of ice water instead of starting over
I was working the brunch shift at a spot in Portland last Saturday and my hollandaise split right as we hit the 11am rush, like 40 tickets deep. I started panicking because I'd already dumped two batches and we were almost out of eggs. The sous walked over, took the bowl, added a tablespoon of ice water and whisked it hard for maybe 20 seconds, and it came right back together. He said the cold shocks the fat back into the emulsion when it's overheated. Saved my whole service and honestly I feel dumb for not knowing this after 6 years on the line. Anybody got other rescue tricks like this for stuff that breaks mid shift?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
derekjackson1mo ago
One thing about the ice water trick that doesn't get mentioned much, it works because heat is what makes the emulsion fall apart in the first place. The fat gets too warm and the proteins can't hold it together anymore, so you're basically cooling the whole thing down fast while the whisk does the rest. Worked at a place that kept a squeeze bottle of ice water on the line just for this, but if you add too much at once you'll thin it out and then you're fighting that instead. A little at a time and keep tasting it.
2