Editing Custard (section)

==Preparation==
Custard is usually cooked in a double boiler (''[[bain-marie]]''), or heated very gently in a [[saucepan]] on a stove, though custard can also be steamed, baked in the oven with or without a [[Bain-marie|water bath]], or even cooked in a [[Pressure cooking|pressure cooker]]. Custard preparation is a delicate operation because a ''temperature'' increase of {{convert|3|–|6|C-change}} leads to overcooking and [[curdling]]. Generally, a fully cooked custard should not exceed {{convert|80|°C|°F|abbr=on}}; it begins setting at {{convert|70|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barham |first=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9783540674665/page/126 |title=The science of cooking |publisher=Springer |year=2001 |isbn=978-3-540-67466-5 |location=Berlin |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9783540674665/page/126 126] |url-access=registration}}</ref> A '''[[bain marie]]''' water bath slows heat transfer and makes it easier to remove the custard from the oven before it curdles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGee |first=Harold |url=https://archive.org/details/onfoodcookingsci0000mcge |title=On Food and Cooking |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-684-18132-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/onfoodcookingsci0000mcge/page/71 71] |publisher=Scribner |url-access=registration}}</ref> Adding a small amount of cornflour (U.S. ''corn starch'') to the egg-sugar mixture stabilises the resulting custard, allowing it to be cooked in a single pan as well as in a double-boiler. A ''[[sous-vide]]'' water bath may be used to precisely control temperature.