This is one of those times when I need a breather, so we’re going All Food today. This morning I’m going to write about something that people who bake most surely know intimately. And even people who don’t bake likely will think, well, yes, of course that makes sense. But making sense and “Really?? That much difference??” are two different things. More to the point, this didn’t occur to me, and I’m sure I’m not totally alone. To be clear, I don’t bake much. If I did, this wouldn’t be the topic of the day. I cook semi-okay, but I only really bake two things with any regularity – pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie. You can probably pick up on the theme. Yes, I love pumpkin. One constant in my various cooking adventures (and the eating end of things) is that I try to keep my fat intake down for health reasons. In fact, when I make my “pumpkin pie,” I just make the filling. Much as I love pie crust, it’s overwhelming in fat. So, I basically make a custard. It’s very good, and when made with non-fat evaporated milk, an entire pie is something like only 500 calories. (And when topped with non-fat whipped cream, it’s rich and delicious.) It’s thin, without the height you get when a crust is involved, but it’s the pumpkin part I love. So be it. I’ve been making both these dishes for many years, probably 20-25 years. Another health change is that I use egg white Egg Beaters-type products. It’s fine, and the end results are still quite good. Within the past year, though, I’ve started getting eggs on occasion after a very long time. (That was always another reason I used Egg Beaters in my baking – I didn’t eat eggs, so I just didn’t have them around, and most of the carton would go to waste.) But as much as I was absolutely fine with the flavor of Egg Beaters in my baked items, I wasn’t crazy about them scrambled. And of course, you can’t make fried eggs, which I do sort of, kind of like a little. So, I read up on eggs and saw that one or two eggs a week is perfectly fine, so I figured it was worth getting once in a while. Now, I have a couple eggs on the weekend, and maybe egg white dish during the week. Which brings up to the baking part of our show. Now that I had eggs around, I figured I’d use them in my pumpkin bread first. And it was revelatory. The pumpkin bread was far more moist and richer than it’s ever been. I brought a loaf over to my cousin and his wife – and they almost wolfed down half of it while I was there, and asked for the recipe. Hmm, I thought, I appear to be onto a good thing… And then I made the pumpkin pie, with real eggs, not Egg Beaters. O my heavens. I could tell the moment I took the pies out of the oven that there was a different. They were as thick as any pumpkin pie I’d seen. It turns out that they weren’t thin in the past because there was no crust to support them and give them height – it was because they weren’t being made with actual eggs and the egg yolks that come with them. And rather than being a bit soft and crumbly, the filling with compact. I didn’t have to oh-so-caaaaarefully transfer a piece to my plate without some collapsing and having to reshape it. (Something I thought occurred because there was no crust underneath to support it.) Now, a bit, thick piece of pumpkin pie cuts and transfers with ease. And…tasty as the pie was before, the flavor now is rich and delicious. It is no longer like eating tasty pumpkin pie filling – it’s like eating a piece of pumpkin pie. Yes, crust would be even better. But I don’t miss it. (And honestly, I usually don’t eat most of the crust when I get a piece of pie…) By the way, for those who count such things (I really don't, just the fat), the calorie and fat content is still incredibly low. For this large slice (cut six pieces to a pie, not eight) -- with the whipped cream -- it's only around 200 calories and 1-1/2 grams of fat. For comparison's sake, a regular slice of pumpkin pie this size with crust and as much regular whipped cream would be about 600 calories and 30 grams of fat. And (for my taste) it's delicious. Is it as good as a standard piece of pumpkin pie? Hey, there's no crust, how could it be??! But everything other than the crust -- y'know, the whole pumpkin part of the pumpkin pie -- that's personal taste, but I truly don't think it would disappoint. And this is why I have a piece every night. But separate from the point here. I digress... The point is the eggs. So, back to the matter at hand. Yes, as I said, I know that all this about the eggs is “Well, duh” territory for bakers. And it's something that likely sounds obvious to many non-bakers. And even to me now. But – I didn’t think the difference would be this significant and even this noticeable. And it is. Noticeable even from the moment I took it out of the oven. [UPDATE: In response to a question, I posted my recipe with tweaks below in the User Comments section.] And that’s today “Well, duh” episode of Chef’s Corner.
4 Comments
John
11/22/2022 08:28:02 am
Well, great (pumpkin) chef … perhaps you could share your recipes & cooking instructions with your loyal readers? In my case I have to be very cautious with my intake of carbohydrates so the crustless pumpkin pie holds a great deal of interest to my pumpkin loving palette. Unfortunately, the pumpkin bread you make would still cause me concern but 1 out of 2 is still .500 and that kind of batting average gets you into Cooperstown as a legend!
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Robert Elisberg
11/22/2022 09:01:13 am
John, thanks for your note -- and buon gusto.
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John
11/22/2022 11:02:08 am
Thank You! I never (NEVER) cook or bake so the fact that the recipe is actually on the can is quite the revelation to me!
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Robert Elisberg
11/22/2022 12:18:06 pm
John, we aims to please. Just know that in THIS case, since probably 90% of the time (and probably higher for the holidays...) when people buy a can of pumpkin it's because they're making a pumpkin pie, it just makes sense for companies to print the recipe on the can.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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