Introduction to Making Desserts
Desserts are considered a course that is served at the end of a
dinner. It usually is a sweet food of some sort, although it can be a
strongly flavored dish, such as cheese. The word “dessert” is derived
from the Old French word “desservir,” which means “to clear the table.”
Other terms for dessert include sweet, afters, or pudding.
The dessert is considered to be a recent development in the Western
part of the world. Sweet dishes were a privilege only the aristocracy
enjoyed prior to the 19th century rise of the middle class, as well as
the development of the sugar industry. Sugar became less expensive and
more available, thus helping the popularity of desserts to spread.
There are cultures throughout the world that do not have dessert at
the end of their meals. However, they will mix sweet and tasty dishes in
with the meal, such as the Chinese. They may also only serve elaborate
desserts at special occasions. Many times the dessert is viewed as a
separate meal or a snack instead of a course. These desserts may be
consumed well after the meal has ended. There are even restaurants that
specialize in just desserts.
A well known dessert is the biscuit, which is a small baked bread or
cake. Its origin is from Latin and means “twice cooked.” It comes from
the Dutch word “koekje” meaning “little cake.” The English became of
aware of this word through the Scots instead of the Dutch. Scottish
English uses this word to describe a small bun, or scone-like cake that
is filled with cream.
The first cookies are believed to have come from Persia in the
1600’s. They were initially made from tiny portions of cake batter.
These were cooked separately as a way to test the oven temperature. They
were found to be quite tasty, however, and never went to waste.
Cakes may actually be thought of as a larger form of cookies. They
are normally baked using ingredients combined of a wheat byproduct,
sugar or other sweetener, eggs, butter or margarine, milk, water or
fruit juice, flavoring, and either yeast or baking powder. This is
usually chosen for celebrations such as weddings or birthday parties.
The crumble comes from British origins. It contains some type of
stewed fruit with a topping of a crumbly mixture made from fat, sugar,
and flour. The crumble is cooked by baking in an oven until the topping
is done to a crisp. This dessert is often served with cream, custard, or
ice cream. Crumbles frequently have apple, peach, blackberry, plum or
rhubarb as the filling. Sour milk is often added for a more enhanced
flavor. Many cooks sprinkle brown sugar on the crumble topping.
Many countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Portugal,
and Australia consider custard to be an important part of their dessert
recipes. Custard is prepared from ingredients based on the use of milk
and eggs, and then thickened through heating. These are commonly used as
desserts or sauces for desserts. However, custard can be used for
quiches and other food of this type. When custard is used for dessert,
it is made by combining milk or cream, sugar, egg yolks, and flavoring,
most commonly vanilla. Corn starch, flour and gelatin are other
ingredients that may be added. Custard can be made in varying
consistencies depending on how much egg or thickener is included. It can
be made into a thin sauce such as crème anglaise, or a thick blancmange
to fill éclairs.
The sweet treat that nearly everyone loves is ice cream. It was
initially known as iced cream and is a frozen dessert made from using
dairy products like cream that is combined with flavorings and
sweeteners. It is important to stir this mixture while it is cooling so
that large ice crystals don’t form in it. While this is a term that is
often used to describe all frozen desserts or snacks, it is really meant
to describe those frozen desserts and snacks that are made using a lot
of milk fat. Other things called ice cream consist of frozen ice milk,
custard or sorbet.
Any good pie, tart or quiche requires a great pastry as part of its
ingredients. This is used to describe different kinds of dough that are
made with flour, butter, and eggs. It is then rolled out and used as a
base for baked desserts. Using shortening between the thin layers of
pastry sheets results in a delicate and flakey pastry.
The older types of puddings were, more often than not, a part of the
main course in meals, especially in the British Isles, where that is
still so today. They were baked, steamed or boiled and served right
along with the main dishes of the meals. In the 18th and 19th centuries,
boiled puddings were quite commonly served on board the ships of the
British Navy as a way of rationing daily portions of flour and suet.
The new types of puddings are considered to be desserts. These are
prepared using milk, sugar and other ingredients such as eggs,
cornstarch, tapioca, and gelatin. The puddings produced in this way are
also custards and blancmange. You can make these from scratch or buy
instant mixes for them.
You probably know many people who are addicted to chocolate in any
form. It is one of the most highly sought after flavors all over the
world. The word chocolate is used to describe many raw and processed
foods that come from the tropical cacao tree. Chocolate is a common
ingredient in many desserts including candy, cookies, ice cream, pies,
and cakes.
The tropical cacao tree, or Theobroma cacao, located in Central
America is the source of chocolate. Beans are taken from the pod of this
tree then fermented, roasted and ground. The original flavor is quite
bitter until it is “doctored,” resulting in the many forms of sweet
chocolate we find today.
Indian cuisine has always enjoyed desserts or sweet dishes,
especially following a heavy meal. In fact, most Indian desserts aid in
digestion. An Indian meal is not complete until dessert is served. Of
the many popular and varied desserts of India, one known as Rasgulla is
one of the most popular. This dessert is made from a lot of milk, some
lemon juice, sugar, and cardamom powder. These tasty balls take a bit of
time and care to make, but are totally worth the effort.
As you can see, desserts have always been a highly anticipated part
of any meal, no matter what part of the world you live in. While many
people prefer to make their desserts from scratch, there are so many
instant mixes on the market today that are completely genuine tasting,
that there is no reason that everyone cannot turn out wonderful
desserts. |
