Eggs+-+Adriana

﻿ A Taste of Brazil



Quindim: Brazilian Coconut Flan (pronounced Keen-jean)

QUINDIM is a popular Brazilian baked dessert, made chiefly from sugar, egg yolks, and ground coconut. It is a custard and has a glistening surface and intensely yellow color. The dessert follows the characteristic of Portuguese sweets and pastries, which is heavily based on egg yolks. It is believed that this dessert is a colonial adaptation made in the17th century, since coconuts and sugar (from sugarcane) are abundant in Brazil. The word itself comes from an African language (Bantu), and originally meant "the gestures, and demeanor, and humor characteristic of adolescent girls - girlish charm."

**RECIPE**

 Serves 8

20 egg yolks ﻿﻿Make sure that eggs are at room temperature for best results. ﻿Careful separation of the egg yolk and the white is crucial. Make sure to use the egg separator to prevent microbial contamination.

The round yellow yolk constitutes about a 30% of the egg's weight.It has: 1/2 water 1/6 protein 1/3 of fat - 5 grams of fat 213 mg cholesterol per large egg 3 grams of protein emulsifiers - lecithin Fat solubles vitamins: A, D, E, and K <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Sources of several minerals: phosphorus, manganese, iron, iodine, copper, zinc, and calcium.
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Egg yolk's structure: **

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">**The color of the yolk!** The color of the yolk depends on the hens's diet. The color of the yolk will determine the color of the Quindim (flan).

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|The Egg] <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">[|Egg processing]
 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Whant to learn more about eggs? Check out these videos from the American Egg Board **

1 lb. (500 gr.) granulated sugar [|Sugar]

1/2 cup (125 ml.) grated, unsweeted coconut. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿If you use sweetened coconut flakes, reduce sugar by half so it will not be overly sweet.



2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿Use unsalted butter. Salt changes - lower - the temperature at which the eggs will coagulate.

**Preparation:**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Preheat oven to 350 degrees. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Pass the egg yolks through a fine sieve into a large mixing bowl. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿Passing egg yolks through a strainer to get rid of skin.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Add the sugar, and mix carefully by hand. Put the mixture into a heavy medium saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture flows from a spoon in a thin string. Remove from heat. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿ When heated, the egg yolk gets denatured. Then, it coagulates to form solid gel of a flan. Egg yolks are used in custards to thicken (Brown 263). <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">Rememeber! Egg yolks coagulate at 144 - 158 F. Egg whites coagulates at 140 F.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Let the mixture cool a few minutes, then add the coconut and melted butter. Stir slowly and carefully to mix. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Divide the mixture among 8 ramekins or custard cups which have been greased with soft butter and dusted with granulated sugar.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Place in a bain-marie or water bath, and place in pre-heated oven. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">What is bain-marie? That’s when you place a dish for baking in another larger one full of water. This lets you cook the food at a constant temperature, using the water as a conductor. The layer of water insulates the cups and prevents the outside of the custard from cooking to completion before the inside has had a chance to coagulate (Brown 263). To do the brain - marie, place the quindim tray in a larger tray in the oven. Fill the larger tray with about ¾ of the way with hot water, keeping it out of the quindim dish.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in a quindim comes out clean. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿This kind of flan or custard is an example of dry heat - preparation. The internal temperature of the custard is very important. Never allow the internal temperature to rise above the point of coagulation of the egg liquid mixture, which is 185 degrees F or 85 degrees C.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Let cool, unmold if desired, and serve at room temperature or chilled. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿Note that some additional cooking will unavoidably happen during cooling. To prevent further coagulation, put the custard cups on a cooling rack or they can be set on ice water. If the custard is undercooked, it will have a running texture and will not set properly.



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">**Note:** This recipe can be made in one standard muffin tin, to make 12 standard muffin size flans. It can also me made in a medium size (6 to 8 cup) ring mold.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿Keep in mind that custard dishes are susceptible to microbial contamination and should be covered and refrigerated as soon as possible after preparation.

References: Recipe provided by - Quindim. [] Brown, Amy. __Uderstanding Food: Principles and Preparation.__ Wickham, Catherine. __Notes Eggs 03-24-2011.__ American Egg Board Association.__http://www.aeb.org/egg-industry/egg-facts-101__