BakeandCut

Vanilla Custard

The Custard Skin

When I was growing up, we had certain foods that were a staple, and custard was one of them. Mum would make custard most nights, and we would eat it with everything. We had it on steamed puddings, rice puddings, bottled fruit in winter, in the trifle on a special occasions. We would have it over bananas; that was so special when we had that. My favourite was the custard and bananas.

There was always a fight over the custard. Why did we fight over the custard? Well, mum would make the custard so thick you could stand a spoon up in it. And it would form a skin an inch thick, and this is what my four brothers and dad would go mad for. They loved the skin; I hated it. It was chewy and like leather. Yuck. And then there was always someone that just had to stir it all the way through the custard if they did not get the whole skin to themselves. I am sure they did that just to make me scream even louder. So when mum was making it I would always get my own out and put it aside with a lid over it.

The skin would always peel off like a big yellow scab. Maybe that is why I could never eat it. Maybe someone told me just that. It was a scab. Associations.

The custard underneath was very tasty.

When I left home and started making my own custard, I would and still do, use plastic wrap on top of mine. Thinking of the skin still turns my stomach.

When I first visited Australia 23 years ago, my sister in law had custard in a carton, it was the first time I had ever seen the custard in a carton. I thought to myself wow, she does not know how to make custard, I thought everyone knew how to make custard. It was so easy.

Then I tasted it. It was yucky, had no flavour and looked sickly. Instead of a scabby look, it looked pale and anaemic.

Then we went to place that sold frozen custard, well that did not excite me either. Still did not taste like home-made. It tasted sickly to me and really sweet. I have never eaten a carton custard since, and if I eat frozen custard, it is what I make myself.

I would not like to read the label of that stuff, I bet it is full of additives and preservatives.

And when they make trifle they pride themselves on it because the put all this food from different packets into layers and think they made trifle. Many people cook this way.

I don’t eat trifle either. And it still tastes sickly to me. I am just not a fan of packet food.

Custard is so easy and simple to make, either with the Mycook or just a pot on the stove.

Fresh eggs, cream, milk sugar and some cornflour, and real vanilla. You can not beat the taste.

Happy stirring!

Click on the photos to view at full resolution

Click here for the  Recipe: Printable and downloadable PDF