Double the volume of eggs or add double the volume of eggs - two different things.

Question

This recipe sounds great. I grew up in Alaska and Spam is a big part of many homes here, too. I liked the slices fried for breakfast. Or on top of Pilot Bread as a snack. Mom also used to dice it up and mix it in with tomato soup for us. I’m writing because I think you need to clarify your recipe as it’s very confusing as written. Please excuse where I have ALL CAPS. I’m not yelling, I just did that to emphasize a specific point. I appreciate you sharing your family recipe and I imagine there will be a lot of people enjoying this recipe over the holidays.
Here’s what’s confusing:
Sometimes your directions seem like you are saying add water in double the volume of eggs, so would end up with a total liquid volume that is triple the original egg volume):
“The secret to making velvety-soft egg custard is to whisk in twice as much water as egg by volume.”

But, your actual directions say: “In a medium heat-proof bowl (about 4 cups), whisk the eggs until thoroughly mixed. Add equal volume of water.” This is NOT adding double the volume of eggs. It’s doubling the volume of liquid by adding equal amount of water as you have of eggs….which is NOT “whisking in twice as much water as egg by volume.”

It’s even more confusing here:
“Measure the volume of each egg with its shell—I’ll crack an egg into a bowl, then fill that half-shell with water twice. For example, this recipe calls for 4 large eggs, so the amount of water used should be equivalent to the volume of 8 eggs.” As written, filling a HALF shell twice is really just adding the equivalent of ONE egg. But your next sentence says that by doing that, you are adding water to equal two eggs (4 eggs + 8 eggs-worth of water). The two sentences are in complete opposite of each other. I think you mean that WITH WATER, you will have a total equivalent (egg+water) of 8 eggs.

I just didn’t want to waste a bunch of eggs trying this out and getting it wrong. Thanks!

Catherine Y. · Answer

Hi! My apologies that the wording was confusing. You should be adding twice as much water per egg to achieve a silky smooth texture. For example, this recipe calls for four eggs, so you should be putting the four eggs plus the water amount equivalent to eight eggs in the bowl. Hopefully that clarifies things!

Double the volume of eggs or add double the volume of eggs - two different things.

1 Comment

Popular on Food52