The function of egg in a cheese flan?

Answer 1

"Cheesecake" is actually a misnomer; it's actually a "cheese custard" and ought to be cooked as such. The similarity between custard and cheesecake precisely surrounds the function of eggs.

There are essentially three main ingredients in cheesecake: egg, cream cheese, and sugar. I like to add lemon zest and a dash of salt to bring out the flavor. There are two basic components of cream cheese: cream and whey. Cream is a fat, and whey is the water-based liquid you find when you open the package.

Most of the time, eggs are not separated into egg white and yolk, so distinguishing the yolk in the question is not meaningful. I can image someone wanting to enrich the custard with extra yolks, but be careful that the ratio of one egg to one 8oz package of cream cheese is not deviated too much. Otherwise, you will have creamy, sweet scrambled eggs.

The eggs have two kinds of proteins and two kinds of fat. There's protein in the yolk, and the albumen is essentially a colloid of water and protein. Both fats (one being cholesterol) reside in the yolk and add richness to desserts. Eggs have a special capability we use in cooking nearly all the time: they are the consummate emulsifier.

Emulsifiers enable mixing two very incompatible compounds, polar (fats and oils) and nonpolar (water) molecules. Without emulsification, the custard would separate into water on the bottom and fat on the top. How this is accomplished is how the proteins work together in creating a mesh around the fats, using water as a barrier. Think of a fishing net that has holes small enough to contain the fat molecules plus water stuck to the edges to strengthen the mesh.

When you blend the eggs with the softened, room-temperature cream cheese [that's the trick in making a successful cheesecake!], the eggs' proteins get blended in, and it lays filaments of proteins throughout. As you cook it, the proteins hook together and begin to squeeze. Proteins do that in the presence of heat. Think about a piece of meat. If you cook it too long it becomes dry and rubbery; the proteins have squeezed down to the point that all moisture and fat are pushed out.

You must be careful to cook a cheesecake for the right amount of time: too short and you get mush in the middle, too long and you get curds. In like manner, the oven's temperature *must* be moderate (300-325 F) so that heat moves through the dessert at the proper rate.

Answer 2

to make it sloppy

Answer 3

yes