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I'm reading recipes for Tiramisu that call for Zabaglione. Some say I can simply whip egg yolks with sugar in a stand mixer, while others insist I use a bain marie and that the mixture reaches a certain temperature (68 degrees Celsius). Why is it so? Is it for pasteurizing? If so, can I use my sous-vide to pasteurize the eggs (by setting 60 degrees) and then simply use my stand mixer on the counter, not a bain marie? If not, how does it affect the cooking? Thank you!

Tal
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  • I would defer to the McGee answer below, but to clarify on the egg pasteurization...sous vide at 60 will pasteurize your eggs, but will also lightly set the whites. If you want the safety of pasteurized eggs, but be able to use them in an application where they behave like uncooked eggs, sous vide at 57C for TWO hours. They will be safe (pasteurized), and appear uncooked. – moscafj Apr 04 '22 at 11:03

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It isn't about pasteurization, it is about texture.

Egg yolks whip very differently at different temperatures. When you whip egg yolks with sugar at 60 C, you will get a very airy foam, which will also be more stable than a foam which has been whipped at room temperature. So, for optimal results, you should whip in a bain marie with a handheld mixer. It is not completely impossible to do it by hand, but you will need to whip for a very long time, until you have the perfect foam.

If you want to skip the bain marie, then you can do so. You will simply have a slightly denser zabaione.

I would be wary of trying to use yolks which have been pasteurized in a sous vide machine. The texture of a yolk which has been taken to 60 C without agitation is different than the texture of a yolk which has never been warmed up. If you want to pasteurize your yolks for food safety, and then go into the stand mixer, do so, but you will have to contend with a zabaione that is a bit worse in quality than if done with never-heated yolks.

rumtscho
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You definitely can make a proto-zabaione by mixing egg yolks with sugar and then heating it in a water bath; however, this procedure is only necessary to get a stable foam (as written by Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking) that you need for a zabaione. I reckon you don't really need a sweet egg yolk foam in a tiramisu.

My proven tiramisu recipe just mixes egg yolks and sugar and then mixes that with the mascarpone. Of course, such a tiramisu needs to be refrigerated and eaten rather quickly, although leaving it in the fridge for 1 to 2 days never hurt anybody's stomach.

If you want, you can certainly pasteurize your egg-sugar-mixture in a sous-vide as well (at 68 °C), although I personally would not make that effort.

John Doe
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