If ever there was a particular herb or scent to describe my mother, it’s ginger. It’s her go-to remedy for almost all ailments headaches, flu, whatever you got. When I was a kid, with even the slightest sniffle, she was in the kitchen tossing bits of the nubby little root into a stock pot full of water.

When the pot had boiled, her voice bellowed through the walls into the bedroom we shared, through the sheets and used Kleenex I had burrowed under. It was one word, both used as an announcement and a stern command. “Steam!!”

I shuffled from my bed into the kitchen, where my mother stood exactly as I had pictured she would be: Upright, one hand on her hip and the other hand pointing downward at the ginger pot on the floor, in front of the wooden stool my grandfather had made.

I handed her a wad of Kleenex as I positioned myself on the stool, crouched uncomfortably over the pot that was between my knees. My mom hurled a blanket over my head and the pot, sealing me into a little heat pod. Scalding steam rose from the water, stinging my face. I cried out in discomfort.

“You have to do it,” she said, as I whimpered from under the blanket. She firmly believed that the ginger would cure the sniffles. So I sat, breathing in deeply the spicy-sweet aroma, at the same time trying to keep my knees from touching the sides of the pot. After I emerged from the blanket I was a defeated, sweaty mess. But the sniffles? Gone. I was usually back to normal the following day.

We did this ritual every time I got sick – even well into my teens, when I much preferred self-medication to ancient herbal remedies that had been passed down the family tree.

It’s been years since I’ve posed over a pot of boiling ginger, that is, until I made this recipe for ginger crème brulee. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for more)

My boyfriend and I were joining old friends for a New Year’s Eve dinner, and I wanted to bring something to help us recover from 2008. For many people I know, 2008 was a bit of a tough year (confirmed when I received a text message right after midnight that simply stated “Woohoo! Suck it 2008!” instead of the usual “happy new year!”), so I felt we needed some healing from the year’s maladies. Ginger crème brulee was perfect.

One of its main ingredients is whipping cream, which acts as a blank canvas in the recipe. When heated, the ginger is steeped like a tea. (Note: You can actually do this with virtually any spice or herb; it’s how flavored ganaches are made.) I added just a tad more ginger than the recipe called for and when the cream simmered, its familiar aroma wafted through my kitchen. I hovered over the pot and inhaled deeply. There was that same, sunny scent that healed me as a child. I hoped that by eating it, my friends would heal, too.

Ginger and vanilla bean crème brulee

Adapted from Epicurious.com

• Serves 6
• For Custard
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 5 large egg yolks
• For Crème Brûlée
• 12 teaspoons sugar
• Sliced tropical fruit (such as mango, papaya and/or kiwi)

PROCEDURE:

1. To make custard: Preheat oven to 325°F. Place three 4-inch-diameter fluted flan dishes* in each of two 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pans or place six 3/4-cup ramekins in 1 pan. In heavy medium saucepan, mix together cream, sugar and ginger. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean with a paring knife. Add seeds and bean to saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to simmer. Cover pan, reduce heat to very low and simmer gently for 10 minutes to infuse flavors. Strain into large measuring cup or a small pitcher with a spout.

2. Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl until well blended. Gradually whisk in hot cream mixture just to blend this will temper the eggs). Return custard to measuring cup; divide among dishes. Pour enough hot water into pans to come halfway up sides of dishes. Transfer pans to oven.

3. Bake custards until almost set in center when pans are gently shaken, about 30 minutes for fluted flan dishes and 35 minutes for ramekins. Transfer custards in dishes to work surface to cool 30 minutes. Chill at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.

4. To brulee: Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar evenly over each custard. Working with 1 custard at a time, hold blowtorch** so that flame is 2 inches above surface. Direct flame so that sugar melts and browns, about 2 minutes each custard.

5. Refrigerate until custards are firm again but topping is still brittle, at least 2 hours but no longer than 4 hours so that topping doesn’t soften. Garnish as desired with fruit, whipped cream or powdered sugar.

*Four-inch-diameter fluted clear glass flan dishes are available at cookware stores and many hardware stores. They are about 2/3 inch deep and hold about 1/2 cup liquid.

**Available at some cookware stores.

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Baking/desserts, Custards, In the kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.