Ginger Milk Curd
Hot milk poured onto raw ginger juice sets by itself into a soft custard, with no eggs and no gelatine.
Why it works
Fresh ginger carries a protease called zingibain that behaves like rennet, clipping the milk proteins so they knit into a set. It works only in a narrow window: the milk must be 70-75°C (160-165°F), hot but never simmering. Below that it will not set; past 80°C the enzyme is dead. The juice must be freshly squeezed, stirred up from the bottom of the bowl, and the milk poured onto it in one go, then left absolutely still.
Method
- Grate the ginger on the fine side of a box grater, then squeeze it hard in your fist over a sieve to get 80 ml (⅓ cup) of cloudy juice. Divide it between four small bowls, 20 ml each.
- Warm the milk, honey and salt in a small pan over a medium heat until the honey dissolves. Take it to 70-75°C, when the surface steams and trembles but no bubble has broken. Without a thermometer, pull it off as fine bubbles fringe the edge and count to ten.
- Stir the juice in each bowl once to lift the settled starch off the bottom. The curd will not set without it.
- Hold the pan 20 cm (8 in) above the first bowl and pour in one steady stream, filling it in a single go. Repeat for the rest, then do not stir, tap or move them.
- Leave 2-3 minutes. It is set when the back of a spoon rests on the surface without sinking. Scatter with the almonds and eat warm.
For the toddler
Honey is not for a baby under one year old, so leave it out of the pan at step 2 and sweeten the adult bowls at the table — warm milk is sweet enough on its own. Set theirs in a small bowl with the ginger juice scaled down to match, and let it stand until barely warm. Keep the flaked almonds off, as they are a choking risk under five.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Jersey milk sets firmer; semi-skimmed gives a looser curd. Old knobbly root holds far more enzyme than young pink ginger, so buy the ugliest piece you can find.
A garlic press or small hand juicer gets the juice out in seconds.
A pot of jasmine tea and a plate of orange segments.
Eat within the hour. Chilled overnight the curd weeps, and reheating breaks it for good.