2026 Oct 19th
Hot liquid. Cold eggs. Bring them together slowly. This guide covers what tempering is, why it stops eggs from scrambling, the line method, and the pantry staples behind custards and egg-thickened sauces.
Tempering is slowly whisking a little hot liquid into cold eggs or yolks so they warm up gradually instead of scrambling. Once the eggs are warm, the mixture goes back into the pot and finishes cooking over gentle heat. It is how kitchens make smooth custards and egg-thickened sauces.
A little hot liquid goes into the eggs first, a bit at a time, while you whisk.
Sudden heat makes egg proteins clump. Tempering warms and dilutes them so they stay smooth.
Constant whisking spreads the heat as the hot liquid goes in.
The warmed egg mix returns to the pot and cooks gently until it coats a spoon.
A fine-mesh strainer catches any small bits of cooked egg.
This guide is eggs and sauces. Chocolate tempering is a separate pastry technique.
Tempering is the step that joins eggs to a hot liquid without cooking them into lumps. You whisk a small amount of the hot liquid, such as milk, cream or stock, into the eggs or yolks off the heat. That warms the eggs gradually. Then you whisk the warmed mixture back into the pot to finish cooking (America's Test Kitchen).
If you drop cold eggs straight into hot liquid, they scramble and the sauce or custard breaks. The keys to avoiding that are gradual heat and dilution (Serious Eats).
When egg yolks get too hot or heat too fast, their proteins clump together and separate from the liquid around them. The result is scrambled bits and a watery sauce. Tempering heats the eggs more gently and dilutes the egg proteins, which makes it harder for them to clump (America's Test Kitchen). Bon Appétit describes it the same way: diluting the eggs with hot liquid first makes it harder for their proteins to link up as they heat (Bon Appétit).
Method based on America's Test Kitchen, Serious Eats and Bon Appétit.
You see tempering on the pastry and sauce stations:
| Factor | Tempering | Liaison | Slurry |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A technique for warming eggs gradually with hot liquid | A thickener of egg yolks and cream | A thickener of starch and cold liquid |
| Thickens with | Eggs | Egg yolks and cream | Starch |
| Main risk | Scrambling if the liquid goes in too fast | Curdling if it boils | Lumps if the starch is not mixed cold first |
| Typical use | Custards, pastry cream, egg-thickened sauces | Finishing soups and sauces | Fast thickening of sauces and gravies |
| Needs constant whisking? | Yes | Yes, once it is added | Yes, while it thickens |
Fine granulated sugar in a bulk bag, whisked with yolks for custards and pastry cream.
Bulk corn starch. Pastry cream uses starch alongside eggs for body.
Pure vanilla extract for crème anglaise, custards and pastry cream.
Whole milk powder. A shelf-stable way to make the milk base for custards.
Ground nutmeg, a classic finish for custards and egg-thickened sauces.
Instant custard pastry cream mix for high-volume service when a cooked, tempered custard is not needed.
Slowly whisking a little hot liquid into cold eggs or yolks so they warm gradually, then returning the mixture to the pot to finish cooking.
To stop them from scrambling. Sudden heat makes egg proteins clump. Tempering warms and dilutes them so the sauce or custard stays smooth.
Whisk the eggs, stream in a small ladle of hot liquid while whisking constantly, repeat until the eggs are warm, then whisk the mixture back into the pot over gentle heat.
They cook into lumps of scrambled egg and the custard or sauce breaks.
No. Cook it gently, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon or reaches the temperature your recipe gives.
A fine-mesh strainer catches any small bits of cooked egg, so the result is silky.
Crème anglaise, pastry cream, puddings, curds, ice-cream bases and egg-thickened soups and sauces.
No. Chocolate tempering is a separate pastry technique that controls cocoa butter crystals.
Only when eggs go into a hot liquid. If eggs and liquid start cold together and heat slowly, tempering is not needed.
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References: America's Test Kitchen - How to Temper Eggs Serious Eats - How to Temper Eggs Bon Appétit - How to Temper Eggs.
