DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am looking to find a popover recipe that was originally in the Sun. What was unique about this recipe was putting the mixed popovers in a cold oven. Somehow the one I had cut out from the paper is lost. They were foolproof. I googled and found a similar recipe but really would like the one that someone here in the area had printed in the Sun. — Trudy, no town.
ANSWER: Sun Spots scoured the Sun Journal archives and found several recipes for popovers — in this very column even — but not a single one of those recipes included the cold oven technique. If anyone has a copy of that recipe, please write or email Sun Spots.
Undaunted, Sun Spots did the research to find out why a cold oven works and also found a recipe that will hopefully give you the results that you are used to getting.
One thing is for sure, there is very little consensus on popover technique. Really though, the only key to a good popover is getting them to “pop over,” so let’s explore how this is done.
Steam is the answer. Your plain Jane, basic popovers are made with eggs, milk and flour. The batter is thin and pourable. The high proportion of liquid in the batter creates steam as they bake. The egg protein causes the batter to stretch, hold the steam and solidify to form crusty walls, leaving the completed popover light and hollow.
Preheating the oven is important when using yeast, baking soda or baking powder as a leavening agent because they react to heat. Popovers use no leaveners, only steam. Therefore, any popover recipe requires a delicate balance of creating steam without overcooking the shell.
The cold oven technique seeks to slowly heat and cook the batter while allowing the maximum amount of time for the heat to produce steam. This requires some trial and error in itself. A cold oven helps you avoid an overcooked shell but an undercooked shell is in danger of falling flat.
In addition, any technique is best achieved in a dedicated popover pan, which have straight sides, as opposed to the angled sides of a muffin tin.
Here is a recipe for cold-oven popovers:
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
Mix until moist. Do not overmix the batter, a few lumps are fine. Spray popover pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place in a cold oven and set for 450° for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door at all in those 30 minutes — even a tiny crack of the door can let in a deflating draft. Nobody wants a deflated popover, although they would still be delicious.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: To the reader asking for a user manual for their cellphone on Feb. 17: Most of the booklets I’ve downloaded and keep on this smarty phone or my desktop computer are in two or more languages. Limit pages to the section in the language you prefer. Also check the page numbers, those displayed seldom match the ones on the printer. — Eddy Stanhope, no town.
ANSWER: Great advice. Everyone should do their best to save trees (and expensive printer ink) when printing any long document. Make sure to preview before printing and select only the pages that you need.
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