The day I saved a broken hollandaise with dishwater instead of starting over

I was in the weeds last Saturday night at the bistro I work at in Portland. My hollandaise split right when we got a rush of 12 brunch orders. Normally I'd just dump it and start fresh, but I was out of butter and had no time. I remembered some old cook told me once that a splash of hot water can bring it back if you whisk hard enough. I grabbed a cup, filled it from the dishwasher's rinse cycle, and poured in a tiny stream while whisking like a maniac. It came back together smoother than before and held through service. Has anyone else tried weird emergency fixes like this that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannahsingh1mo ago

Yeah my buddy works at a diner in Seattle and he told me about this trick except he uses the hot water from the espresso machine steam wand. Apparently the mineral content in dishwater can actually help emulsify better than regular tap water? He swears by it for fixing broken bernaise too. I tried it once with my hollandaise at home and it totally worked but I felt like a mad scientist the whole time lmao. The dishwasher rinse cycle is genius though because it's already super hot and soft from the rinse aid so it probably helps break down the fat faster.

black.jake1mo ago

Ngl that steam wand trick sounds like something a mad scientist would cook up.