What are the consequences of failing to strain my pastry cream? I've made some pastry cream in preparation to make eclairs tomorrow. However, when I was ready to strain it I realized that I did not have a strainer as I thought. I stirred it around and did not see any big particles, so I put it in the fridge anyway to set. What are the consequences to my cream of not straining it? Can I still use it for my eclairs or should I make another batch once I have a strainer?
Unless you left vanilla pods or something like that in the cream you'll be fine and the taste won't be affected, only the mouthfeel. Straining it makes it smoother and removes anything you didn't intend to be in the final product.