Foods of the World Forum Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > Other Food-Related Topics > Around the Kitchen Table
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Foods done Oddly - a venture into Molecular Gastro
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

This site is completely supported by donations; there are no corporate sponsors. We would be honoured if you would consider a small donation, to be used exclusively for forum expenses.



Thank you, from the Foods of the World Forums!

Foods done Oddly - a venture into Molecular Gastro

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12
Author
Message
africanmeat View Drop Down
Chef
Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 January 2012
Location: south africa
Status: Offline
Points: 910
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote africanmeat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 March 2013 at 09:43
Originally posted by africanmeat africanmeat wrote:

This is really amazing  last week  I ordered the cuisine revolution kit from MOLE COLE
from Canada,
i play with  Molecular Gastronomy for a while and it is fun.
this was my first attempt  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/117249/hot-chili-caviar
it is really fun now i am a waiting for  my box of magic .Wink
You will have alto of fun .
Ahron
Back to Top
Sponsored Links


Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 March 2013 at 10:56
   Cool Ahron!

   I was going to post some instruction for some FOTW Flavor Bombs Next Week, can't wait to hear your contributions!

   Dan
Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 March 2013 at 14:29
Balsamic Vinegar "Bombs"

Supplies
  1. 1 sachet (2g) Agar-Agar
  2. Vegetable Oil (or other)
  3. 3/4cup Balsamic Vinegar

Directions
  1. place a tall glass of oil in freezer
  2. Combine Agar-Agar  and Balsamic Vinegar in a pot and bring up to boil then quickly remove
  3. Pour the vinegar/agar-agar solution into a bowl, let cool just a bit.  Then fill a pipette with the solution.
  4. Remove the oil from the freezer and slowly "drip" the vinegar liquid from the pipette into the cold oil.
  5. Use a sieve and remove the vinegar pearls from the oil and rinse them in water.
  6. Serve on desired dish.










  Tips:

  • To speed up gelification process, oil must be very cold
  • To obtain uniform round shaped pearls, the gelification needs to be completed before the pearl hits the bottom of the glass (otherwise the pearls may be a bit oblong).  A tall glass is recommended so the pearls have more time to cool on the way to the bottom.
  • Sometimes the first few drops will sit on top of the oil, the pearls will eventually drop as more hot pearls are added.
  • You can keep the pearls in a little bit of water or in some apple juice to keep them in the refrigerator longer  (will last for several days)
  • Agar-agar doesn't effect the flavor of the liquid you use, but remember that sometimes heat can alter the flavor o the liquid/juice that you're using.  Agar-agar need to be brought to a temperature of 185f to activate.  When you reach a boil, quickly remove from heat and let cool.

  What shapes can I make:

  • Pearls:using a syringe or pipette
  • Gellification Spaghetti: Attach a silicon tune to the end of your syringe.  Draw the solution into the tube, completely submerge the tube into ice water for at least two minutes.  Gradually apply pressure to the syringe to push air into the tubing, extracting the spaghetti gel.
  • You can also make gel sheets as well, use a simple form or perhaps some cookie cutter shapes.

What can I use for a liquid?

  • Nearly anything!  If you have the idea...it is worth a try. 
  • Fruits can be blended and made into a reduction for awesome  (apple, grapefruit, raspberry, etc) pearls.  but don't discount vegetables (etc) either...how about some arugula concentrate pearls.
  • Herbs can be processed with water and prepared the same way as the fruit (cilantro, basil, mint bombs, etc)
  • 100% Oil and Alcohol will not work with this process, but you may dilute it with water and find a solution that may work with this process



Dan



Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
Margi Cintrano View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 03 February 2012
Location: Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 6357
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 March 2013 at 14:47
Dan.
 
Vanguard ... pheonomenal.
 
Thanks for posting.
Margaux.
Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
Back to Top
africanmeat View Drop Down
Chef
Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 January 2012
Location: south africa
Status: Offline
Points: 910
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote africanmeat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 March 2013 at 06:47
Dan this looks great. it will surprise your Guests if you sprinkle it on a salad .
or one Pearl on a smoked salmon and creme cheese .
Thanks.
Ahron
Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 March 2013 at 07:23
   Thanks for the compliments.  It was actually more difficult than I thought to slowly push the plunger, of the syringe, with one hand...while taking a picture with my other hand.  It's much easier using two hands to control the rate.  LOL
Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gracoman View Drop Down
Chef
Chef


Joined: 09 August 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 885
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 March 2015 at 20:59
I have been dipping my toe into the fine art of molecular gastronomy and find it fascinating. To me, the entire concept is about surprise and delight.  Dishes that are not visibly recognizable are instantly understood the moment they hit the palate.  Conversely, dishes that are immediately recognizable change dramatically as soon as they are tasted. 

Hot ice cream that melts when it cools, carbonated fruit, deconstructed classic dishes that amuse and levitate. 

Don't think for a minute these dishes are somehow falsified or lacking in any way.  They are delicious and made from the finest, freshest ingredients.  But they are presented with flair, playfulness and a healthy dose of magic.

Reverse seared chuck eye steaks.


Served with veggies, a sauted mushroom cap, blue cheese foam and port wine fluid gel.


The blue cheese foam has a large advantage over a sauce.  Cheese sauces are notoriously heavy while the foam is light, airy, and packed with blue cheese flavor.  The port wine fluid gel has the properties of a liquid and a gel.  It is also almost 100% port wine.  A very fine port wine.  A complete about face from the cheese foam.  I've only begun to experiment in this area.  It is fun and exciting.

 
Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 March 2015 at 11:18
Originally posted by gracoman gracoman wrote:



Don't think for a minute these dishes are somehow falsified or lacking in any way.  They are delicious and made from the finest, freshest ingredients.  But they are presented with flair, playfulness and a healthy dose of magic.


   Wow, thanks for sharing your adventures in gastronomy, graco!  I agree with your statement that these dishes aren't lacking in flavor.  

  Do you have any other input, or instruction on some of the methods that you have used?  Love to see them!
Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gracoman View Drop Down
Chef
Chef


Joined: 09 August 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 885
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 March 2015 at 12:22
The blue cheese foam and port wine fluid gel were my first experiments because they are easy.  The foam was just blue cheese mixed into hot cream and sieved into a whipper.  The fluid gel was just port wine heated with agar agar, left to set, cut into small cubes, blasted with an immersion blender and passed through a fine mesh sieve.  I added more wine before serving to make it more fluid than gel.

I took the free edX Harvard cooking course that was posted here which is what got me interested in molecular gastronomy.  I just never did anything with it until now. I plan on playing around with this stuff quite a bit and would be happy to post my results.  Good or bad Wink
Back to Top
gracoman View Drop Down
Chef
Chef


Joined: 09 August 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 885
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 March 2015 at 20:18
Here's a neat little excursion into the art of molecular gastronomy that uses products that are available in any grocery store.

Glass Potato Chips Seasoned With Smoked Maldon Salt


Served with onion soup foam


These are beyond awesome.  Everybody served was laughing and could speak of nothing else.  How cool is that.

The original recipe as posted in The Vancouver Sun

Hamid Salimian, Diva at the Met chef, serves the ‘glass’ potato chip as part of an amuse bouche. He puts a dab of creme fraiche on a plate or stone, tops it with chopped chives and finishes with a heap of rasped truffles and the glass potato.

Baked Potato Stock

8 Yukon gold potatoes

½ cup of olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 liter of hot water (95 C, not boiling)

Wash the potatoes under cold water and dry with paper towel.  Cut into the skin of each potato 1 cm. Toss the potatoes with ½ cup of olive and season with the salt.
Bake for 25 minutes at 450 F.
  Remove from oven and place the baked potatoes in a bowl with 1 litre of hot water (95 C, slightly cooler than boiling temperature), cover it and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
Strain the mixture with a fine strainer, reserving the baked potato stock. Chill stock in preparation for next step.

Baked Potato Gel
4 tablespoons potato starch

2 cups of baked potato stock

Put chilled baked potato stock into a pot and whisk in the potato starch. Continue whisking the starch and stock together and bring it to boil, forming a gel. Remove from heat. 
Drying: Spread the potato gel on a sheet of parchment paper. The gel should be about 3 mm thick.
Dry in the oven at 135 F for 2 hours until fully dry.
Frying: Break the dried sheet into irregular pieces about the size of playing card. Fry these potato chips at 350 F until clear and crisp. Remove and place on paper towel, then season with kosher salt.

I used a combination of the original recipe and this one.

I dried these chips in my dehydrator set at 135°F overnight.  2 hours was a joke.

Do not fry the chips in oil over 350°F or they will turn opaque. 

Some may find it difficult to find potato starch so I tried corn starch as a thickener.

A corn starch thickened glass potato chip


Served with the same onion soup foam


The corn starch chips had less potato flavor and a bit of a popcorny thing going on which nobody noticed until I mentioned it.  These chips make people smile




Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 March 2015 at 05:59
   that is very odd indeed!  I'll have to try it this summer!

   thanks for sharing!


Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gracoman View Drop Down
Chef
Chef


Joined: 09 August 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 885
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 September 2015 at 13:04
I did a take on Heston Bleumanthal's famous egg and bacon ice cream served at his restaurant The Fat Duck.

Caramelized brioche, candied bacon, and bacon and egg ice cream, sided with strawberry caviar, coffee with cream jelly, and extra dry champagne.

This is a very rich dessert disguised as a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon.  It takes 24 egg yolks and 1/2 pound of bacon to make 1 qt of this ice cream.  It looks like scrambled eggs, smells and tastes just like bacon and eggs but it is sweet.

"It takes all expectations and turns them completely on their heads".

This is very true.  It is also one of the most memorable dishes of any sort that I have had the pleasure of sitting down to.

The most important thing I took away from making this dish is the method of freezing ice cream which is far superior to any home ice cream freezer available.  I used powdered dry ice to freeze the ice cream.  It freezes so quickly ice crystals do not have a chance to form.  The result is the smoothest, creamiest ice cream I have ever produced.  I may never use my two different ice cream freezers again.




Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 September 2015 at 15:46
    Really interesting...looks and sounds delicious!  Wonderful photo too!


  What do you have in the bottom left and right corners to go with the bacon and eggs?

Stunning...I've got to give this a try
Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gracoman View Drop Down
Chef
Chef


Joined: 09 August 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 885
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 September 2015 at 16:32
At the bottom left is the strawberry caviar.  I wanted to add some freshness in a more dramatic way than sliced fruit.  This one was a mistake. Not because the strawberry caviar was bad, it was lost to all of the strong flavors in the rest of the dish.

At the bottom right is coffee with cream jelly.  The original English recipe is served with tea jelly but we are on the coffee side of the pond.  The cream layer is made with half and half mixed with coconut cream.  The coffee layer is strong instant coffee.  Both are sweetened then thickened with agar agar. The different layers are kept simmering while one is poured, left to set, and so on. The entire thing sets in the fridge in 4 hours.
Back to Top
Margi Cintrano View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 03 February 2012
Location: Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 6357
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 September 2015 at 16:54
Gentlemen.

Very fascinating posts indeed.

I had eaten in El Bulli and at Heston´s Restaurant in Bray in 2010.

Absolutely, impeccably spectacular experiences. I am a profesional restaurant reporter based now in Southern France and have recently translated a French author photographer´s book PDF in English.

Paco Roncero is also quite a fascinating culinary artist involved with molecular cuisine.

During 2010, Heston had done a Candyland dessert that was absolutely amazingly memorable as Chef Achatz and several others.

Just fascinating - each & every post !!

Thank you all ..

Have a wonderful September ..
Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 September 2015 at 14:50
I've been meaning to try this one.  I have all the stuff...I just have to follow through with putting it together.  The recipe is from oilab.info




Olive Oil Gummies

Ingredients

150g Extra virgin olive oil
7g Xanthan
7g Garrofin
320g glucose
160g sugar
35g water

Directions

  1. Combine the olive oil, xanthan and garrofin. blend togther with a hand blender.
  2. Combine the olive oil mixture with the rest of the ingredients in a pot. Bring to a bloil, blending with a hans blender to create a homogenious mixture.
  3. Working quickly, add this mixture to a pastry bag. Pipe the mixture into cornstarch molds, pinching the bottom of the pastry bag to release each large drop of the gummy mixture. Try to make as little contact as possible between your hands and the mixture as it is very sticky. Wear a double layer of gloves if possible as the mixture is very hot.
  4. Cover the moulded drops with more cornstarch. Allow to sit overnight at room temperature. Remove gummies and brush off ecess cornstarch.
  5. Gummie can last up to five days at room temperature, and two weeks in the refrigerator.
Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gonefishin View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 20 September 2012
Status: Offline
Points: 1778
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gonefishin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 December 2015 at 15:05
   I finally got around to making the Olive Oil Gummies.   I used some really nice Spanish Olive Oil. These gummies conveyed a real nice flavor that was true to the Picual Olive Oil.




Enjoy The Food!
Back to Top
gracoman View Drop Down
Chef
Chef


Joined: 09 August 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 885
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote gracoman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 April 2018 at 12:21
I ran across this site some time ago.  Apparently, making a food or foods with the appearance of another goes back at least as far as the Middle Ages.  They were called illusion foods. 

"Illusion Foods filled the niche between everyday food & extravagant creations, and, quite importantly, usually with a touch of humor. In the Middle Ages they provided both needed sustenance & entertainment, which, just like today, is always a very good thing indeed."

Serving a dish with the appearance of rotted meat isn't quite how we handle this today but it was a "thing" when real rotted meat was also a thing among other things Confused

Illusion Foods

Back to Top
Margi Cintrano View Drop Down
Master Chef
Master Chef
Avatar

Joined: 03 February 2012
Location: Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 6357
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 April 2018 at 03:43


The El  Bulli Foundation ( Fundación El  Bulli, now located in  Barcelona )  has many kits available for sale ..  

Amazing concoctions ..   

You are quite an adventurer and conqueror !  

All my best wishes ..   
Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12
  Share Topic   

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.105 seconds.