Modernist Cooking Made Easy (29 page)
Heat the water to a boil. Sprinkle in the Methocel A4C and mix with the immersion blender. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Combine the water, mushrooms, and sage leaves in the standing blender. Puree until it becomes a smooth mixture then cool and place in the refrigerator for several hours for the Methocel A4C to hydrate.
Once hydrated fully, pour the mixture into a squeeze bottle. Let it come to room temperature before serving. For serving, make sure you have a very hot soup because the noodles will not gel unless they are raised above 50ºC to 55ºC / 122ºF to 131°F.
To serve, place the nozzle of the squeeze bottle just below the surface of the soup and squeeze some of the mixture out while moving the bottle around. It will gel almost instantly, forming the mushroom noodles.
S
ODIUM
A
LGINATE
If you are interested in staying up to date with modernist cooking you can join our free newsletter and get monthly modernist cooking tips and links to the best articles on the internet.
You can join our newsletter here:
http://is.gd/Jwiwij
S
ODIUM
A
LGINATE
A
T A
G
LANCE
Common Names
Sodium Alginate, Algin
Basic Ratios By Weight
Reverse Spherification
1.0-3.0% calcium lactate base
0.4-0.5% sodium alginate bath
Direct Spherification
0.5-1.0% sodium alginate base
0.5-1.0% calcium lactate bath
Dispersion Temperature
Any
Hydration Temperature
Any
Setting Temperature
Any
Melting Temperature
Above 130ºC / 266ºF
In many ways sodium alginate has become the poster child for modernist cooking due to its use in spherification. Despite being used as an example of the “chemicals” used in molecular gastronomy it is actually a natural gelling agent taken from the cell walls of brown algae.
It easily disperses, hydrates, and gels in any temperature of liquid. Sodium alginate gels when it comes in contact with calcium. It also has many uses other than spherification such as thickening and general gelling.
Sodium alginate works best in non-acidic mixtures. If you are trying to use it in something acidic you can usually add sodium citrate to alter the pH before adding the sodium alginate.
R
EVERSE
S
PHERIFICATION
I personally find reverse spherification to be much easier to do than direct spherification
[22]
. Because you can freeze the flavored liquid base it is much easier to make perfect looking spheres than when trying to pour it directly into the setting bath. Since the gelling process occurs on the outside of the liquid you also run no risk of gelling all the liquid so you do not have to serve it right away.
Reverse Spherification Process
In reverse spherification you add calcium to the flavored liquid you want to gel, called the “base”. The calcium is usually added in the form of calcium lactate or calcium chloride. Calcium lactate is almost always used in reverse spherification because it has a much more neutral taste than the bitter calcium chloride. Once the calcium has been added you freeze the base in spherical or hemispherical molds.
Next, the sodium alginate is mixed with water, and sometimes sugar, to form a setting bath. The frozen spheres of base are then placed into the bath for 1 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the membrane you want. Make sure the spheres are not touching or they will fuse together.
I recommend starting with one sphere at a time to test out some different setting lengths. That way you can see which one works best for your specific purpose. In general I’ve found:
• Small Spheres - 2 minutes
• Medium Spheres - 4 minutes
• Large Spheres - 5 minutes
• Thin membrane - 1 minute
• Medium Membrane - 3 minutes
• Thick Membrane - 5 minutes
Once the membranes have set the spheres are removed and rinsed in a water bath. This bath can be warm or cold, depending on the temperature you would like to serve the spheres.
The spheres can be stored for several hours or even overnight. However, the water bath can leech out some of the flavor so they shouldn’t be left in the water bath for more than 15 to 30 minutes. If you know you will be storing them for an extended period of time I recommend setting aside some of the liquid used in the base, before the calcium is added, and storing the spheres in it.
These spheres can be served either cold or hot, up to about 130ºC / 266ºF. Please be careful serving spheres that are at such a high temperature because they can cause severe burns since many people expect them to be cooler.
You can also place the finished spheres into a whipping siphon, with some reserved calcium-free liquid, charge it, and let me sit for several hours to create carbonated spheres.
Reverse Spherification Ratios
For the flavored base a ratio of 1.0% to 3.0% calcium lactate is typically used with a setting bath of 0.4-0.5% sodium alginate.
M
ANGO
S
PHERES
This basic recipe for mango spheres can be applied to almost any non-acidic fruit or vegetable juice. The spheres can be served cold on a salad or with vegetables. They are also good when heated and served as a flavorful topping to fish or chicken, especially if you add some hot sauce and cumin to the mango juice. This recipe will make 25 to 40 spheres.
Tools Needed
Sodium alginate
Calcium lactate
Immersion blender
Slotted spoon
Hemispherical or spherical molds
A scale with small gram measurements
Ingredients
For the Mango Spheres
400 grams mango juice, preferably fresh
8 grams calcium lactate, 2.0%
For the Alginate Bath
1000 grams water
65 grams sugar
5 grams sodium alginate, 0.5%
Combine the mango juice and calcium lactate in a bowl using an immersion blender. If the mango juice has a lot of pulp strain it out. Pour the mango juice into hemispherical or spherical molds and freeze them.
Prepare the alginate bath by placing the water, sugar, and sodium alginate in a pot. Blend well with an immersion blender and bring it to a boil. Set it aside and let it cool.
Fill another bowl with water and set aside for use as the rinsing bowl.
Place the frozen mango spheres into the alginate bath, making sure they do not touch each other. Let them set for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them into the rinsing bath. Swirl them gently to rinse off the outsides.
They will last for about 30 minutes in the water bath, or over night in reserved mango juice. They can be served hot or cold.
C
ARROT
S
PHERES
These carrot spheres can be a very interesting side to serve with different meals. For an even more unusual presentation you can place sauteed pancetta cubes in the molds when you fill them with the carrot juice. This recipe will make 25 to 40 spheres.
Tools Needed
Sodium alginate
Calcium lactate
Immersion blender
Slotted spoon
Hemispherical or spherical molds
A scale with small gram measurements
Ingredients
For the Carrot Spheres
400 grams carrot juice, preferably fresh
8 grams calcium lactate, 2.0%
For the Alginate Bath
1000 grams water
65 grams sugar
5 grams sodium alginate, 0.5%
Combine the carrot juice and calcium lactate in a bowl using an immersion blender. If the carrot juice has a lot of pulp strain it out. Pour the carrot juice into hemispherical or spherical molds and freeze them.
Prepare the alginate bath by placing the water, sugar, and sodium alginate in a pot. Blend well with an immersion blender and bring it to a boil. Set it aside and let it cool.
Fill another bowl with water and set aside for use as the rinsing bowl.
Place the frozen carrot spheres into the alginate bath, making sure they do not touch each other. Let them set for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them into the rinsing bath. Swirl them gently to rinse off the outsides.
They will last for about 30 minutes in the water bath, or over night in reserved carrot juice. They can be served hot or cold.
D
IRECT
S
PHERIFICATION
I prefer reverse spherification for most applications but it does have its drawbacks, especially when it comes to creating small “caviar” beads. The beads will often stick to each other and clump so turning to direct spherification is usually much easier.
Direct Spherification Process
In direct spherification you combine sodium alginate with the liquid base you want to spherify and the calcium is added to the setting bath.
The sodium alginate base is then poured, spoonful by spoonful, or drop by drop, into the setting bath. After 1 to 3 minutes the spheres are removed and rinsed off. They must be served within 5 to 10 minutes because they will continue to gel as time goes on.
Direct Spherification Ratios
For direct spherification a 0.5% to 1% sodium alginate base is used with a 0.5% to 1% calcium lactate setting bath.
