Mozzarella Ballons

I got really bored when the snow was falling. So decided to make food that you could play with.

Ingredients for Mozzarella Balloons

- 200 g Fresh Mozzarella (4 servings)

- 10 roasted garlic cloves

- balsamic vinegar reduction

- 12 peeled pearl tomatoes

- thinly sliced basil

- olive oil

- salt and pepper

- olive oil powder

Preparation

If the garlic cloves are not already roasted, wrapped them in aluminum foil with a few drops of olive oil and place them in the oven for 25 min 400 ˚F. Smash them and place them in the ISI Whip featured with the straight nozzle and charge it.

Boil 3 or 4 cups of water and set it aside in a container in which you can immerse the mozzarella pieces for each balloon without touching each other.  Cut the mozzarella in pieces of 50 g (usually about half a mozzarella ball). Place them in the hot water to get them really soft and pliable. It may take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove one piece of hot mozzarella from the hot water; it should be hot and pliable, like gum. Knead it for 30 seconds to cool it down a little and then put it over the ISI Whip straight nozzle. Make sure the cheese is in one solid piece and does not have fold lines that are not completely fused together.  Hold it tightly around the tip of the nose with your thumb and index fingers around it. Slowly start inflating it until desired size. Tight the bottom by squeezing the mozzarella with your two fingers as you slide the balloon out of the nozzle. Make sure the balloons don’t touch each other or they will stick.

Look carefully while inflating and stop if one section of the balloon is getting too translucent. If it breaks, don’t worry; just compact the mozzarella and place it in hot water again. or if you don't feel like making a ball again it tastes great as is.. Just a bit less fun to eat.

Mango Raviolli

Mango is probably my favorite fruit so after seeing this recipe on one of the websites I had to give it a try!

Ravioli Ingredients

- 250 g ( 8.8 oz) of water

- 1.3 g sodium citrate

- 1.8 g sodium alginate 

- 250 g mango puree

Calcium Bath

- 1000 g (35 oz) of water

- 5 g calcium chloride

Preparation

Start by preparing the calcium bath. Dissolve the calcium chloride in the water and keep it in the fridge while you prepare the mango puree for the ravioli.

To prepare the mango filling, start by creating the mango puree using fresh or frozen mangos. Add sugar as desired. ( added no sugar but you can)

Mix the sodium citrate with the 250 g of water. Then mix the sodium alginate in the water using an immersion blender until the sodium alginate is completely dissolved. If this is your first time doing this, be aware that this may take longer than expected.

Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature. Once it is cold, mix with the mango puree. Let it rest for an hour to eliminate some of the air bubbles created by the immersion blender.

Remove the calcium bath from the fridge. Scoop the mango mixture with a half sphere tablespoon measure and carefully pour it into the calcium bath. Leave the ravioli "cooking" for about 2 minutes in the calcium bath and then carefully remove it using a slotted spoon. Then rinse it very gently with water to remove the calcium.

Arugula Agar Spaghetti

Arugula Mix Ingredients

- 2 cups fresh arugula

- 2/3 cup water

- 1 small shallot

- salt

Arugula Spaghetti Ingredients

- 200 g (7 oz) arugula mix

- 3.2 g Agar Agar

Preparation

Blend arugula, peeled shallot and water in a blender to obtain a very smooth liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Get ready surgical tubing and syringe. 

Put the liquefied arugula in a saucepan, dissolve the agar agar and bring it to the boil, stirring constantly with a beater. Take off the heat and skim to eliminate any impurities. Fill the syringe and with it fill the tubes, which will have been rolled and secured with a little adhesive tape for greater comfort. Submerge the full tubes in cold water so that the liquefied arugula sets in a few minutes.

With an empty syringe, inject air into the tube to obtain the spaghetti. 

Notes:

 This was really hard to do being it came out in sort of a liquid fashion. I actually had to order a extra tub of Agar Agar to just get this to work.

Grant Achatz

If you've been following this blog for some time you've probably noticed that alot of recipes have come from a man named Grant Achatz. He is the owner of  Alinea, a 3 michelin star restaurant. He's one of the top chefs in the world. During this Molecular Personal project I found that looking through what he's done and all he's gone through has helped alot. Just wanted to share who I inspire to be!

Dry Caramel with Sea Salt

I personally find Grant Achtaz is an amazing person. He's made some of the finest molecular dishes in the world. This is just a small thing he made.

Ingredients for Caramel Base

- 375 g (13.2 oz) sugar

- 350 g (12.3 oz) glucose

- 500 g (1lb 1.6 oz) heavy cream

- 100 g (3.5 oz) butter

Ingredients for Dry Caramel with Salt (8 servings)

- 210 g (7.4 oz) caramel base

- 65 g (2.3 oz) Tapioca Maltodextrin

- 10 g (0.4 oz) Sea salt

Preparation of Caramel Base

1- Line sheet tray with silicone mat.

2- In saucepan heat all ingredients over medium heat until it reaches 230 ˚F.

3- Pour onto prepared sheet tray.

4- Let it cool down to room temperature.

Preparation of Dry Caramel with Salt

1- In food processor combine caramel base with Tapioca Maltodextrin and process until caramel base is completely absorbed.

2- Divide dry caramel in 8 small glasses.

3- Season with sea salt.

Balsamic Vinegar Pearls.

Balsamic Vinegar Pearls Ingredients

100 g (7 oz) Balsamic Vinegar

1.5 g (1.5%) Agar Agar

Oil Bath

1 cup of oil, cold from being in the freezer for at least 30 min

Preparation

Start by placing the oil in a tall glass in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. It is better if you use a tall glass so there is more time for the balsamic vinegar droplets to get cold and gel before reaching the bottom. (I used a water pitcher)

Once the oil has been in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, put the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan, dissolve the agar agar and bring it to the boil, stirring constantly with a beater. Take off the heat and skim to eliminate any impurities.

Wait a few minutes until the temperature drops to 120-130 ˚F. 

Fill a syringe with the hot balsamic agar solution and expel it drop by drop into the cold oil. The syringe needs to be high enough for the drops to sink when they get in contact with the oil. Wait a few minutes and then carefully remove them from the oil bath using a slotted spoon and rinse them in water. You can keep them in a container in the fridge for later use.    

Notes:

I mainly used this in salads when we had guests over. This works well with the red wine caviar. Only issue i've had with this recipe is the amount of oil you need. it's a one use thing so only do this when you have alot of oil lying around.

Goat Cheese Foam

After my family looked into buying goats I fell in-love with goat cheese. So decided that this was only fitting to looking for a recipe with goat cheese and found this!

ngredients (8 to 10 servings)

- 250 g (8.8 oz) soft goat cheese with herbs ( I buy mine from a goat farmer)

- 125 g (4.4 oz) sour cream

- 125 ml (4.4 oz) heavy cream

- 1.5 tbsp olive oil

- salt and pepper

Preparation

1- Blend goat cheese, olive oil, sour cream and seasoning in a blender or food processor. When seasoning, keep in mind thatthe mix will expand 2 or 3 times so you should season 2 or 3 times more than you would normally do.

2- Pass mixture through a cheese cloth.

3- Add heavy cream and mix.

4- Pour the mixture into an ISI Whip, screw one ISI cream charger (2 chargers if using 1L ISI Whip) and shake vigorously.

5- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.