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.

Olive Oil Foam

Olive Oil Foam Ingredients

- 200 g (7 oz) extra virgin olive oil

- 16 g (0.5 oz) glycerin flakes

- salt

Preparation

1- Heat the olive oil and glycerin flakes at low temperature until they reach a temperature of 140 °F

2- Stir until the glycerin flakes dissolve.

3- Season with salt. Keep in mind that volume will expand 3 or 4 times after foaming so add some extra salt. ( I personally added about 1 tbsp)

4- Pour mixture into ISI Whip with desired nozzle, screw 1 cream charger (2 if using 1L ISI Whip) and shake vigorously after each one.

5- Serve warm. If it gets cold or you want to use it at a later time, place the ISI Whip in a double boiler until it reaches a temperature of 90 °F.

Notes:
This goes great with just about anything that uses Olive oil! 

Parmesan Spaghetto

My mom always loved Parmesan so decided to make this for her one day.

Parmesan Whey Ingredients

- 500 g (18 oz) grated Reggiano Parmesan

- 450 g (16 oz) water

Parmesan Spaghetto Ingredients

- 300 g (11oz) Reggiano Parmesan whey (preparation above)

- 4.8 g Agar Agar

Preparation

Start by preparing the Parmesan whey. Put the water in a saucepan to boil and when it starts to boil add the grated Parmesan. Stir until it dissolves and leave for 15 min off the heat. Pass the Parmesan paste through a or a sieve lined with cheesecloth and remove all the whey, discarding the Parmesan paste. Keep the Parmesan whey in the fridge for 12 hours.

Set aside the whey deposited in the lower part for the spaghetti and discard the fat accumulated in the upper part. Get surgical tube and syringe. Read Agar Agar Spaghetti if this is your first time making agar agar spaghetti.

Put the Parmesan whey 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 Parmesan whey sets in a few minutes.

With an empty syringe, inject air into the tube to obtain the spaghetto. This is probably the most difficult part of the recipe.. The resulting spaghetti can be served hot or cold.

Notes:

probably took me a good week of testing to get this to work. The link is really needed for making this, it taught me how to make it and could do the same for you.

Lemon Air.

Ingredients for Lemon Air

- 350 g (12 oz) lemon juice

- 250 g (9 oz) cold water

- 3 g lecithin powder

Preparation is really easy for this dish just add the three above chemicals and mix till you get a foam. 

Notes:

This goes great with fish. It's a lot better then lemon I feel being you don't have to squirt the lemon juice everywhere. Also it's kinda fun to play with.

Honey Caviar

Made this one to go along with some breakfast biscuits tasted and look amazing.

Honey Caviar Ingredients

- 110 g (3.9 oz) acacia honey (tastes better but you can use any type)

- 90 g (3.2 oz) water 

- 1.6 g sodium alginate 

Calcium Bath

- 500 g (18 oz) water

- 2.5 g calcium chloride

1- Prepare the honey mix for the caviar. Mix the sodium alginate in the water using an hand mixer until the sodium alginate is completely dissolved. I would say mix for about 10 minutes  Might seem like along time but is how long it takes mine to mix just right.

2- Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, mix with the honey using the hand blender. Let the mix rest in the fridge for 12 hours to eliminate the air bubbles created by the hand blender.

3- Once the mix has no air bubbles remove it from the fridge until it reaches room temperature to reduce the viscosity (thickness) of the mix.

4- Prepare the calcium bath in a bowl by dissolving the calcium chloride in the water.

5- You are now ready to start creating the caviar! Fill a syringe with the honey-alginate mixture and expel it drop by drop into the calcium bath. The syringe needs to be high enough (about 6 inches from the bath surface) for the drops to sink and to prevent the formation of a tail. Don’t go too high or the drops may break into smaller drops. A trick i learned is tap the syringe onto the side of the bowl if it's high enough. This just makes it a bit easier.

6- Leave the caviar "cooking" for about 1 minute in the calcium bath and then carefully remove it using a spoon Then rinse it very gently with water to remove the calcium. A tip for this is putting it into a water bath and stir gently with a spoon. Remove it the same way as in step 5.

Notes:

The only issue with this recipe is you have to eat it right away or the Caviar will start to fall apart.

Shrimp with Cocktail sauce

Ok so this is not really a molecular recipe but was really cool. All you gotta do is get Cocktail shrimp and instead of just having them sitting around a bowl with the sauce fill Pipette's with the sauce. Clears up the Double dipping problem and looks really cool.

Fizzy fruit!

Had a friend who lives in Texas send me this recipe link. She used it for hot days. Gotta be safe with this one dry ice can hurt...


1- Cut the fruit in bite size pieces as if you were making a fruit salad. Grapes can be kept whole.

2- If you have dry ice in pellets, you can use them as is. If you have a dry ice block, smash it with a hammer or use an ice pick to obtain small chunks. Place the dry ice pellets or chunks at the bottom of a bowl or container.

3- Place the fruit on top of the dry ice. To prevent the fruit from freezing you can place it on a small wood chopping board and then place the board on top of the dry ice. If the fruit freezes you will have to wait for it to thaw before eating it.
4- Cover the container with a kitchen towel or cutting board but DO NOT SEAL the container with a tight lid or CO₂ pressure will build up as the dry ice sublimes and it WILL EXPLODE.
5- Let it rest for about 30 minutes. As the dry ice sublimes and converts into gas, the CO₂ will dissolve in the water of the fruit. The dry ice will keep the fruit cold, allowing more CO₂ to dissolve in the fruit. If the fruit freezes, wait for a few minutes before eating or you will burn your tongue.


Notes: I tried this once and ended up adding most the fruit into a drink. The fizzy fruit makes bubbles in the water and the fruit flavors it. Also you don't need ice!

Update.

Ran out of chemicals while testing a new recipe so gonna be awhile till I can cook again.

Liquid Popcorn and Caramel Froth.

The liquid popcorn with caramel froth is a surprising drinkable dessert created by Grant Achatz of Alinea. It is quite sweet and it is best served warm in a shot glass.

Liquid Popcorn Ingredients

- 35 g (1.2 oz) canola oil

- 150 g (5.3 oz) popcorn kernels

- 7 g (0.25 oz) kosher salt

- 90 g (3.2 oz) butter

- 75 g (2.6 oz) sugar

- 750 g (1lb 10.5 oz) water

Caramel Froth Ingredients

- 250 g (8.8 oz) sugar

- 200 g (7.1 oz) water

- 75 g (2.6 oz) simple syrup

- 5 g (0.18 oz) soy lecithin powder

Preparation

Liquid Popcorn

1- In large pot heat oil until lightly smoking.

2- Add popcorn kernels and cover pot.

3- Shake pot constantly while kernels pop.

4- Remove pot from heat when kernels stop popping.

5- In second large pot, combine 125 g (4.4 oz) popped corn, salt, butter, sugar and water.

6- Bring to simmer over medium heat and simmer for 5 min.

7- Strain through with a fine strainer, pushing liquid through with back of ladle until only popcorn kernels remain in basket. Discard kernels.

8- Transfer liquid to blender and blend on high speed for 5 min or until smooth.

9- Strain again and keep warm..

Caramel Froth

1- In small saucepan, heat sugar and 75 g (2.6 oz) of water over medium heat to 171 °C (340 °F).

2- Remove from heat.

3- Immediately add remaining 125 g (4.4 oz) water and simple syrup. BE CARFUL as mixture will bubble and splatter.

4- Whisk until dissolved.

5- Pour into tall, narrow container and let cool to warm.

6- Add lecithin and blend with immersion blender incorporating air until frothy.

Assemble and serve

1- Pour warm popcorn broth into tall shot glasses, filling them half full.

2- Spoon caramel froth over broth to fill glasses three-fourths full.

Notes: I'd like to say this way really good for the first few sips then got way to overpowering. So only make it when you know you can handle really sweet food. Can not stress this enough be careful with this one I burned myself with the flying oil the first time.

Olive Oil Butter and Balsamic Vinegar Gel

live Oil Butter Ingredients

- 200 ml (6.8 oz) extra virgin olive oil

- 12 g Glycerin flakes

- Sea salt flakes

Balsamic Vinegar Gel Ingredients

- 200 ml (6.8 oz) balsamic vinegar

- 2 g Agar Agar

- Sugar syrup to taste

Preparation

Olive Oil Butter

1- Place the olive oil and Glice in a sauce pot.

2- Gently warm the oil over a low heat until the Glice melts.

3- Once melted, pour into a plastic container and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

4- Once ready to serve, warm up a spoon and turn a nice quenelle of “olive oil butter”. Alternatively fill empty tooth paste tubes with the mixture at room temperature, keep them chilled until needed and let the guests squeeze the butter themselves.

5- Sprinkle sea salt flakes.

Balsamic Vinegar Gel

1- Bring vinegar to boil and add the agar agar.

2- Simmer for 2-3 minutes and skin of any foam that rises.

3- Season to taste with sugar syrup.

4- Once ready pour into a plastic container and leave to set.

5- Once set, spoon the jelly into a blender and blend until smooth.

6- Strain the mix through a chinois and pour into squeeze bottle.

7- Keep refrigerated until needed.

Coconut foam

Ingredients

• a dash of lemon juice
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 200 ml water
• a dash of lime juice

Additives

• Soy Lecithin 1 sachet (2 g)

- In a bowl add coconut milk, 200 Ml water, lime juice, and soy Lecithin. Using a hand blender mix together till you have desired amount of foam. Serve with anything you'd want coconut on.

Notes: I usually only use this when the food I'm pairing it with has coconut in it already. The foam tastes like coconut but not enough to where it's all you need.

Nutella Powder

I had a friend coming over who was a bit of an Nutella addict so decided to give this recipe a try.

Ingredients

• Nutella (80g)

Additives

• tapioca Maltodextrin 20g

Steps

All you need to do for this recipe is put both into a bowl or food processor and start mixing! If it doesn't turn into a powder with 20g of the tapioca Maltodextrin just add a bit more each time.

Notes: This worked great for me being i've used this before in Prostart. If needed here's a video to help out. (I take no credit for video was made by another user) 


http://www.moleculargastronomynetwork.com/116-en/formation/How-to-Use-Tapioca-Maltodextrin.html

Red wine caviar

So we had some guest coming over for dinner and I decided it be a good idea to make these being we'd have wine lying around.

Ingredients

• 150ml red wine (any type red you'd like)
• 2 star anise
• 1 tsp sugar
• a high glass of cold oil (Cooking oil cooled)

Additives

• Agar-agar 1.5g

Steps

To make red wine "caviar":

mix 1.5 g agar agar with 150ml red wine, add 2 star anise and 1 t sugar, cook for 2 min. then using a syringe drop drops int ice coil oil.Strain and rinse in warm water.

Notes: These ended up being a bit weird. We added them to a salad for extra flavor, sadly there was not enough liquid in the caviar to do much flavor wise but looked amazing none the less.

Surprise bubbles!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• Food coloring

Additives

• Calcium salts 1 sachet (5g)
• Sodium alginate 1 sachet (2g)

Steps

1. Dissolve the calcium lactate in 1/4 cup of water and add it to the lemon juice.

 2. Fill up small round molds with this preparation and freeze.

 3. Dissolve the sodium alginate in 2 cups of water with a hand blender or an eggbeater. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

 4. Put the ice pieces in this sodium alginate bath and set aside for 3 minutes. 

5. Pick up the raviolis thus formed with a pierced spoon and rinse them in a water bowl. 

6. Put each ravioli in colored water for 5 minutes and present as desired. (looks great on white!)

Notes:

Sadly this took close to 3 tries to get to work. Every time i'd take the bubbles out of the bath it would fall apart. Seemed the issue was I the spoon had a design towards the back that would catch on the bubble and pop it! I also found that keeping the bubbles in the colored water for closer to 10 minutes would give a better color.

Tools you'll need.

This is a quick list of what you'll need equipment wise.

1. Food Processor- Really needed I feel to get everything processed into the right consistency. Great for making gels.
2. Molds- You can order a sphere mold but a ice tray can do.
3. Mortar and pestle- for grinding herbs
4. syringe and tubing- Surgical tubing works great this is for making some noodles.
5. tweezers- for fine plating work! Gotta make food look good!
6. ISI whip. (This costs between 50-100$)

This is all you'll really need to get started. 

What is Molecular Gastronomy and what you'll need!

Molecular Gastronomy is often seen as a form of cooking that has only surfaced in the last decade or two. However it's been around for close to a 100 years. In the last decade it's gone from how to making mayo perfectly to making a dish that the has everything from caviar to flavored smoke. The term "Molecular and Physical Gastronomy" was coined in 1992 by Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti and French physical chemist Hervé This. However with anything new comes people who resist change. Most chefs at the time thought of it as cooking without the need for a true chef not just someone with chemicals and a scale. Now back to what is it! Molecular Gastronomy is changing the texture or state i.e liquid or solid of food. Next few posts will be what you need and what they do! 



Here is a list of the chemicals you need and what they're used for.

1. Agar Agar- Used to form rigid and brittle gels.
2. Calcium Lactate- Used alongside sodium alginate in a spherification process
3. Citric Acid- Used to change pH levels in food..
4. Glycerin- sweet odorless liquid used to sweeten food
5. Guar Gum- Used as a thickening agent.   
6. sodium alginate-used in a spherification process.
7. Soy Lecithin- Used to stabilize a mixture for emulsification.
8.  Tapioca Maltodextrin- used to dry out mixtures.
9. Xanthan gum- Used as a thinking agent.

These are the main things you'll need to get started!


I do not take credit for any of these recipes! These all have been tried and tested before I got to them.