Truffle…Chocolate Powder…..Maltodextrin FTW!!!
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Category Archives: Molecular Gastronomy
SCIENCE TIME!!!! Eggs, Foamlette 1.0, and Bone Marrow Creme Brulee
That’s an egg yolk.
I got together with the guys at Jet City Gastrophysics (click) to work on some projects. This time our theme was eggs. It reminded me of my favorite week at school which was egg week. We had a ton of eggs to cook in every which way possible but we never tried Sous Vide.
Scott was borrowing a machine that Polyscience lent him as well as another machine that he built…the guy is a freaking genius. He had the two baths set up at different temperatures in order for our creative juices to start flowing.
We tried to make a foam mayonnaise but it didn’t turn out the way we wanted….just need more practice and time and I’m sure we’ll get it. On the last foam mayonnaise Scott decided to torch it and it gave us a nice “foamlette” which I wrapped around some salami. It’s a work in progress.
Next up was another idea from Scott. ”We should deep fry one of these egg yolks”. I said, “yeah, we could do that it would be easy”. A little standard breading procedure and some seasoned flour later we came up with this. Perfect the first two times we tried it….it’s almost like I fry things a lot at work or something…..
These little things are incredible. You’ll be seeing them a few more times on this site (waiting on the pancetta to be ready).
Finally, Jeth brought over some bone marrow and he put it in the immersion circulator and cooked it for 45 minutes. When it came out we tasted it on bread with a little sea salt and it was amazing but then we all studied the texture which was very delicate and creamy. We were thinking about what else we could do with it. I thought, “well, we have egg yolks, you have sugar, and cream……let’s make a creme brulee”. Made those a few thousand times………but this time was with BONE MAROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We had to leave before the creme brulee was completed so Scott snapped this picture and sent it to me. His reaction to it leads me to believe that it was something I should make again. (PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT AKA SEATTLEFOODGEEK.COM)
Things are getting all sciency and stuff…..
See that? That’s an immersion circulator that Scott (click here) built for me. Don’t worry, I’ll explain what it does!
The state of Washington enacted a tax on soda. I love soda but I don’t feel like I should be penalized for drinking it. My solution, I’ll make my own! I know, it’s a very small scale operation but we’ll see where this ends up. I know in my restaurant that I’ll have one day it will be a featured item.
It’s a whipped cream dispenser! It’s more than that. A few posts below is my work with nitrogen cavitation…..that was only the beginning.
I hope you’re ready to get all sciency….and stuff.
Eric
Jet City Gastrophysicists: Nitrogen Cavitation and more!
(Inspiration and ideas for this post came from http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/08/11/infusion-profusion-game-changing-fast-%E2%80%98n-cheap-technique/)
SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was another meeting for the food nerds a.k.a. Jet City Gastrophysicists. We were short on gastrophysicist (Scott!) but that didn’t stop us from dividing by zero and reciting all the numbers of pi and eating some pizza pie (see what I did there…yeah….)
Nitrogen Cavitation? Sounds complicated but it’s easy! I’ve seen a lot of people infuse things like vodka with berries and fruits. The normal process is to just leave the fruits in the bottle of vodka and wait a few days or weeks until the fruit has finally worked it’s way into the vodka. There’s a problem with that, you never get that fresh taste….the finished product is usually stale or just lacks a fresh pop to it.
In steps Nitrogen Cavitation…. Jethro explained it like this. It’s a a technique for disruption of cells prior to their fractionation. A suspension of cells is subjected to high nitrogen pressure, which is suddenly released so as to cause the cells to burst as nitrogen bubbles form inside them.
Brilliant! We got to work immediately and decided to to quick infusions. First we tried a thai basil and vodka which you can see a picture of above. It worked! In less than 30 seconds the vodka was infused and after a resting period of 30 seconds the drink was ready to drink. When the drink was left alone for another 4 minutes it was even more intense with aroma and flavor. SCIENCE!!!
Why stop there? How about a Lapsang Souchong Tea and Jim Beam infusion?!?!?!?
Or a dragon fruit and rum infusion?!?!?!?
The infusions work… This left with me the idea of infusing other products beyond alcohol….I’m thinking oils and vinegars…..we’ll see where it goes.
Jethro brought over a book that left us with a little inspiration so we decided to take on a Ferran Adria project. We’re in stage 1 of it but it will come to blogworthy mode soon. Until next time! I’ll be over here torching things if anyone needs anything.
“It looks like he’s toasting a marshmallow”.
I’m not.
Eric
Jet City Gastrophysicists: Dry Ice Time!
Those crazy faux food scientists (Scott, Jethro, and me) got together for another meeting to try and blow ourselves up in the kitchen by using SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our first was meeting was pretty much that. We hadn’t really spent much time together talking about what we wanted to do or where we wanted to go in this world of food science. The possibilities are endless. Bringing the world of science into the galaxy of food is something that you will be seeing and hearing a lot more about. “Hey Eric, what are you talking about? Food science has been around forever, Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking is almost as old as you!!!”. Yes, you’re right but lately I have seen numerous media outlets talking about “molecular gastronomy” is something new. It’s not.
The term “molecular gastronomy” is a cliche term to lump together the logic and understanding that goes with food. That same food that you are eating has complex molecular structures and other rules that apply to things that aren’t edible….it’s science and reality, not some media/press overused term.
Cook an egg at various temperatures, look up what makes an egg, understand what’s all there and why things in an egg react they way they way they do in certain methods of culinary. Egg whites separate from egg yolks better when they are cold. They whip easier when cold. The yolks ribbon quicker when warm. These rules are science, not a trend, or fancy term to make you pay more for at a restaurant table……
This is my reason for doing all this. I see some practical applications for some of this work at a dinner table but the majority of the projects we are working on will never see a consumer’s eyes. Would you pay for white truffle ice?
No, you wouldn’t because I wouldn’t serve it to you…it’s not safe. My ratios were off but you would pay for a 15 second dry ice sorbet served table side.
Right type of fat vs. wrong type of fat plus a ratio of base…..Science. I know the ratio and right/wrong fat. Guessing? No. Small steps in the right direction? Yes.
Eric
Dividing by zero with the Jet City Gastrophysicistsistsistsitstists
A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a dude named Jethro that was addressed to me and Scott from (Seattle Food Geek). Jethro asked us if we knew if there was a club or group of people that would like to do experiments with food. Who the hell knows…..let’s start one, is the conclusion we came to.
Tonight was our first meeting. I felt like I was going to a dungeons and dragons meet up but instead of thousand sided dice and more pimples than I know what to do with I brought as many books, equipment, and cool ingredients as I could possibly carry over to Jethro’s house. After lugging around 50+ lbs. of books I said, “alright meeting is my place next time….haha”. Get back on track….
So we met up and I am happy to report that I have found another group of people that have a crazy addiction for food just like me.
Our first experiment was a spherification of rootbeer (pictured above). It took a little work but we got to a few shapes we were looking for. Now we have to focus on flavor, thickness of sphere, and if we need to introduce flavoring components to give us a much more intense rootbeer flavor.
Next up was a spherification of blueberry juice. We fooled around with it a little bit and finally find what we were looking for.
We were missing a few key pieces of equipment but I think the next time we meet up we’ll have that addressed. This is extremely exciting for all three of us. I think there is a lot bad press with this type of cooking but really at the end of the day it’s about fun. Each little sphere that came out was like receiving a Christmas present. Now we just have to make those little Christmas presents taste good.
Even if we have a bunch of failure we still have a cool name: Jet City Gastrophysics.
Eric
I would go into more detail about what we did but the first rule about food science club is that there is no food science club.
Rootbeer noodle……
Dark Chocolate Powder
The mad scientist is working on a few things. Hi, my name is Eric and I’m going to be working on a few experiments in the kitchen. My first experiment is from the book “Modern Cafe”. It requires a little bit of equipment, precision, and general excitement on your part.
“Eric, why the hell would I want to do this with food?” Shut up Mr. No Fun. This is awesome and I am going to add this to my arsenal of tricks in the kitchen. This is just another way to get people to be excited about food whether it’s an adult or child. I plan to bring this into dinner parties and other demonstrations so I can show people how to have fun with food instead of being so damn stuffy about it. Let’s eat, have fun, high five, and move onto the next dish!
You’ll need a scale, food processor, canola oil, chocolate (of any kind, I used dark but next time I’ll go with the original recipe using milk chocolate), and tapioca maltodextrine.
Tapioca maltowhowhatagain? The place where I bought it from L’Epicerie has a good explanation:
“Tapioca Maltodextrin a modified food starch that thickens and stabilizes fatty compounds. Used by pastry chef Alex Stupak of Alinea to turn peanut butter in granular powder form that reconstitutes instantly in your mouth.
Tapioca maltodextrin is produced from tapioca starch by a natural enzymatic process to give desirable fat-like and stabilizing properties. These maltodextrins can be used as a fat-replacer in desserts, cheese products, and ice cream. Some of the benefits include the neutral flavor which makes it an excellent flavor release with improved smooth texture. Maltodextrins can gel in cold water, has a high water binding capability and has good freeze/thaw stability. The off-white color and low application rate of 2% to 10% makes it a great substitute for fat, milk, gums and other stabilizers.”
So yeah! Pretty cool huh?!?!?!!?!? SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More experiments on the way. Also, I founded a little food science club with two other Seattle bloggers. We’re gonna divide by zero and stuff 
Eric
Agar Agar Agar
(Click each picture to make it larger)
I’ve been reading about Molecular Gastronomy for a few months now and this is my second go around with attempting to do this. I’ve turned my kitchen into a science lab and it’s really exciting. Take away all the ideas you normally have about cooking and then bring in the science!
My first time working with Agar was during my 24, 24, 24 contest and it was a collosal failure. I ruined about $25 worth of this stuff in about 3 minutes (Agar runs about $16.00 per pound) while I was trying to cook 24 different tapas, it was going to be my showcase tapa, instead I was left in the kitchen pacing and cussing under my breath.
Agar is a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed that is used in desserts in Japan. It doesn’t have a seaweed taste or smell so it is perfect to use in soups as a thickening agent or simply as a gelatin substitute. You vegetarians out there probably know about agar already but the way it’s being used in some of the best restaurants in the world is much different.
You’re probably asking yourself, “that seems like a lot of trouble to go through”. You’re right, it feels like that right now. I was almost to the point of stopping this madness but yesterday I had a breakthrough with agar and I have figured out what I would like to do with it.
You see the picture with those stringy noodles. That’s pureed kiwi and orange mixed with a little agar. There is no wheat, flour, egg or anything like that. I mixed the orange and kiwi with a little agar, heated it up, placed it into an injector then ran it through cold water at 35F. Immediately the agar mixture shocked itself into the noodle form from the injector. How does it taste? Not very good right now, I had too much agar so it was grainy and the taste of kiwi and orange was lost but I did get the intended look!
The red blob is cranberry juice, again too much agar. What I would like to create is a different take on a fruit salad. I want to make it look like a pasta dish. Noodles (fruits), fruit balls (like meatballs), with a citrus foam sauce.
Also, I have wanted to create a deconstructed Caesar Salad with each element of the salad being small balls that you eat. Kind of like a caviar look to it. I just need to work on the right balance between agar and juice mixture then it will be a success.
I have another idea of what I would like to do with this but I won’t say it yet until I have the other two figured out.
Stick around for more projects on the way. It was the first time in a long time that Mindy saw me doing something in the kitchen that she wanted to actually help with. Cool stuff.
Eric
Tofu and Shitake Bit Salad
(Click each picture to make it larger)
Yes, baked Shitake mushrooms with sea salt and olive oil taste like bacon. It’s very cool and is a great substitute for you vegetarians looking for the elusive taste of bacon.
Ingredients:
For Shitake Mushroom Bits
Recipe from Chef Elliot Prag via Sciencentral.com (CLICK FOR LINK AND VIDEO)
Ingredients:
• 1⁄2 pound shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• 1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
Cooking instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a bowl combine the mushrooms, oil, and salt.
3. Spread mushrooms on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in oven.
4. Roast mushrooms until dry and crisp, stirring about every 10 minutes, approximately 45 minutes to one hour. (Oven temperatures may vary.)
For Tofu
-1 firm tofu sliced in half as shown, press to take most of the water out
-6 or 7 garlic cloves
-Extra virgin olive oil
-Rosemary
-Basil
-Oregano
-Salt
-Black pepper, ground
Once the tofu has been pressed to take away most of the water place in a bowl with olive oil, rosemary, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Let marinade for 15 minutes then transfer over liquid to the pan, dump in the garlic and on medium heat infuse the oil. Place the tofu in the pan and cook each side for 4-5 minutes on med-high heat. Remove, let rest then chop up into cubes and pour a little more olive oil and salt. Take the liquid from the pan you just cooked, pour it in a mug then give it an ice bath. Add a little vinegar then pour over your salad.
Crunch up the shitake a little more to make a bacon like bit. Serve over a salad then mix together the tofu.
Eric’s tip for the shitake mushrooms: When you slice the mushrooms don’t slice them too thin or they will cook a lot faster than the recommended hour. I sliced them too thin and had to pull them at the 45 minute mark. They tasted fantastic and I highly recommend them.
Eric
Molecular Gastronomy Part I:
I’ve been reading into molecular gastronomy and the impact it has had on the culinary world over the past 20 or so years. I’m a little late to the party but I think there are some things that immediately stick out to me and make me excited about where it can take my novice culinary skills.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about then here are a few good names to research for yourself:
Herve This
Ferran Adria
Heston Blumenthal
Jose Andres
The concepts that I have seen take all your senses and turn them on their head while you eat. The first example I will be using is taking Shitake Mushrooms and giving them the taste of bacon by baking them for about an hour.
Why mess with bacon? Well, I have friends that I will be cooking for tonight that don’t eat meat and it’s the one thing they both say they miss. This is a very easy recipe that a Chef by the name of Elliot Prag created, you can see his video here (CLICK FOR VIDEO) .
My goal for this Molecular Gastronomy experiment will be to showcase a few recipes by other famous chefs then develop some recipes of my own. I’m ready for a lot of failure but I’m excited about the small possibility of success and creating something exciting.
I will post the results later tonight along with pictures. The people I’m cooking for have no idea I’m going to do this so hopefully everything will turn out great. If not, hot sauce!
Eric
Here is how it turned out: LINK
