Comments on: How food spherification works

By: AJE

AJE — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:51:00 +0000

That’s actually a surprisingly terrible & confused job of describing spherification. When the cations are put into alginate, this is typically referred to as ‘reverse speherification’, and author neglects to explain that the thickness of these shells can be precisely controlled and importantly are subsequently stable, while normal spherification (alginate into cation bath) is the only process where the drops once prepared must be rushed to serve, as the gelation process will continue (cations keep diffusing inward).
Better choices are Texture:http://blog.khymos.org/recipe-collection/or Harvard’s Science & Cooking class, which is available through itunes U for free, where you can have people with a modicum more knowledge like Ferran Adria and David Weitz explain it.

By: siloxane

siloxane — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Those kits have been featured here before. Mark posted a video of his daughter mixing up a box. Looks like fun.

By: mzed

mzed — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:55:00 +0000

Here’s my stab at it:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Carrot-Caviar/

Carrot martinis?

By: OoerictoO

OoerictoO — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:08:00 +0000

don’t call it “molecular gastronomy”. many chefs feel that term is prejudicial. just call it experimental or modernist.
many techniques are extremely useful and produce flavors and textures unavailable otherwise.

By: Pliny_the_Elder

Pliny_the_Elder — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:04:00 +0000

AND THEN in “The Horrific Practice of Making Pie” the chef cuts the chilled, rendered fat of a pig into the finely ground endosperm of a wheat berry.

By: csteelatgburg

csteelatgburg — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:44:00 +0000

This makes me think of Prelude to Foundation and the spheres they made at the yeast farms.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:43:00 +0000

“They forgot the part about the subsequent $300 dinner bill.”

they also forgot the part about the potential for a $30 dollar dinner bill, is the fuck.

Although, it could be you. Your call.

By: Kevin Pierce

Kevin Pierce — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:38:00 +0000

How It’s Made did an episode on Kelp Caviar, using a similar process:
http://science.discovery.com/videos/how-its-made-7-kelp-caviar.html
Bomp-bomp-bomp-ba-bomp… (I hear the theme music just thinking about it)

By: corey f lyons

corey f lyons — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:33:00 +0000

probably years ago… this is pretty old hat in the food world

By: corey f lyons

corey f lyons — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:32:00 +0000

THIS. thank you. that article bugged me so much… i basically read, “I HATE THINGS THAT ARE NEW GET OFF MY LAWN”

By: Hubris Sonic

Hubris Sonic — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:56:00 +0000

This is quite interesting, just had a course at Bo Innovation in Hong Kong that did a entire pork & chinese red vinegar soup in a ball. Excellent flavors…

By: caipirina

caipirina — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:24:00 +0000

I’d love to make my own faux Ikura that way (as it is not available where I live) … but sounds like a lot of work, i don’t have a centrifuge, and I wonder if / how I would need to adjust to high altitude …

By: ImmutableMichael

ImmutableMichael — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:41:00 +0000

I can imagine him making “green peas” out of spheriefied pea purée. Ha, the juxtaposition of pea flavor and pea shape! Brilliant….

By: tnmc

tnmc — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:38:00 +0000

I’ve been playing with this stuff at home. It’s fun, tastes great and - so long as you don’t fall into the trap of making technique the focus of your meal – not at all horrifying and rather delicious.

By: allybeag

allybeag — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:02:00 +0000

Wonder if Heston Blumenthal has tried this yet?

By: Daemonworks

Daemonworks — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:36:00 +0000

When I was in Japan, one of my friends found a candy sushi making set, in which all of the sushi is made by mixing various powders and water to create gummy sushi.

The process for making the fake salmon roe looks to be exactly what’s described here – and the results were impressive. Looked exactly right, and the people who’ve eaten the real thing described the texture as being identical, though the candy obviously tasted better.

By: Jorpho

Jorpho — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:05:00 +0000

you may be missing out on some great great possibilities because your refuse to see them

WTF? The existence of affordable restaurants in Massachusetts does not preclude that of overpriced establishments that offer “molecular gastronomy”, and vice versa.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:45:00 +0000

$300? Maybe? Not actually though.

I’ve eaten roe which were actually an onion aspic in spheroid form, as part of an amazing, and not unaffordable ($<30 without wine) enormously filling and satisfying multicourse dining experience.

It was at Nudel in Lenox, MA. I may have the details wrong. I will eat anything there.

If you think that only ever costs 300 dollars and therefore is inaccessible, you may be missing out on some great great possibilities because your refuse to see them, but not because they are out of reach.

By: Jorpho

Jorpho — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:24:00 +0000

Then there’s just enough time to say, “Oh. You served me vegetable soup in cold, quivering ball form. How original,” and it’s down the reluctant hatch.

They forgot the part about the subsequent $300 dinner bill.

By: robuluz

robuluz — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 04:22:00 +0000

Wow! Don’t hate on food spherification around Boing Boing, mofo!

By: Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet

Rachael Hoffman-Dachelet — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:56:00 +0000

Horrifying maybe, but also deeply compelling. I have had well made spherical salad dressing, and sauce, and once even soup. I love the weird texture and fish-egg like pop.

While at Ikea recently I purchased seaweed “garnish” which appear to be little black seaweed balls to use in place of fish eggs for vegetarians. I look forward to trying them.

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:51:00 +0000

Thank you, took the words out of my mouth.

By: JC C

JC C — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Food Pills!!ELEVENTY!! Must have some to keep in the glove box of my flying car!

By: EH

EH — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:42:00 +0000

Heh, yeah. Shot-towers were the first thing to come to mind for me. :)

By: SedanChair

SedanChair — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:15:00 +0000

Y-yum

By: daemonsquire

daemonsquire — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:58:00 +0000

She can act all "horrified" if she likes but it won't make the "salmon eggs" in my candy sushi any less fun or delicious.

By: chaopoiesis

chaopoiesis — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:49:00 +0000

The exquisite irony being that with only minor textual adjustments the very same essay could be published under the title “The Horrific Practice of French Frying”.

By: Manuel Smirnoff

Manuel Smirnoff — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Relying on unsupported liquids’ tendency to form balls (achieving the minimum volume relative to surface area–works for bubbles, too), and then treating the balls to solidify them. Chemically, for the food mentioned, but by cooling for lead shot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_shot#Manufacturing