A lot of us are fascinated by the concepts of of molecular gastronomy, but some how we fail to understand the true worth of this science. Molecular gastronomy is not just playing with ingredients and preparing food that seems ravishing.. It is mostly about understand the food and experience we can have or we can give to the diner. a simplest of a preparation can me modified or re constructed to give it that BOOM factor.
Example: Mojito cocktail.
Traditionally, a mojito is a cocktail that consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, sparkeling water and mint ( courtesy wikepedia) .This would be a guest expectation on ordering a Mojito from a bar, its a simple but a beautiful way to glass a cocktail. Now what if can reconstruct it in a different way...
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1tsp (5gms)sugar
3 lime wedges
12 leaves of fresh mint
1 1/2 oz(60ml) white rum
1/4 cups (60 ml) club soda
a dash lime juice
2 cups(450 ml) Distilled water
1.25 gms calcium lactate
2 gms sodium alginate
METHOD
1, In am mixing glass, put calcium lactate, sugar, lime wedges and mint leaves.
2, Mix and crush using a pestle
4, Put small mint leaves in small round molds.
5, Filter mix and fill up moulds with it. freeze.
6, In a bowl, dissilve the sodium alginate in 2 cups of water with a hand blender or an eggbeater. set aside 15 mis
7, Unmold the pieces in the sodium alginate bath and set aside 3 mis
8, Pick up the raviolis thus formed with a pierces spoon and riense them in water bowl.
9, serve the raviolis on testing spoons.
This method of creating spheres out of liquid is called as Spherification. Spherification is a culinary process of shaping a liquid into spheres with liquid filled center and a gel like exterior casing (as in a egg yolk). The technique was originally discovered by Unilever in the 1950's and brought to the modernist cuisine by the creative team of elBulli under the direction of executive chef Ferran Adria
There are two main methods for creating such spheres, which differ based on the calcium content in the product to be spherified. For substances containing no calcium, the liquid is mixed with sodium alginate, and dripped into a cold solution of calcium chloride orcalcium carbonate. Reverse spherification, for use with substances which contain calcium, requires dripping the substance into an alginate bath.
