gastronomy: techniques

emulsification, flash freezing, jellification, sous-vide, spherification, and transglutaminase

Gastronomy chefs come up with elaborate new ways to transform dining into an exciting and sensational experience to produce dishes that are more exotic. They use innovative techniques, such as emulsification, flash freezing, jellification, sous-vide, spherification, and transglutaminase, to cook exquisite meals.

emulsification

This technique depends on foam and air to give more flavor to the dish. The foam melts in your mouth giving a flavor that vanishes as quickly as it appears. This process only needs a hand blender to blend your chosen ingredient with food stabilizers and thickeners; however, reaching the correct balance is crucial.

flash freezing

Food is frozen using liquid nitrogen that enables water in fruits and vegetables to freeze without forming huge crystals or harming the cell membranes. This technique protects the frozen food’s exterior surface.

jellification

Jellification depends on the use of jellying agents, such as Agar-Agar (glossy noodles), Carrageenan (delicate and thick gels), Gellan gum (thicker gels), Methylcellulose (gel thickener), and Pectin (gel sugar in jams, sweet sauces, etc.), to change liquids into solid-like food.

sous-vide

In this technique, we slowly cook meat or vegetables in a vacuum bag in a water bath, the temperature of which is controlled; this can last for a couple of days. The food is evenly prepared without any juices escaping, which makes the dish tasty and juicy. This technique needs special equipment, like a “sous-vide machine” or some kind of immersion circulator, which are available for home use.

spherification

This technique relies on the chemical reaction between calcium alginate and calcium chloride that gel together when combined. This process is used to prepare faux caviar or ravioli-like spheres from liquid or puree such as fruit juice, olive oil and tea, and is savored in a solid state.

transglutaminase

Meat glue, or transglutaminase, is a flavorless enzyme that attaches foods rich in protein, such as meats, together. It is found in powder form, brushed on the sides of the meat pieces being attached; they are then pressed against each other for a specific time to completely gel. This can be fun as you can shape the meat into various new figures or attach two thin slices together, such as flap steak.

gastronomic videos

Carrot Air with Tangerine Granita - Molecular Gastronomy light foam

In this recipe we demonstrate how to make light foams using soy lecithin powder (usually called airs in molecular gastronomy).

Cooking with Liquid Nitrogen - 6 Techniques

In this video I show you several culinary techniques and tips for using liquid nitrogen as well as covering some important safety.

Molecular Gastronomy - Fruit Spaghetti Recipe

Sous Vide ACF Demo An Understanding of Molecular Gastronomy

An Understanding of Molecular Gastronomy, attendees will observe firsthand the connection needed for young culinarians to make the transitions from the Classics into Modernism and explore some of the movement's history, equipment and techniques.

Molecular Gastronomy: Frozen Reverse Spherification to Make Spheres with Liquid Inside

Learn how to easily make perfectly shaped spheres with liquid inside with Frozen Reverse Spherification, a variation of the molecular gastronomy technique developed by Chef Ferran Adria.

Transglutaminase crosslinking of different protein based foods

In nature, transglutaminases catalyze the formation of amide bonds between proteins to form insoluble protein aggregates (Rachel 2013). Transglutaminase is an enzyme that catalyses the formation of isopeptide bonds between proteins (Kieliszek 2014)

Foam Culinary Techniques: A 'Magic' Ingredient for Lacey or Creamy Foams

Light and lacey, or dense and creamy? Start with the right tools. Meet the menagerie of foaming agents and foam culinary techniques from Modernist Pantry, including the foaming powerhouse that stayed stable the entire length of this episode!

about foams in the kitchen

Chefs have been making different types of foam since the dawn of time. Whipped cream, meringues, soufflés, mousses and marshmallows all qualify as they each have a unique “foamy” light texture and mouthfeel due to the tiny air bubbles incorporated during mixing. More recently, culinary foams have become a part of molecular cooking techniques made famous by adventurous chefs who are incorporating more science into their cooking styles.

Culinary foams are created with rich base flavors like stock, fruit juices, and vegetable purées. These are combined with neutrally-flavored stabilizing or gelling agents for superior holding power, preventing ingredient breakdown later on and aiding to the foaming effect.

The scientific process of “foaming” can get very techy with details of emulsions and shearing power, surfactants (binding agents), interfacial tensions between liquid and gas phases, etc. Simply put, to create the ethereal foams of master chefs you’ll need to do a little research into foaming agents and experiment in the kitchen to determine which one will work best with your flavor base and which one will achieve your desired textural effect.

types of binding agents

Gelatin

Gelatin is a very efficient foam stabilizer (remember the marshmallow). Gelatins turn liquids into solids, and because they are flavorless keep fresh flavors intact without diluting them as fats can. Gelatins are derived from seaweed, animal proteins, fruit pectins or vegetables. Different gelatins have different foam stabilizing properties and gelatin for this use needs to be carefully selected.

Gelatin is a protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water. It is usually obtained from cows or pigs. Gelatin is used in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics; as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings (such as Jell-O); in candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, and yogurts; on photographic film; and in vitamins as a coating and as capsules, and it is sometimes used to assist in “clearing” wines. Gelatin is not vegan.

lecithin powder

Lecithin is classified as an “amphoteric” binding agent in that it can react with either an acid or a base. It is ideal for converting juices and watery liquids to airs and foams. To produce a stable foam, start with a ration of .6% of lecithin.

What is lecithin powder used for?

It helps blend dry ingredients evenly, aids in dough rising and improves the texture of the finished product. Lecithin powder can also act as an emulsifier in salad dressings and homemade sauces like mayonnaise and can help stabilize air-filled froths or foamy dishes like meringue, smoothies, shakes or whipped cream.

agar agar powder

Agar is a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed. Though chiefly used as an ingredient in desserts throughout Japan, many chefs worldwide are now experimenting with agar as it’s a good vegetarian alternative.

It can be used to make jelly sheets, or even slow the formation of sugar crystals when making ice cream, as demonstrated in Daniel Clifford's ginger ice cream recipe which uses agar agar. The most traditional use of agar agar though, is using it to set a coconut milk panna cotta or pandan jelly.

Kitchen Alchemy Foam Magic

Polysorbate 80 is a liquid that can be added to create foams. Much like Foam Magic it will make foams under almost any circumstance. With polysorbate 80 the foam won’t form if there is fat present. But why? All of these ingredients lie on a scale known as the HLB scale. HLB stands for hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, or in easier terms water loving-fat loving balance.

HLB scale has a range from 0-18, 0 being hydrophobic (fear!) and 18 being hydrophilic (love). On the extreme ends of this scale if an ingredient is purely hydrophilic it is also lipophobic (water loving = fat fearing) and vice versa. If something falls within the mid range of the scale it will “play nice” with both water and fats. The range these fall into is the 7-16 range which is a water based emulsifying.

This is why they tend to grab onto those oil molecules and bring them into the mix. Unfortunately oil molecules are on the lower range (2-3) of the HLB scale. The correct term for this range is known as the “anti-foaming range”. This is why the oils breaks the surface tension of the foam.

books on gastronomy

in conclusion

Gastronomy chefs keep trying to come up with more techniques to prepare dishes that are more exquisite. This enables diners to experiment new flavors, that cannot be produced using normal cooking methods.

All the aforementioned techniques provide more sensory pleasures that took years to perfect. They enrich the whole experience of eating out in restaurants by providing more dish and flavor varieties through mixing different foods, that were not previously combined together, by using science to inspire ingenious ideas and flavors.

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