Do you know your airs from your foams, your kuzu from your agar? Even better, do you want your dinner guests to squeal with delight as your starter, a spherification of Mozzarrella and tomato perhaps, bursts unprecedented flavour into their mouths? Think this is all a little bit too elBulli? Think again.
Infusions4Chefs it seems is making it easy for everyone to get involved, from Michelin starred restaurants to the simplest of domestic kitchens by demystifying the whole area and providing online access to everything you need to get started. Endlessly fascinated by what other people do, we were delighted to link up with Infusions4Chefs to peep inside their 'fun room' and to try our own hands at the cooking techniques that have changed the face of contemporary dining.
Entering the 'fun room' (certainly a more apt name than test kitchen), the first thing you notice is that it's not a science lab. We're sure there's a low pressure evaporator somewhere, a centrifuge in the cupboard maybe, but for today, almost everything used is low cost and low tech. Put another way, the barriers to adopting these technique are similarly low, inhibited only by your desire to get involved and willingness to get your apron (rather than lab coat) dirty. Our host for the day, Jeremy Medley, makes everything approachable, filling you with confidence that you really can do this yourself at home.
What you will see that you probably don't (yet) have in you kitchen is containers of semi familiar (?) sounding ingredients like Lecite, Metil and Algin. Take a closer look at the packaging and you'll see written below the Texturas brand name 'Albert y Ferran Adria', for this line is indeed that of the world's most famous chef and restaurant. Elsewhere, you'll see Mugaritz Experiences, the official ingredient line of Mugaritz for Infusion4Chefs is the sole UK importer of these products and therefore the go-to place for those who want to explore. What it also means of course is that Infusions is the real deal.
So where to start our little odyssey? It has to be surely the most famous technique of them all: spherification of course.
Infusions4Chefs it seems is making it easy for everyone to get involved, from Michelin starred restaurants to the simplest of domestic kitchens by demystifying the whole area and providing online access to everything you need to get started. Endlessly fascinated by what other people do, we were delighted to link up with Infusions4Chefs to peep inside their 'fun room' and to try our own hands at the cooking techniques that have changed the face of contemporary dining.
Entering the 'fun room' (certainly a more apt name than test kitchen), the first thing you notice is that it's not a science lab. We're sure there's a low pressure evaporator somewhere, a centrifuge in the cupboard maybe, but for today, almost everything used is low cost and low tech. Put another way, the barriers to adopting these technique are similarly low, inhibited only by your desire to get involved and willingness to get your apron (rather than lab coat) dirty. Our host for the day, Jeremy Medley, makes everything approachable, filling you with confidence that you really can do this yourself at home.
What you will see that you probably don't (yet) have in you kitchen is containers of semi familiar (?) sounding ingredients like Lecite, Metil and Algin. Take a closer look at the packaging and you'll see written below the Texturas brand name 'Albert y Ferran Adria', for this line is indeed that of the world's most famous chef and restaurant. Elsewhere, you'll see Mugaritz Experiences, the official ingredient line of Mugaritz for Infusion4Chefs is the sole UK importer of these products and therefore the go-to place for those who want to explore. What it also means of course is that Infusions is the real deal.
So where to start our little odyssey? It has to be surely the most famous technique of them all: spherification of course.
your new exotics
the official El Bulli line
more conventional ingredients
Jeremy Medley of Infusions4Chefs
Spherification was made famous by elBulli though the process is said to have been discovered by Unilever back in the 1950s. What spherification does is produce a sphere of liquid held by a thin gel membrane resulting in a burst of flavour in your mouth as the membrane breaks. Jeremy had already prepared a Mozzarrella sphere injected with beetroot juice for additional flavour which was a sizeable example. We meanwhile have a go with mandarin.
We discover there are two methods available here: spherification and reverse spherification. The important element in both is Algin (Sodium Alginate, NaC6H7O6 for real geeks) which is found in brown algae and is a gelling agent/emulsifier. In brief, in (ordinary) spherification, the substance (here mandarin juice) is mixed with an Algin solution and dripped into calcium chloride (or carbonate) to form the spheres. There's one drawback to this however: this process, once started, does not stop until the whole sphere is semi solid, so that 'caviar' produced in this way needs to be served within minutes of production for the liquid centre to still be available.
Accordingly, a more controlled spherification was required. To achieve this, the technique was reversed with calcium solution now placed in the liquid to be spherified while the bath itself is now Algin. To stop the process, merely lift the sphere from the bath and wash off any Algin in water so giving you a liquid centre sphere to be used as required.
We discover there are two methods available here: spherification and reverse spherification. The important element in both is Algin (Sodium Alginate, NaC6H7O6 for real geeks) which is found in brown algae and is a gelling agent/emulsifier. In brief, in (ordinary) spherification, the substance (here mandarin juice) is mixed with an Algin solution and dripped into calcium chloride (or carbonate) to form the spheres. There's one drawback to this however: this process, once started, does not stop until the whole sphere is semi solid, so that 'caviar' produced in this way needs to be served within minutes of production for the liquid centre to still be available.
Accordingly, a more controlled spherification was required. To achieve this, the technique was reversed with calcium solution now placed in the liquid to be spherified while the bath itself is now Algin. To stop the process, merely lift the sphere from the bath and wash off any Algin in water so giving you a liquid centre sphere to be used as required.
syringe as a handy dropper
Up next it's fun with 'spaghetti'. This is remarkably simple and today we use a combination of Agar and beetroot juice. Agar, as the Infusions website tells me, is extracted from red algae and has been used in Japan since the 15th Century - so much then for modern chemistry. Agar is another gelling agent but one with a great deal of elasticity so ideally suited to looping round giving spaghetti like features. This technique was very much a staple at elBulli and appeared on our menu there as 'tagliatelle of consommé' (course 19 on our blog post). With the solution in the syringe, it's just a question of squeezing it out through the tubing.
beetroot spaghetti
Kappa, a short strand gel that can be sliced
Foam versus air, the old chestnut. Our next venture is to produce 'air' which is often mistaken (by us also I'm sure) for foam. The key ingredient here is Lecite, a soy based emulsifier. We're using lime juice with water (to soften) and Lecite, all precisely measured. The mix is simply agitated with a hand blender and voila, an air. We spoon this onto some apple juice that allows you to see how the 'air' can sit on top of another liquid so literally layering flavours. The air will keep its body for some time.
After the air, we have a little fun with Malic acid (think sour sweets) before we move on to make a foam with a whipper/espuma gun. Here, the gun is charged with nitrous oxide to produce the foam but given that foams produced with N2O are inherently unstable, the foam will tend to collapse some minutes after production, something we've all seen in a restaurant from time to time. The answer here is to add ProEspuma to stabilise the foam, and when it comes out of the Espuma gun, it has good body which remains stable for a long time after.
Espuma gun
gas canisters
beetroot foam
foams holding their form minutes after creation
As well as N2O in the Espuma gun, carbon dioxide (CO2) can also be used (the gas used in fizzy drinks) and while not suited to whipping cream for obvious reasons, it can be amusingly used to make fizzy berries, or in this case, fizzy grapes. The grapes in the canister with the CO2 become fizzy when left, simple as that, so when you eat them (if you don't know they've been in the cannister), it's a real surprise.
Air Bag, descriptive of the product but strangely not; this is in fact granules of pork crackling that can be used as a topping/coating to give a pork crackling bonus to your dish, as was recently seen in Daniel Clifford's GBM fish dish. The 'air bag' name comes of course from the pork crackling that fills with air.
So, very simple done here, take your tub of Air Bag, spoon out a little and heat in a saucepan, and then, after a short time, a bowl full of crispy crackling granules materialises. Air Bag is also available in wheat, and wheat and potato. We kept snacking on the pork crackling throughout the rest of the afternoon, it's great, really.
So, very simple done here, take your tub of Air Bag, spoon out a little and heat in a saucepan, and then, after a short time, a bowl full of crispy crackling granules materialises. Air Bag is also available in wheat, and wheat and potato. We kept snacking on the pork crackling throughout the rest of the afternoon, it's great, really.
fun with the AntiGriddle (minus 40 degrees C)
On to microwave sponge. In our example today, a blue cheese yoghurt mix is poured into the Espuma, foamed into a plastic cup and then given a 30 second turn in the microwave. The result, as we've also seen in the examples above is transformation between tastes and associated textures, here in the creation of a blue cheese yoghurt sponge.
microwave sponge
Our final play is with lactose which is sugar like without adding sweetness. We mix Lactose with Big Tom spiced tomato juice and heat in the pan while stirring. The result is a solid, comparable to a breakfast crunchy oat cereal in texture, but flavoured however you want, here, with spicy tomato.
The Lactose
Our time with Infusions4Chefs was educational, inspiring and indeed, empowering. Having been in restaurants where we have been served some of the above to us as guests, and as GBM this year showed, where there's still nevertheless widespread ignorance/innocence even in the professional community about using these agents in food, to have this demystified provided for a really special day.
There are two key points to take away from this in our view. First, there's nothing to be frightened of here, you don't need a PhD in chemistry to involve yourself with this stuff (just a good set of scales) so go ahead, play with it and enjoy yourself. Second, it's as accessible for the home chef as it is for the professional with, for most of what we did today, the Espuma gun (£48.95) the fanciest piece of equipment needed.
The main business of Infusions4Chefs (online) is the selling these products over the 'net into the UK market so they would be delighted to help you get up and running, so if you're interested doing any of the stuff that we've noted above but till now have not known where to start, you can find everything you need on their website:
http://www.infusions4chefs.co.uk
If you want to follow what they're up to at Infusions more broadly, follow them on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/infusions4chefs
and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Infusions4chefs/301140609965146?ref=tn_tnmn
A huge thanks from us to Jeremy who was a brilliant guide, and the whole of the Infusions team for hosting us today. Having seen even just this small glimpse into the power of these agents, we're already gripped by an urge to do more and know more in what is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating areas of food today (they don't call it the 'fun room' for nothing). If you too are intrigued by this area of cooking, and especially if you don't know where to start, drop a line to the nice folks at Infusions4Chefs, guaranteed, you'll be producing liquid spaghetti in no time at all and your dinner parties will, like you, rapidly become the talk of the town.
Other viewing
Watch Infusions4Chefs on YouTube by clicking here
Other reading
Discover more from Infusions together with official elBulli recipes by clicking here (downloads Word document)
Return to homepage
There are two key points to take away from this in our view. First, there's nothing to be frightened of here, you don't need a PhD in chemistry to involve yourself with this stuff (just a good set of scales) so go ahead, play with it and enjoy yourself. Second, it's as accessible for the home chef as it is for the professional with, for most of what we did today, the Espuma gun (£48.95) the fanciest piece of equipment needed.
The main business of Infusions4Chefs (online) is the selling these products over the 'net into the UK market so they would be delighted to help you get up and running, so if you're interested doing any of the stuff that we've noted above but till now have not known where to start, you can find everything you need on their website:
http://www.infusions4chefs.co.uk
If you want to follow what they're up to at Infusions more broadly, follow them on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/infusions4chefs
and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Infusions4chefs/301140609965146?ref=tn_tnmn
A huge thanks from us to Jeremy who was a brilliant guide, and the whole of the Infusions team for hosting us today. Having seen even just this small glimpse into the power of these agents, we're already gripped by an urge to do more and know more in what is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating areas of food today (they don't call it the 'fun room' for nothing). If you too are intrigued by this area of cooking, and especially if you don't know where to start, drop a line to the nice folks at Infusions4Chefs, guaranteed, you'll be producing liquid spaghetti in no time at all and your dinner parties will, like you, rapidly become the talk of the town.
Other viewing
Watch Infusions4Chefs on YouTube by clicking here
Other reading
Discover more from Infusions together with official elBulli recipes by clicking here (downloads Word document)
Return to homepage