Modernist Cooking Made Easy (30 page)

Authors: Jason Logsdon

Tags: #Cooking, #Methods, #Gourmet

C
HIPOTLE
C
AVIAR

Using miniature spheres, referred to as caviar, is a great way to add little bursts of flavor to dishes. Here we use a chipotle water but you can use the same technique on any liquid that doesn’t contain calcium.

These caviar are great additions to a tortilla soup or when placed on top of a Mexican spiced flank steak or grilled chicken. You could even use them as a garnish for Bloody Marys. Use as many chipotles as you want, or even just some hot sauce, but remember the diner will get a burst of the spice so it shouldn’t be too strong.

You have to move quickly during the final steps of making these caviar because they set very quickly and continue gelling. Sometimes it can help if two people work together, one dripping in the chipotle water and the other fishing them out.

Tools Needed

Sodium alginate

Calcium lactate

Immersion blender

Slotted spoon

Plastic syringe, squeeze bottle, or eye dropper

A scale with small gram measurements

Ingredients

For the Chipotle Caviar

400 grams water

1 to 4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, to taste

4 grams sodium alginate, 1.0%

For the Setting Bath

1000 grams water

5 grams calcium lactate, 0.5%

Add the water and chipotle chiles to a pot and blend well with an immersion blender. Bring to a boil. Taste for spiciness, adding more chipotle peppers and pureeing if needed. Remove from the heat. Add the sodium alginate and blend with an immersion blender. Let cool and then refrigerate for several hours or overnight so the bubbles disperse.

Make the setting bath by adding the calcium lactate to the water and blending with a clean immersion blender. Fill another bowl with water to use as the rinsing bath.

Just before serving, prepare the caviar. Slowly drip the chipotle water into the setting bath using the syringe, squeeze bottle or eye dropper. After 30-45 seconds take out the caviar with the slotted spoon, place them in the rinsing bath, and swirl them around gently. Repeat until you have used all the chipotle water.

Serve the caviar as quickly as possible because they will continue to solidify.

X
ANTHAN
G
UM

You can also get a lot of this modernist cooking information on your mobile phone if you have an iPhone, iPad or an Android.

You can get more information at:

www.modernistcookingmadeeasy.com/molecular-gastronomy-app

or search the app store for “molecular gastronomy”

X
ANTHAN
G
UM
A
T A
G
LANCE

Common Names

Xanthan, Xanthan Gum, Xantana, Keltrol

Basic Ratios By Weight

0.1-0.3% thin sauce

0.3-1.0% thick sauce

0.2-0.8% foams

0.1-0.5% emulsion stabilization

Dispersion Temperature

Any

Hydration Temperature

Any

Xanthan gum, or just xanthan, is one of the easiest ingredients to work. It is used extensively to thicken liquids and is a great ingredient to use to turn thin liquids into savory sauces.

It can hydrate or disperse at any temperature, and does so quickly, making it one of the few ingredients you can add slowly and instantly see the result.

Xanthan gum is produced through the fermentation of glucose with a bacteria found in cabbage, known as Xanthomonas campesteris.

When used as a thickener in low dosages, xanthan gum produces a weak gel with high viscosity. This gel will also be
thixotropic
or shear thinning with a high pourability. This means that when the gel is at rest it maintains its shape but when stirred or mixed it begins to flow again as a liquid and then resets once the agitation stops.

Xanthan gum has a very neutral flavor so it mixes well with foods without masking their flavor. It provides an improved mouth feel to preparations, slightly thickening a liquid similar to how traditionally reducing a liquid does.

U
SES OF
X
ANTHAN
G
UM

Often times the presence of bubbles within thickened liquids creates light and creamy textures. Xanthan gum also displays excellent stabilizing abilities that allow for particle suspension, which can create many interesting presentations.

Xanthan gum is gluten free and is often used as a substitute in baking and thickening. It also helps baked goods to retain more moisture than they would have otherwise.

In addition it prevents syneresis, the leaking out of water, in gels and emulsions. When mixed into products that will be frozen it helps prevent ice formation and crystallization, which leads to a more stable product during the freeze-thaw process.

When mixed into batters or tempura xanthan gum adds good cling, allowing the batter to stick more easily to the food.

Xanthan gum does not lose its properties when microwaved.

D
ISPERSION AND
H
YDRATION

Xanthan gum is very easy to disperse and hydrate.

Dispersing the Xanthan Gum

Dispersing xanthan gum is very easy and can be done in liquids of any temperature. It can typically be mixed in using a whisk, though an immersion or standing blender works best.

You can also improve the dispersion of xanthan gum by first mixing it with sugar, then adding it to the liquid. This is similar to making a slurry out of flour and cold water before adding it to gravy to prevent clumping. The sugar will prevent the xanthan gum from hydrating until it has been dispersed enough in the liquid for the sugar percent to go down.

Hydrating the Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum will pretty much hydrate in liquid of any temperature. However, if the liquid is very sugary then it can have trouble hydrating. Typically, if the sugar is less than 55% to 60% it will work fine.

T
HICKENING
W
ITH
X
ANTHAN
G
UM

One of the primary uses of xanthan gum is to thicken liquids. This can range from very minor thickening to creating very thick syrups depending on the other ingredients and the amount of xanthan gum used.

Another benefit of thickening with xanthan gum is that it greatly increases particle suspension. This means if you have herbs, spices, or other items in the liquid then the addition of xanthan gum will help keep them in suspension instead of settling to the bottom or rising to the top.

Xanthan Gum Thickening Process

To thicken a liquid with xanthan gum you just combine the xanthan gum with the liquid you want to thicken by whisking or blending. The liquid will thicken very quickly.

For thicker sauces that have been sitting you can stir or whisk them briefly to make them flow better, this is called shear-thinning. Once they have been plated they will regain their previous viscosity as long as they haven’t been heated to too high of a temperature.

Most thickened liquids will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator.

Xanthan Gum Thickening Ratios

The amount of xanthan gum you will use depends on how much you would like to thicken the liquid. In general, you will use a 0.2% weight ratio for light thickening, 0.7% for a thicker sauce, and up to 1.5% for a very thick sauce.

Be warned though, adding too much xanthan gum can result in a texture and mouthfeel resembling mucus.

B
ALSAMIC
V
INEGAR
S
YRUP

This balsamic vinegar syrup helps to showcase the thickening benefits of xanthan gum. It is simply a mixture of good balsamic vinegar with some honey to sweeten it. Adding the xanthan gum thickens it into a syrup without altering the flavor like reducing it in a traditional manner would. Feel free to tweak the amount of honey based on the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar you are using.

Tools Needed

Xanthan gum

Immersion or standing blender

A scale with small gram measurements

Ingredients

150 grams good balsamic vinegar, about ⅔ cup

20 grams honey, about 1 tablespoon

1.7 grams
xanthan gum
, 1.0%

Combine all of the ingredients in a container that can hold them comfortably. Blend them together using an immersion blender until they form the xanthan gum balsamic vinegar syrup. You can easily adjust the thickness of the syrup by adding more balsamic vinegar or xanthan gum as needed.

The xanthan gum balsamic vinegar syrup will last for several hours in a useable state. It can also be refrigerated for a few days.

When ready to serve spoon or drizzle the syrup onto your dish. It is great over strawberries with some mint, or as a sauce for ribs.

S
PICY
O
RANGE
S
AUCE

This orange sauce is one of my favorites. It combines the sweet acidity of orange juice with a little heat from the chipotles. If you prefer a more mild sauce feel free to omit the chipotles.

I love searing some steak or chicken, cutting them into chunks, and mixing it into this sauce to be served over rice. It’s also great as a dressing for a spicy chopped salad.

This recipe uses xanthan gum to help thicken the sauce without having to reduce it. It also helps coat the food you end up using it on much better.

Tools Needed

Xanthan gum

Immersion blender

A scale with small gram measurements

Ingredients

40 grams sesame oil, about 3 tablespoons

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1-2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, or a few drops of chipotle hot sauce

355 grams orange juice, about 1½ cups