Month March 2007

First experiments with sodium alginate

Here’s some pictures and a video of my first experiments with sodium alginate and spherification. I used sodium alginate from the Texturas series and calcium chloride from a drug store. Needless to say, I’m very fascinated by the texture and…

DJ for your nose: Aroma jockey Odo7

Erich Berghammer, also known as Odo7 [homepage, myspace] is an aroma jockey or AJ for short. He blows scents over his audience with huge fans and has stocked up a pantry with exotic spices, roots, leafs, oils, extracts and herbs.…

TGIF: Fed up with foam?

When many people hear molecular gastronomy, they think of culinary foams, originally introduced by Ferran Adria at El Bulli. In case you’re fed up with the foams, here’s a T-shirt to express your feelings: Personally, I can’t even say I’ve…

Practical molecular gastronomy, part 4

(Photo by vintage_patrisha at flickr.com) 4. Learn how to control the texture of food Taste and flavour normally get more attention when food is discussed, but the texture of food is equally important and our tongue is very sensitive, not…

Simple temperature calculations

Although I recommend the use of a thermometer, sometimes it’s convenient to know how you can also manage without. If you mix water at two different (but known) temperatures, you can easily calculate the temperature after mixing. Just multiply the…

Cooking fish in cooling water

I have previously written about how you can cook a perfect steak with a simple DIY sous vide technique. Of course low temperature cooking applies equally well to fish with the only difference that the temperature can be turned down…

TGIF: Molecular chocolate

When eating this chocolate, you eat a molecular model of what you are eating (well, at least one of it’s components) – theobromine! It’s the brainchild of two Belgians, chocolatier Pierre Marcolini and furniture designer Dirk Meylaerts. More info on…