Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 24, 2015 15:46:18 GMT -5
What exactly is Molecular Gastronomy/Modernist Cuisine? At heart it's simply trying to understand the science behind everything that's going on in our food. More than that though, it's about using that knowledge to mess around and play with our food, doing interesting or unexpected things and fooling/delighting our senses as we eat. Yes this does sometime lead to some really annoying food trends (personally I hope the flavoured foam thing just dies as I always think it looks like someone has been spitting on the meal) but it has also produced some really neat ideas.  Green Eggs and Ham  Spherified Cranberry Juice As I've discussed a few times I've long been part of a group of food chatters elsewhere and that was sort of my gateway into this more sciencey side of food. More than a few of them have the wonderful books: Modernist at Home and a few of them have the truly ridiculous professional level books. I'm nowhere near that invested (yet.) I have a pdf of the at home book and plan to buy the real thing once my kitchen remodel happens. A lot of the recipes in the big book require machinery that no one really needs in a personal kitchen but the At Home book really simplified a lot of things and there are honestly a great number of neat food things you can do with a $20 amazon order. So here's my first thing, the gateway recipe for a ton of people to playing with this. Modernist Mac and Cheese: The joy of cheese is that it's an emulsion of fat and water and that emulsion starts to break down as it cooks. Some cheese are better at holding their flavour than others and some are particularly bad about becoming grainy and seizing quickly (think of some fondues the moment the heat slows down.) This is often the problem with mac and cheese... either the sauce is made with heavily oily artificial cheese products or it's reliant on cheese mixed into a bechamel that often blands out the flavour of the cheese, particularly if you're trying to use something more interesting cheese wise. The folks behind this recipe set out to make a goopy mac and cheese that you could make with pretty much any cheese. Basically imagine a velveeta silky cheese sauce but made with real cheese and all the flavour of whatever you put in. Sodium Citrate is obviously the “huh?” ingredient here for a lot of people. It’s basically a natural salt of citric acid that helps create a smooth emulsion of the cheese sauce. This is apparently because it lowers the pH of the sauce and allows the liquid and the fats in the cheese to form a stronger bond and turn into a velvety smooth sauce. Sodium Citrate is available on Amazon or from places like Modernist Pantry and will only set you back a few bucks (and lasts for a while as I think the usual size serving was a TBSP or two of it) I've made this with everthing from old cheddar to jarlsberg to a 4 cheese blend including some really stinky stilton and it always turns out a mouthwatering cheese packed worth dying for Mac and Cheese. The sauce is incredibly rich and the recipe has a baked adaptation that in my mind is even better (and I will post the full version at some point, it's even more ridiculously decadent) I have yet to try the Gorgonzola and Fontina with Walnuts and Mushrooms variation they suggest.  The photos are from a Jarlsberg batch I believe.... The sauce:  Then end product:  For 2ish cups of macaroni (serves 4-5) and using cheddar Milk: 1 1/8 Cups Sodium Citrate: 11g Combine them both in an easily whiskable pot until they dissolve then bring it to a simmer. Add 4 Cups of Fine Grated Cheddar bit by bit (I usually do it a spoon at a time) using an immersion blender to process it into the milk base, keep processing it until everything is completely smooth. Fold into your cooked macaroni and add anything else (bacon?) you want. Cheese sauce can be made ahead and kept up to a week (or frozen for a couple months) and is pretty ridiculous on anything. My mother once asked that I show her how to make it just to top cauliflower with a swiss based sauce. I've also done it with really hot pepper jack and topped nachos with it. |
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Post by Lord Lucan on Aug 24, 2015 15:57:24 GMT -5
Oh, for Christ's sake. Molecular gastronomy. I haven't thought about that for a while. I once bought an ex a coffee table book detailing all manner of such crazy shit by [Heston] Blumenthal because she was into it. I remember a recipe for bacon and egg ice cream.
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 24, 2015 16:14:31 GMT -5
Oh, for Christ's sake. Molecular gastronomy. I haven't thought about that for a while. I once bought an ex a coffee table book detailing all manner of such crazy shit by Hans Blumenthal because she was into it. I remember a recipe for bacon and egg ice cream. I had one inspired by that once, it was really good. This is obviously going to be a thread more on home cook type things, I figure this would be a good Sous-Vide discussion area too since that fits in pretty well and SV cooking methods often come up in modernist recipes. |
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Post by Lord Lucan on Aug 24, 2015 16:21:56 GMT -5
Oh, for Christ's sake. Molecular gastronomy. I haven't thought about that for a while. I once bought an ex a coffee table book detailing all manner of such crazy shit by Hans Blumenthal because she was into it. I remember a recipe for bacon and egg ice cream. I had one inspired by that once, it was really good. This is obviously going to be a thread more on home cook type things, I figure this would be a good Sous-Vide discussion area too since that fits in pretty well and SV cooking methods often come up in modernist recipes. I don't doubt that it was! I found it very interesting. I just wasn't enough of an epicure myself to ever quite get into it. Perhaps this thread will be the thing that does it. |
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Post by pairesta on Aug 24, 2015 16:46:16 GMT -5
I've unfortunately never been to any of the big temples of MG like El Bulli or even Alinea in Chicago. I have had lots of regrettable attempts at it though, including a Foie Gras milkshake that still haunts me to this day.
But the best attempt I've had was just an understated bit of fun at the Inn At Little Washington, when you got a "martini". It looked like an olive, you put it in your mouth, it instantly liquefied, and there was gin and vermouth. I laughed out loud.
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Aug 25, 2015 6:11:11 GMT -5
Hurray! I'm happy for this thread! I have one of the kits for doing this (it was a gift), but I haven't opened it yet. This will give me more reason to. Here's some things I've done so far: 1. Using maltodextrin to make powders, or snows. I've done this with nutella and peanut butter.  Gorganzola Custard with Roasted Grapes, Nutella Crumbles and an Espresso Balsamic Glaze2. I've used both lecithin and an iSi charger with nitrogen to make Parmigiano-Reggiano foam on a seafood risotto, an olive oil foam that went under a mini ball of cantaloupe with candied mint, and a few more that i did years ago, so I can't recall what they were. 3. I've used gelatin to make a consomme (a clear, very flavorful broth), whereas this is normally done by making a raft with egg whites to collect all the particles in the broth, with gelatin, you add, cook, then freeze. All the solids collect, and you strain out the clear broth.  Lobster ConsomméSome guides or references I've found to be helpful: For everything: blog.khymos.org/recipe-collection/Download the PDF. For the gelatin raft process: www.playingwithfireandwater.com/foodplay/2008/02/unbloody-mary.html It's a clear bloody mary, with a vegetal sphere. |
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dＬᵒ
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Post by dＬᵒ on Aug 29, 2015 12:42:01 GMT -5
So can someone recommend a good vacuum sealer and bags?
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Post by Liz n Dick on Aug 29, 2015 13:19:36 GMT -5
So can someone recommend a good vacuum sealer and bags? If I was forced to marry one of the appliances in my kitchen, I'd choose my Weston vacuum sealer. I don't know what kind of fancy-pantsy modernist food applications you're talking about here, but just from an "I put shit in my freezer" usage standpoint, this thing is unbeatable. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? ABSOLUTELY. |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 31, 2015 9:01:17 GMT -5
The midrange foodsaver one I have is acceptable, but certainly not a worldbeater.
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Aug 31, 2015 9:03:27 GMT -5
So can someone recommend a good vacuum sealer and bags? If you want to hold off on buying one, first try just using gallon size freezer-grade ziplock bags. Put what you want in the bag, close most of it except for the corner, then submerge the bag in a bowl of water, keeping the open part above the water. The water pushes out all the air. As you get to the top, make sure no water gets in, then close it off. It doesn't fully suck out that last amount of air, but you've just removed around 99% of the air, without spending anything. With a lot of the lower priced vacuum sealers, they don't prevent liquid from getting sucked up, as it removes the air. So if you're marinating, you run the risk of having to clean the machine. The expensive ones work fine, but they're expensive. |
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Aug 31, 2015 9:24:59 GMT -5
Dumb beginner question: if you are/were just getting started with this modernist cooking business, what would you budget for a basic setup? I know about sous vide, but what else needs to be on the shopping list? Immersion blender?
And maybe more relevantly to my circumstances, since I live in a small, aging apartment: does your kitchen setup need certain spaces/tech/built-ins? Like "well if your apartment doesn't have XYZ, you will be pretty limited in what you can do."
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 31, 2015 9:36:35 GMT -5
Dumb beginner question: if you are/were just getting started with this modernist cooking business, what would you budget for a basic setup? I know about sous vide, but what else needs to be on the shopping list? Immersion blender? And maybe more relevantly to my circumstances, since I live in a small, aging apartment: does your kitchen setup need certain spaces/tech/built-ins? Like "well if your apartment doesn't have XYZ, you will be pretty limited in what you can do." That's a pretty impossible question to answer really. It really depends what you're focused on doing/trying. Personally I find an immersion blender a pretty indisposable kitchen tool to begin with for modernist stuff and for soup making but if you're planning to play with emulsions I'd say it's necessary. I have a food science friend who's super into this stuff (he's pursuing a Masters in Food Chemistry atm) and he has all kinds of crazy crap at home to do the advanced stuff but most of us aren't going to lay out for a centrifuge or the like. As for space/kitchen issues there are definitely things that require reasonably precise temperature control (like if you have a range the fluctuates wildly in temp like my old one it could be an issue.) I usually find it handy to keep my ambient temp/humidity sensor around when doing some stuff. Overall you can generally find a way to do most easy home stuff I would think. |
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Aug 31, 2015 9:38:28 GMT -5
Dumb beginner question: if you are/were just getting started with this modernist cooking business, what would you budget for a basic setup? I know about sous vide, but what else needs to be on the shopping list? Immersion blender? And maybe more relevantly to my circumstances, since I live in a small, aging apartment: does your kitchen setup need certain spaces/tech/built-ins? Like "well if your apartment doesn't have XYZ, you will be pretty limited in what you can do." Not a dumb question at all! I guess it depends on what you'd intend on making. I'd think you'd at least need the following: 1. Immersion Blender (for foams. more like "airs") 2. iSi Whipper (slightly thicker foams) if sous vide-ing: 3. food sealer or ziplock bags 4. large container (for newer sous vide machines, you can clip it to a stock pot, assuming you have a large one). 5.eye dropper or syringe (for "caviar") 6. small scale (well, precise scale) 7. accurate, digital thermometer 8. possibly silicone molds, if you're making larger spheres
A lot of the stuff you'll use in the kitchen normally. I use my immersion blender all the time for soups. I use the scale for coffee, baking, and making homemade pasta. The thermometer is key in cooking fish, ice cream bases, etc. The iSi whipper never gets used, so if you don't care so much about foams, I'd hold off there.
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 31, 2015 9:45:27 GMT -5
Ah yes, totally forgot the scale. Accurate and small tick scale absolutely necessary.
The thermometer...
While you don't need a thermapen (though I love mine) get something with a sensor that reads at least relatively quickly.
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Aug 31, 2015 9:52:53 GMT -5
While you don't need a thermapen (though I love mine) get something with a sensor that reads at least relatively quickly. Thanks to both of you for these super helpful posts, but I'm just replying here to gripe/vent. I asked for a thermometer for my birthday, but forgot to specify to my parents instant-read, so they got me one of those ancient analog ones you only use for roasting chickens. |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 31, 2015 9:55:19 GMT -5
While you don't need a thermapen (though I love mine) get something with a sensor that reads at least relatively quickly. Thanks to both of you for these super helpful posts, but I'm just replying here to gripe/vent. I asked for a thermometer for my birthday, but forgot to specify to my parents instant-read, so they got me one of those ancient analog ones you only use for roasting chickens. Heh, yeah my parents probably would have too. Personally I waited for one of the periodic sales and got mine at about 30% off. Did the same with my Anova actually. |
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Aug 31, 2015 10:06:17 GMT -5
I opted for the $25 thermo-pop (the price is up to $30 now), rather than the $90 therma-pen. www.thermoworks.com/products/low_cost/thermopop.htmlStill does a great job. It takes around 5-6 seconds to get an accurate reading, instead of 3 seconds. But my reaction time of "oh shit, too hot" has a greater range than those 3 seconds, so I wasn't too concerned with the delay. |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 31, 2015 10:32:26 GMT -5
Yeah, I bought the thermopop for my parents because they'd gotten used to my thermapen being around while I was back living with them while house-hunting.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Apr 20, 2017 8:58:06 GMT -5
\Modernist Mac and Cheese: The joy of cheese is that it's an emulsion of fat and water and that emulsion starts to break down as it cooks. Some cheese are better at holding their flavour than others and some are particularly bad about becoming grainy and seizing quickly (think of some fondues the moment the heat slows down.) This is often the problem with mac and cheese... either the sauce is made with heavily oily artificial cheese products or it's reliant on cheese mixed into a bechamel that often blands out the flavour of the cheese, particularly if you're trying to use something more interesting cheese wise. The folks behind this recipe set out to make a goopy mac and cheese that you could make with pretty much any cheese. Basically imagine a velveeta silky cheese sauce but made with real cheese and all the flavour of whatever you put in. Sodium Citrate is obviously the “huh?” ingredient here for a lot of people. It’s basically a natural salt of citric acid that helps create a smooth emulsion of the cheese sauce. This is apparently because it lowers the pH of the sauce and allows the liquid and the fats in the cheese to form a stronger bond and turn into a velvety smooth sauce. Sodium Citrate is available on Amazon or from places like Modernist Pantry and will only set you back a few bucks (and lasts for a while as I think the usual size serving was a TBSP or two of it) I've made this with everthing from old cheddar to jarlsberg to a 4 cheese blend including some really stinky stilton and it always turns out a mouthwatering cheese packed worth dying for Mac and Cheese. The sauce is incredibly rich and the recipe has a baked adaptation that in my mind is even better (and I will post the full version at some point, it's even more ridiculously decadent) I have yet to try the Gorgonzola and Fontina with Walnuts and Mushrooms variation they suggest. For 2ish cups of macaroni (serves 4-5) and using cheddar Milk: 1 1/8 Cups Sodium Citrate: 11g Combine them both in an easily whiskable pot until they dissolve then bring it to a simmer. Add 4 Cups of Fine Grated Cheddar bit by bit (I usually do it a spoon at a time) using an immersion blender to process it into the milk base, keep processing it until everything is completely smooth. Fold into your cooked macaroni and add anything else (bacon?) you want. Cheese sauce can be made ahead and kept up to a week (or frozen for a couple months) and is pretty ridiculous on anything. My mother once asked that I show her how to make it just to top cauliflower with a swiss based sauce. I've also done it with really hot pepper jack and topped nachos with it. I was trolling through the old Food Board yesterday - cuz like, who wants to actually work? - and I stumbled back on this thread. By the time I got to the end of this post, I'd pulled up Amazon and ordered some sodium citrate. I'm going to try this! |
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Apr 20, 2017 9:22:52 GMT -5
\Modernist Mac and Cheese: The joy of cheese is that it's an emulsion of fat and water and that emulsion starts to break down as it cooks. Some cheese are better at holding their flavour than others and some are particularly bad about becoming grainy and seizing quickly (think of some fondues the moment the heat slows down.) This is often the problem with mac and cheese... either the sauce is made with heavily oily artificial cheese products or it's reliant on cheese mixed into a bechamel that often blands out the flavour of the cheese, particularly if you're trying to use something more interesting cheese wise. The folks behind this recipe set out to make a goopy mac and cheese that you could make with pretty much any cheese. Basically imagine a velveeta silky cheese sauce but made with real cheese and all the flavour of whatever you put in. Sodium Citrate is obviously the “huh?” ingredient here for a lot of people. It’s basically a natural salt of citric acid that helps create a smooth emulsion of the cheese sauce. This is apparently because it lowers the pH of the sauce and allows the liquid and the fats in the cheese to form a stronger bond and turn into a velvety smooth sauce. Sodium Citrate is available on Amazon or from places like Modernist Pantry and will only set you back a few bucks (and lasts for a while as I think the usual size serving was a TBSP or two of it) I've made this with everthing from old cheddar to jarlsberg to a 4 cheese blend including some really stinky stilton and it always turns out a mouthwatering cheese packed worth dying for Mac and Cheese. The sauce is incredibly rich and the recipe has a baked adaptation that in my mind is even better (and I will post the full version at some point, it's even more ridiculously decadent) I have yet to try the Gorgonzola and Fontina with Walnuts and Mushrooms variation they suggest. For 2ish cups of macaroni (serves 4-5) and using cheddar Milk: 1 1/8 Cups Sodium Citrate: 11g Combine them both in an easily whiskable pot until they dissolve then bring it to a simmer. Add 4 Cups of Fine Grated Cheddar bit by bit (I usually do it a spoon at a time) using an immersion blender to process it into the milk base, keep processing it until everything is completely smooth. Fold into your cooked macaroni and add anything else (bacon?) you want. Cheese sauce can be made ahead and kept up to a week (or frozen for a couple months) and is pretty ridiculous on anything. My mother once asked that I show her how to make it just to top cauliflower with a swiss based sauce. I've also done it with really hot pepper jack and topped nachos with it. I was trolling through the old Food Board yesterday - cuz like, who wants to actually work? - and I stumbled back on this thread. By the time I got to the end of this post, I'd pulled up Amazon and ordered some sodium citrate. I'm going to try this! It's pretty great. Not how I want my mac and cheese every time for sure but it's pretty ridiculous to get that glorious smooth texture with real cheese. I really like the baked variation too. |
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