Questions tagged [molecular-gastronomy]
Questions on the applications of modern science to culinary techniques in the home or restaurant.
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What happens to the cream and egg white in a Ramos Gin Fizz?
A Ramos Gin Fizz uses both egg white and heavy cream in order to form an extraordinarily stable and dense head on the drink.
When egg white is whipped, it forms a foam through protein networking. When ...
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Making a foam and dissolving it
I saw a TV show where a dish was served covered with a foam and subsequently a sauce was poured over the foam, which dissolved to reveal the dish under the foam. I have tried dissolving regular ...
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Can apples, peaches, almonds or apricots be used for reducing lactose content in milk?
According to this paper:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5429307/#!po=13.1579
"β-Galactosidase is found in bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. In plants, it is mainly found in almonds, ...
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How to improve the texture of popping/bursting boba spheres with reverse spherification?
I'm trying to make boba spheres using reverse spherification, but it doesn't have the texture like the ones you get from asian supermarkets, the one with a "hard, plastic texture" that burst ...
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Can one create any flavor combination by breaking down the five modalities of taste into their chemical form and adjusting proportions accordingly?
Can one create any flavor combination by breaking down the five modalities of taste into their chemical form and adjusting proportions accordingly?
Namely, if you broke down sweetness, sourness, ...
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When mixing eggnog with brandy, which is poured first?
Liquids often mix due to different densities, so which one should I pour first in order to have them mix properly?
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Sticky, tacky texture with less sweetness?
If I want a sticky, tacky surface on food, I typically use some kind of very sweet sauce. As it reduces down and the sugars caramelize during cooking, it leaves a delightful candied layer on the ...
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What reactions require oxygen to impart flavour?
For most cooking, I like to keep the lid on the pot as much as possible, except if the technique requires otherwise (e.g. reducing a sauce). From what I can tell, most flavour comes from Mailliard ...
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Building pressure chamber for fizzy fruit - PVC safety
I'm building a pressure chamber with some basic brass plumbing parts and a cylinder of CO2. The goal here is to infuse fruit with CO2.
I'm aware of the various safety aspects to consider since the ...
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How are powdered emulsifiers (such as monoglycerides) prepared for use in cooking and baking?
Recently I picked up a few different types of emulsifiers in bulk powder form when I saw them in passing at a catering wholesaler.
Having never used powdered emulsifiers before in cooking or baking, ...
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Liquid soy lecithin vs sunflower lecithin
I'm currently reading Modernist Cuisine at Home and one ingredient that keeps coming up is "liquid soy lecithin". I'm pretty familiar with the powdered variant for making light, airy foams, but the ...
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Liquid Nitrogen Ice cream Melting too fast!
I am trying to make ice cream using liquid nitrogen and I am seeing that the ice cream melts very quickly. I'm using a spatula to mix the base with the liquid nitrogen in a vessel.
Initially, I ...
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monster egg . how to
I recently found a recipe for making a monster egg... i think it may have been medieval. The recipe required 6 eggs for yolk and white. the yolk and whites would be separated into 2 pigs bladders and ...
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Substituting maseca (corn flour) for ap flour in waffle cones
I want to make a maseca based waffle cone but I am not sure what to use as the binding agent in substitute of flour. My first assumption was to mix in a .7% ratio of vital wheat gluten. Any ...
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Can you develop a gluten structure by kneading matzoh meal dough?
I'm interested in applying principles of dough magic to Passover cooking and I have sort of a general understanding of how developing the gluten structure works when kneading a traditional wheat flour ...
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Why does my LN2 evaporate so quickly?
Just made my first attempt at cooking using liquid nitrogen. Decided to start easy, and make a 0.5L batch of ice cream, along with some powdered peanut-butter and banana for toppings. Overall I'd ...
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Why does pressure cooking of chicken eggs make eggs easier to peel?
In an experiment, I cooked a 12 organic chicken eggs from the same batch:
A) 6 in boiling water and
B) 6 in a pressure cooker:
6 eggs in a basket which is on a tripod inside the cooker
5 minutes ...
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What are the key differences between lemons and meyer lemons?
"Meyer lemons" are advertised as a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. The flavor is basically what you'd expect from that cross.
Is it reasonable to use them as direct substitutes? What ...
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Can I create cream of tartar with tartaric acid and potassium hydroxide?
Here in Poland, I have no trouble buying both tartaric acid and potassium hydroxide. I'm having trouble sourcing cream of tartar though, so would it be enough to mix the acid and potassium hydroxide? ...
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Why is High Fructose Corn Syrup not available as an ingredient? [closed]
In the age of molecular gastronomy I am surprised that it seems to be impossible to purchase HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) as an ingredient. Why is this?
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How to apply transglutaminase brand "Saprona TG F"
I have transglutaminase/activa powder branded "Saprona TG F". The ingredients are Salt, Gelatin, phosphate and transglutaminase. The dose is 1%. I'm making chicken roulade - should I apply it as a ...
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Storing Transglutaminase once opened
I have a sealed packet of Transglutaminase/Activa powder. However its much more than I need for this recipe. I know it deactivates quickly after being exposed to air. Whats the best way to store it ...
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Why mono and diglycerides instead of xanthan?
Xanathan gum (like many other vegetable gums) is often used as an emulsifier and for thickening liquids.
Meanwhile, mono- and diglycerides (aka glycerin flakes) are used in a similar way.
I have ...
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Modernist / molecular cuisine with a microwave?
The microwave is usually frowned upon by ambitious chefs. It provides a convenient way to quickly heat ready made meals or the leftovers from the day before, but it is usually not regarded as a ...
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Preserving Nerds / Pop Rocks so they activate in the mouth and not in the food
I want to be able to use Nerds and/or Pop rocks in cooking. However, unless the food is ultra dry, the food itself activates / dissolves it; I want it activated in the mouth.
a) Is there a way to do ...
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Acmella oleracea (Szechuan buttons) - active chemical for mouth sensation?
I am looking to begin growing Acmella oleracea (Szechuan buttons). I would like to use them directly, and also make extracts specifically to maximize the taste/oral stimulation effect. Apparently ...
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What food dissolves in acid but not in water?
I've recently been learning about molecular gastronomy, and I was wondering - what edible substances do not dissolve in water, but do in other liquids (e.g. acid)?
In particular, I'm looking for ...
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Deconstructed food; simple, complex or both?
This question was asked on English Language & Usage and deconstructed food is a term I'd never heard before.
One answer is that it is simply the constituent parts of a dish laid out separately on ...
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Creating a home "anti-griddle"?
I watched a restaurant documentary last night (Spinning Plates; pretty good!) which featured a modernist chef demonstrating their kitchen's anti-griddle: essentially a large metal plate chilled down ...
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Reformulate a marshmallow recipe to remove lactose and HFCS
I'm trying to modify the marshmallow recipe in this post to make it vegan:
http://moleculargastronomy.wordpress.com/2010/10/09/molecular-gastronomy-carrageenan-kappa-and-iota/
The first hurdle is ...
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What ginger compound is responsible for the 'kick'?
Mint's minty kick mostly comes from menthol and pepper from capsaicin.
What is the equivalent dominant compound in ginger that gives it the characteristic kick?
All i can tell is it's water soluble ...
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How do I create spherical coffee?
As a Barista, I have been playing around with different coffee flavours and creations. Now I have been thinking of also adding textural elements in the coffee. I was hoping somebody could give me a ...
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How quickly does soy lecithin lose its effect?
I bought a box of soy lecithin at a store yesterday, only to discover that it is past its "use by"-date. The date was a month ago. Now I am wondering whether to take the hassle of returning it to the ...
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Food-safe rotary evaporator grease
For those of you who have rotary evaporators or other chemistry glassware in the kitchen, what do you use to grease the ground glass taper/ ball joints so that the lubricant does not either absorb or ...
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What is the proper word/term/expression to describe a dish that appears to be something different
I want to experiment with dishes that fool the senses. Dishes that look like one thing but taste completely different from what was visually expected (e.g. Heston's parsnip cereal)
I want to google ...
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Use of robotics in gourmet kitchens
I don't know if this question is relevant here, or if it should wait for the upcoming Robotics Proposal, but I'll ask it anyway.
Chefs such as Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adrià are known for ...
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What are some vegan thickeners for beverages?
I need a vegan thickener that dissolves well and doesn't have any flavor. I tried tapioca flour the other day and it didn't dissolve very well and left a powdery mouthfeel. Cornstach is not bad. ...
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Is cooking with hydrogen peroxide an accepted practice?
I had some pork (shoulder) I had to use today, suspecting it might be unsafe tomorrow.
So I thought I'd soak it in some hydrogen peroxide, about 2-3% concentration to at least get rid of any surface ...
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How can I get good spherification results with alcohol?
I've been trying to make chocolatini (vodka, godiva liqueur, baileys) spheres, but I've had some issues with separation of the alcohols. Also, I've been deciding whether the alginate solution should ...
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How to preserve the green colour of mint when doing spherification?
I was recently making some mint spheres using reverse spherification, as a bit of background here was my process: I blended around 15g of mint leaves with 250ml of boiling water and left to steep for ...
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Is there any trick to make a palindrome-cocktail?
I'm trying to make a palindrome cocktail:
made by building the components, like for example the classic B52; and also
having the same ingredients going from top to bottom as it has going from bottom ...
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How do I control the shape of my spheres?
I've been experimenting with reverse sphereification this week. The results... well, the results remind me that even the professionals have to practice.
How do I control the tension of the alginate ...
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Why was there not enough foam in my garlic foam with soy lecithin?
This was my first attempt at making a foam using soy lecithin. I used 3 garlic cloves, 2/3 cup water, 2/3 cup milk. Then i used an immersion blender. I got a bit of foam on top but there wasnt a lot ...
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Training on molecular gastronomy and sous vide [closed]
I am looking for suggestions on opportunities for learning techniques directly from a skilled professional, preferably in a classroom setting.
I have been dabbling in molecular gastronomy/precision ...
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Can I reuse an alginate bath for reverse spherification?
Can I REUSE an alginate bath for reverse spherification? If I use a solution of alginate today, can I use the same solution next week? How should it be optimally stored? How long will it keep. How ...
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What is Molecular Gastronomy?
There is a lot of material on TV, magazines and on the web recently about molecular gastronomy. Techniques like sous-vide and spherification seem to be popular. But what makes a cooking style "...
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Unsure why foam sauce doesn't hold
I experimented for with xanthan gum for the first time tonight. I made a sauce which was about half roasted peppers, half savory stuff (lamb stock, beef broth, balsamic vinegar and a bit of chili ...
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Surface tension in food
Based on a related question, some of us are curious about surface tension in liquids commonly used in food and drink.
There's a table on Wikipedia containing a tantalizing amount of information, ...
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Creating differing temperature fluid gels that stay separate
At the Fat Duck they serve a mug of hot and iced tea. The drink is served in a single cup yet the two different temperature drinks stay separate side by side with no barrier between them.
I believe ...
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How to fake salmon roe using jello
A couple of days ago I made a first attempt at dessert sushi. Everything went reasonably well except for the salmon roe which I'd planned to make from orange jello. I made my own mould from plasticine ...
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