Decoding How to Achieve Spherification for Fine Dining

 

Gone are the days when cooking was primarily about taste and texture. While food connoisseurs still demand deliciousness in the food items, modern cooking has become more about presentation! Indeed, how a dish looks counts almost as much as its flavor today.

And this is where gastronomical creativity comes into the picture. Chefs and cooks not only focus on getting a dish cooked to perfection, but also strive to give it a fascinatingly spectacular appearance. Indeed, fancy new technologies and ingredients are making their way into cooking to transform it into an enchanting experience that ensnares not just the sense of smell, taste or touch, but even the sight!

One of the most trending techniques in both professional and home kitchens is spherification. This is all about transforming a liquid into a solid bubble – however, it is not as simple as freezing or even making a jelly. The surprise element is to get the ball to literally burst in the mouth and ooze delicious flavors that are still in liquid form. 

How to get it right?

This culinary process involves the use of alginate and calcium – sodium alginate and calcium chloride in particular. The process is actually quite simple – however, like anything to do with cooking, it calls for oodles of skill, patience and practice.

The trick behind making those adorable spheres is to dissolve both the specialized ingredients in separate liquids. It is the alginate which is usually mixed with the primary ingredient – can be a fruit juice or any other liquid. The calcium is dissolved in water to form a calcium water bath.

Fill the alginate mix in a needle-less syringe and slowly release droplets in the calcium solution. Each drop will bloom into a sphere the moment it comes into contact with the calcium.

Here, the alginate will form a firm enough outer layer that will hold the liquid together inside. The spheres have to be rinsed with water prior to serving as the calcium (though edible) can leave a bitter aftertaste.

Keep in mind that the spherification has to be done right at the time of presentation as they run the risk of solidifying inside, the longer they are allowed to sit. Moreover, this will work only with water-based liquids that can be frozen. Avoid liquids that are warm or have a high alcohol content.

Then it is time to enjoy in the splendor of the delicate spheres that have a solid layer outside, but will break open easily to reveal a juicy surprise on the inside!

Chefs and cooks waiting to spring surprises on their guests can let their imagination run wild with the array of modern ingredients offered by Cape Crystal Brands (https://www.capecrystalbrands.com/) for achieving delightful wonders like spherification and more. All products are of premium quality, reliable and affordable too.