parmesan whipped cream balls - help

[Jeanne Geraci]

I am making asparagus soup shots. It's a fabulous recipe, and, normally I just whip heavy cream and add parmesan and dollop some on top. I'd love to make it look better by actually having a ball of parmesan cream to serve on top. Any recipes out there?

Am also looking for foam recipes using lecithin. I made almond financier cakes with an apple/ginger foam, but something was missing. It needed to be a little sweeter and I'd love anyone's help.

Thanks!!

Jeanne G.

[AmritaBala]

Can't help with the foam, but I'll try to help with the whipped cream problem.

Why don't you stabilize the whipped cream with gelatin? If you have a look @ the E-gullet pastry demos, theres one on how to make whipped cream. the finished product looks just like ice cream.

After doing that, you could use a small ice cream scoop or melon baller to make nice parmesan whipped cream balls )

[Jeanne Geraci]

Can't help with the foam, but I'll try to help with the whipped cream problem.

Why don't you stabilize the whipped cream with gelatin? If you have a look @ the E-gullet pastry demos, theres one on how to make whipped cream. the finished product looks just like ice cream.

After doing that, you could use a small ice cream scoop or melon baller to make nice parmesan whipped cream balls )

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Thanks so much - I will have a look. Am I to use regular old unflavored gelatin in those boxes that you get in the supermarket?

[sygyzy]

What do you mean by a "ball" of parmeasan cream? You can make Parmesan foam using soy lecithin and an imersion stick blender.

Use a ratio of 3g per 1000 grams of water. Use a large bowl with a wide area and move the stick in and out and keep it near the surface to incorporate air. Let it sit for a few minutes to stabilize after you are done whipping.

[Jeanne Geraci]

What do you mean by a "ball" of parmeasan cream? You can make Parmesan foam using soy lecithin and an imersion stick blender.

Use a ratio of 3g per 1000 grams of water. Use a large bowl with a wide area and move the stick in and out and keep it near the surface to incorporate air. Let it sit for a few minutes to stabilize after you are done whipping.

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Hi - Thanks for that. I have used lecithin for foams, but I would like the parmesan whipped cream to sit like a little marble or ice cream on top of the soup shot. Ichecked out the pastry video demonstration about whipped cream, but I don't know if parmesan instead of sugar will whip to that thick a consistency. And I'd have to use powdered geletin cause I can't get the sheets in time. Any other ideas would be welcome.

[sygyzy]

So you want the parmesan to be firmer like a solid ball? What about making parm foam, then freezing it then using some sort of heated ice cream scooper or mellon baller to scoop out a ball?

Oh wait, your parm is incorporated into whipped cream? Hmm, can you chill it so it hardens then scoop it out?

[Jeanne Geraci]

So you want the parmesan to be firmer like a solid ball? What about making parm foam, then freezing it then using some sort of heated ice cream scooper or mellon baller to scoop out a ball?

Oh wait, your parm is incorporated into whipped cream? Hmm, can you chill it so it hardens then scoop it out?

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I can try freezing it I guess but am worried it might weep when I scoop it, or take on an ice taste. But it's worth a try - thanks for the suggestion.

[sygyzy]

What sort of presentation are you going after? You want a solid ball to sit on top of cold soup? Then it slowly dissolves into the soup? I take back my freezing idea then because I bet I'd almost be done with the soup before the ball is completely dissolved. You aren't satisfied with just a dollop? It has to be a ball? Hmmm. What about using something like Methocel to form hot gel? When you put it into the soup, I'll stay firm but as the soup cools, it'll melt.

[Jeanne Geraci]

What sort of presentation are you going after? You want a solid ball to sit on top of cold soup? Then it slowly dissolves into the soup? I take back my freezing idea then because I bet I'd almost be done with the soup before the ball is completely dissolved. You aren't satisfied with just a dollop? It has to be a ball? Hmmm. What about using something like Methocel to form hot gel? When you put it into the soup, I'll stay firm but as the soup cools, it'll melt.

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I['ll serve the soup room temp to slightly warmed. I want the ball to float on top and kind of dissolve or pop into the mouth, but I want it as a separate piece, not just cream on top. I was at Perry St. on Fri. and the chef there in NYC said to use gelatin or agar agar for a solid ball and sodium alginate with a calcium chloride bath for a liquid center, so I am off tomorrow to GNC to try and find those items. My local health food store didn't have them. I'll let you know......

[Abra]

Just last week I made a little walnut cream ball to sit on top of an asparagus soup shot, using a base of fluffy cream cheese, as opposed to whipped cream. Easy as pie.

[ermintrude]

the chef there in NYC said to use gelatin or agar agar for a solid ball and sodium alginate with a calcium chloride bath for a liquid center, so I am off tomorrow to GNC to try and find those items.  My local health food store didn't have them. I'll let you know......

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Not sure the alginate method would work as the parmisan being a cheese already has a decent level of calcium so you'd find the alginate would set solid. To get a liquid centre you'd probably need to do reverse spheriphication using a sodium alginate bath. Also as the calcium chloride now in the parmisan may change the taste and you may be better of using calcium gluconate. Finally if you use a parmisan stock (stir grated parmisan at 80 degrees C for 1/2 hour then strain) you'd need to thicking it with Xanthian gum to get a nice shaped ball - or freeze into balls before droping into the alginate bath.

[Badiane]

Heat your cream, melt cheese into it. Cool. Form into a ball. Like a cheese ganache. Michael Smith did it on Chef at Home last year. I'm sure the instructions are on foodtv.ca. Should have seen the look on his kids face when he told him it was ice cream and stuck it in his mouth

[sygyzy]

I agree that the cheese would have too much calcium for this to work. Reverse is probably your answer though I am not sure I think the idea is good. You don't want the cream/cheese to mix with the soup. Instead, you want users to eat an orb of cheese and have it pop in their mouths (for an intense cheese experience). Then eat the rest of the soup sans any cheese flavoring?

What about using methocel to create a hot gel. You can drop it into boiling water to get it to stiffen up.

[Jeanne Geraci]

the chef there in NYC said to use gelatin or agar agar for a solid ball and sodium alginate with a calcium chloride bath for a liquid center, so I am off tomorrow to GNC to try and find those items.  My local health food store didn't have them. I'll let you know......

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Not sure the alginate method would work as the parmisan being a cheese already has a decent level of calcium so you'd find the alginate would set solid. To get a liquid centre you'd probably need to do reverse spheriphication using a sodium alginate bath. Also as the calcium chloride now in the parmisan may change the taste and you may be better of using calcium gluconate. Finally if you use a parmisan stock (stir grated parmisan at 80 degrees C for 1/2 hour then strain) you'd need to thicking it with Xanthian gum to get a nice shaped ball - or freeze into balls before droping into the alginate bath.

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Many thanks for the tips - I need to find these ingredients and experiment.

[ermintrude]

Ordering this stuff you won't find at GNC.

Not sure where you live but you could always import - it's what I do.

Be careful to check out shelf like as things like Lethicin, Activia don't last long. Others do so no problems if you have to buy a kilogram. Check out http://www.texturaselbulli.com/ENG/index.html (Expensive) but they have many distributors and you can use them with the El Bulli books (pure food porn). And many people use them so it provides a base to work from as you would not believe how many types there are of methocell, alginates etc

Another avenue is some food additive companies will give samples if you ask. So quantities of stuff only available in bulk you may get a free sample of 100g, enough to experiment with.

Good luck

Edited April 22, 2008 by ermintrude (log)

[Jeanne Geraci]

Ordering this stuff you won't find at GNC.

Not sure where you live but you could always import - it's what I do.

Be careful to check out shelf like as things like Lethicin, Activia don't last long. Others do so no problems if you have to buy a kilogram. Check out http://www.texturaselbulli.com/ENG/index.html  (Expensive) but they have many distributors and you can use them with the El Bulli books (pure food porn). And many people use them so it provides a base to work from as you would not believe how many types there are of methocell, alginates etc

Another avenue is some food additive companies will give samples if you ask. So quantities of stuff only available in bulk you may get a free sample of 100g, enough to experiment with.

Good luck

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Thank you - I found that textura website yesterday - also Will Goldfarb's willpowder, though they haven't called me back. Good idea about asking for samples. L'epicerie sells gelatin sheets; I'm not sure about the other items. Are there any classes out there in the NYC area for molecular gastronomy?

[ermintrude]

Since your in NYC (I'm in the UK) check out http://ideasinfood.typepad.com/ they do a great blog that you can subscribe to and have started running classes in hydrocolides and other MG things.

As an aside I love the science of food (I did get a degree in Physics) but also work (IT that is) for a well known classic reasturant in england. The key to MG for me is McGee - why fish goes mush, why potatoes can stay hard after boiling forever - mistakes to avoid. For example the Simon Hopkinson recipie for Potato dauphinoise has you boiling the potatoes in cream (and it always makes the perfect dauphinoise) he just came across it because that was what worked but if you know about the chemistry it's obvious. That to me is MG.

Ok I'm not a chef, bit of a scientist and semi geek - but I look at what the media concentate on (and here on Egullet to an extent) about MG as just fun, spherphication, hot ice creams etc - the core of MG is putting facts instead of superstition "seal the meat" etc.

If you had to recomend a one off meal would you pick El Bulli or the great local reastaurant. But If you had to pick a place to eat every day for 6 months no way could I do El Bulli. I've never eaten at El Bulli (But at the El Bulli Hotel) but Fat Duck, FL, Hakusan, Nobo but no way would I want to eat from these places every day.

If you ever came to a meal at my place then it's either clasic or a load of mad out MG stuff (to play with peoples heads) but with a core of basic food (That is also MG but no one knows) but no one leaves unsatisfied.

BTW Do not trust the potatoes in Heston Blumethals 12 hour leg of lamb - the lamb works the potatoes don't in a domestic oven!

Edited April 23, 2008 by ermintrude (log)

[sygyzy]

For supplies you can order from:

Will Powder

Le-Sanctuaire

L'Epicerie

Just find the best combination of price and selection and order away. National Starch will send you samples but they don't have many of the traditional hydrocolloids.

[Jeanne Geraci]

For supplies you can order from:

Will Powder

Le-Sanctuaire

L'Epicerie

Just find the best combination of price and selection and order away. National Starch will send you samples but they don't have many of the traditional hydrocolloids.

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Thanks to everyone who had suggestions. Time limitations didn't allow me to send for any special ingredients, but now I have a plan for further experimentation. If anyone's interested, what I did for the balls for the party was whip 1/2 c. heavy cream to soft peaks. Then I added 1/2 c. grated parmesan. To that I added 1/2 c. dissolved unflavored gelatin powder. Then I freaked because it all turned to liquid - no more peaks. I put it in a plastic container as per one of the egullet pastry demos on whipped cream that AmritaBala pointed me to and presto chango, pretty soon it was firm, but the balls were sticky to work with. Will Goldfarb suggested popping it in the freezer, as did another participant here. I did and it was much easier to scoop, but it got a little crystallized. The key, I think, is just a quick freeze. I used a melon baller and kept them in the fridge on waxed paper until serving time. They tasted great and the whole presentation was pretty cool. The soup is really great if anyone wants the recipe.

Another suggestion I am anxious to try was given by Alex Talcot and Aki Kamozawa:make a parmesan marshmellow, using glucose and isomalt. So, once I get some vegetables planted, I'm back to the kitchen.

[Tri2Cook]

Another suggestion I am anxious to try was given by Alex Talcot and Aki Kamozawa:make a parmesan marshmellow, using glucose and isomalt. So, once I get some vegetables planted, I'm back to the kitchen.

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The Ideas in Food folks have tons of great stuff on their site. Almost everything they do/think of is either shared in full or at least explained enough to get you moving in the right direction. It's like having a window into the minds of two great chefs. Can you tell I'm a fan?