White wine spheres?

[FastTalkingHighTrousers]

So I've created sodium alginate/calcium chloride spheres every which way using a bunch of different ingredients. I am by NO means an expert on the subject ... proven by the fact that I can't for the life of me sphere-a-mitize white wine (or red for that matter).

I've gone the reverse-sphere route and that doesn't seem to work. I've also tried adding sodium citrate into the mix due to the acidity of the wine, and that doesn't help either. The spheres never set. They just end up as loose gloppy grossness.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has tried to do this. If successfully so ... what might I be doing wrong?

Thanks very much in advance for any imparted wisdom

[Jonathan Kaplan]

Huh. I can't imagine why it isn't working. Neither the alcohol nor the acid should be a problem for reverse spheres... I'll try it this weekend and get back to you...

Just to be clear... You are going wine + 25g/l glucolactate, and then into a 5% alginate bath?

[FastTalkingHighTrousers]

Huh.  I can't imagine why it isn't working.  Neither the alcohol nor the acid should be a problem for reverse spheres...  I'll try it this weekend and get back to you...

Just to be clear...  You are going wine + 25g/l glucolactate, and then into a 5% alginate bath?

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When I tried the reverse spheres I wasn't using glucolactate (calcium lactate gluconate?). I was mixing the wine with calcium chloride and then into a 5% alginate bath. Is this my problem ... aside from stupidity?

[TheSwede]

White wine is extremely high in acidity. I'm betting it has something to do with that.

I found some information on acidity and buffering with sodium citrate in this thread:

http://groups.google.com/group/molecular-g...7e534c4d56e9afd

Although since you are doing reverse, it might not be relevant at all?

[Tri2Cook]

When I tried the reverse spheres I wasn't using glucolactate (calcium lactate gluconate?). I was mixing the wine with calcium chloride and then into a 5% alginate bath. Is this my problem ... aside from stupidity? 

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You asked for experts and I'm not even close to being one of those but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night (actually I didn't do that either) so I'll add my completely irrelevant and unsolicited opinion by saying that the main problem with using calcium chloride in reverse spheres (in my already admittedly non-expert opinion) is that it tastes nasty. Not bad. Not less than stellar. Plain ol' tastebud-offending bad. Of course I have previously admitted to the possibility that I just have some weird hypersensitivity to the stuff but I've gone down to levels that wouldn't even do the intended job and the stuff still made me wish I'd put something tastier (like a cod liver oil sorbet with extra turpentine) in my mouth.

[FastTalkingHighTrousers]

When I tried the reverse spheres I wasn't using glucolactate (calcium lactate gluconate?). I was mixing the wine with calcium chloride and then into a 5% alginate bath. Is this my problem ... aside from stupidity? 

←

You asked for experts and I'm not even close to being one of those but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night (actually I didn't do that either) so I'll add my completely irrelevant and unsolicited opinion by saying that the main problem with using calcium chloride in reverse spheres (in my already admittedly non-expert opinion) is that it tastes nasty. Not bad. Not less than stellar. Plain ol' tastebud-offending bad. Of course I have previously admitted to the possibility that I just have some weird hypersensitivity to the stuff but I've gone down to levels that wouldn't even do the intended job and the stuff still made me wish I'd put something tastier (like a cod liver oil sorbet with extra turpentine) in my mouth.

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Ha! I was hoping my recent stay at a Holiday Inn would help me reach a solution to this problem, as well ... but I'm starting to think those commercials aren't entirely honest.

I haven't had the foul-taste problem with reverse spheres you've run into. I'm sure enough of the stuff to any solution will taste pretty gross.

Even if I can't figure this out, I'm having plenty of fun with the process either way.

I was thinking I could make white wine spheres then carbonate them in my ISI with some soda chargers. Sort of a sparkling wine sphere.

Thanks, everyone for the input!

[ermintrude]

This may work, it has for me with other things but not tried it with wine.

Freeze your wine in moulds or ice cube trays (you will need very cold freezer to ensure the alcohol freezes).

Make a calcium chloride solution and chill.

Drop in your frozen wine from the moulds, then transfer quickly back to the mold a freeze. The idea is to have the surface impregnated or coated with a layer of calcium chloride.

Drop the frozen wine into the alginate bath, the calcium chloride on the surface should cause the alginate to gel.

A twist on what I did here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=116055