Modernist Ingredient Kits

[Chris Amirault]

Well, this situation wasn't tenable:

After having several avalanches of those stupid, non-stacking Glad containers, I've decided on these rather space-age stackable containers. Will report back.

[Anna N]

Well, this situation wasn't tenable:

....

After having several avalanches of those stupid, non-stacking Glad containers, I've decided on these rather space-age stackable containers. Will report back.

They might work better for you but for me they have a very small opening making it difficult to spoon out the contents!

[Chris Amirault]

Tx for the heads up. I usually dump into a bowl on the scale, so I think I'm ok -- but I guess we'll see!

[vice]

Well, this situation wasn't tenable:

....

After having several avalanches of those stupid, non-stacking Glad containers, I've decided on these rather space-age stackable containers. Will report back.

They might work better for you but for me they have a very small opening making it difficult to spoon out the contents!

For just that reason, I went with the wide mouth version of the Specialty Bottle jars Chris Hennes linked to up above. They're great.

[Chris Hennes]

Do you all find yourselves spooning these ingredients much? I actually deliberately went with narrow-mouth jars because I pour directly into a bowl on my gram scale, sort of tapping at the side of the jar to coax out the last little bit to hit the amount requested.

[Chris Hennes]

Also: I'm scoping out the two different gellans the books call for, and am wondering if this is the sort of thing that stores forever, or if it's got a shelf life? Like the Activa, it is sold in absurdly large packages considering how much one generally needs for home-cooking-sized portions.

[Kerry Beal]

I use a scoop like this to take small quantities from whatever vessel I have them in to weigh. Perhaps you can tell I was a lab tech in a previous life?

[Tri2Cook]

Gellan seems to store for a long time. I'm not an expert on the shelf life but I had mine for almost 3 years before going through all of it and it worked fine right up 'til it was gone. Chef Rubber sells gellan in 100 gram packs but it only lists "low acyl gellan" and "gellan". It doesn't specify if the "gellan" is the high acyl or the pre-blended but I assume an email could solve that one.

Edit: I shot Chef Rubber an email to find out if the "gellan" listed is the LT-100 or the JJ so we'll see what they say.

Edited March 8, 2011 by Tri2Cook (log)

[RDaneel]

I just got my Aristre Texturas kit (the 600g kit). Does anyone know where I can buy a slotted spoon that would be appropriate to go with this?

Dave, I tried to find a highly perforated, relatively compact, stainless steel spoon as well, and had no luck. As I was already placing an order through WillPowder.com for some iota C (thanks to Chris A for the referral), I called and asked if the perforated spoon from Will's spherification kit was available separately.

[Moderator's note: Permission to use this image was obtained from Will Goldfarb. -- DV]

Fortunately, the company that handles Will's order fulfillment was quite helpful and did a custom order that included the spoon for $9. I was quite pleased to be able to pick it up for that price. I imagine if you ordered it by itself the shipping ($10, it appears, for most orders) would be a bit steep, but that's one option for you. Good luck!

[Jose Nieves]

Well, this situation wasn't tenable:

....

After having several avalanches of those stupid, non-stacking Glad containers, I've decided on these rather space-age stackable containers. Will report back.

They might work better for you but for me they have a very small opening making it difficult to spoon out the contents!

For just that reason, I went with the wide mouth version of the Specialty Bottle jars Chris Hennes linked to up above. They're great.

These are good for their price but I would order the amber ones just to be on the safe side. A good "local" place to find these are craft stores. You’d be surprised how many “small item” storage solutions you can come up with when going through the scrapbooking area of a craft store.

Several years ago I purchased a something resembling a small knife roll that I use to store spices that I need to transport. I then asked my friendly neighborhood pharmacist for some unused empty plastic pill bottles which I’ve labeled on the top so I can quickly access the required spice. I added a fancy schmancy espresso spoon to the kit and voila. I’ll be sure to put together a modernist ingredient roll kit this coming weekend.

[johnder]

I have one of a these that works really well in dosing out small amounts.

eta: amazon also sells them a bit cheaper, here is a eG amazon link

Edited March 9, 2011 by johnder (log)

[Chris Amirault]

I'm planning to use the coffee stirrer/cocaine spoon I got at Tokyo Disney, Mickey Mouse head and all.

[Jose Nieves]

I'm planning to use the coffee stirrer/cocaine spoon I got at Tokyo Disney, Mickey Mouse head and all.

Chris’ lawyer has just issued the following statement: “When my client used the term “cocaine”, he was referring to the myriad of legally acquired white-powder products used by those interested in this type of cooking not the other stuff.. that’s our story and we’re sticking to it.”

I do think that you should share with the group a picture of said spoon..

[ChrisZ]

Thanks for the input and feedback regarding quantities and qualities, it's been very helpful.

I've spent the last few weeks idly checking out different suppliers and planning my own Modernist cooking kit. The hardest part I'm having is choosing jars. Currently I'm leaning towards tea tins, but they're more expensive and I'm not sure if they're airtight. And if I do go for jars then I have to choose between clear or amber, round or square, etc etc. All fun and games.

I have found it interesting to see major price differences between suppliers for the same product, and to read online discussions by various home enthusiasts to minimise supply costs. As an example using local Australian prices - Calcium Chloride is sold by a high-end specialty food shop for $40kg. The same product is sold by an online home-brew website for $20kg. But if you read the home-brew discussion forums, some users say that the $2kg calcium chloride they get from swimming pool shops works just as well, even if it is only 90% pure! (the other 10% is salt). Not sure that I'd want to drink their beer though, but I find the differences intriguing.

The more common an ingredient then the more variations I have found in prices. Citric acid & ascorbic acid vary more than Gellan or Calcium Lactate, presumably because they're more common.

I'm still waiting for my copy of Modernist Cuisine, which is probably at least a month away, so I have plenty of time to choose between jars & tins, and to ponder the different grades of tapioca maltodextrin...

BTW- for those with more experience, does Malic Acid have much of a use? AFAIK it's the main ingredient in denture cleaning tablets...

Oh well, back to looking at jars and bottles...

[blackp]

BTW- for those with more experience, does Malic Acid have much of a use? AFAIK it's the main ingredient in denture cleaning tablets...

Oh well, back to looking at jars and bottles...

For other Aussie readers, I found a good source of jars here: Cospak

They have a huge range of jars and closure options. I chose a couple of sizes both with white nylon lids so there is no separate seal which can fail over time (as my previous spice jar exercise which had plastic coated paper seals inside rigid plastic lids - eventually they were not air-tight).

According to "Modern Gastronomy: A to Z" Malic Acid is used as an acidity regulator and can be used to stimulate the taste buds making them more sensitive to other tastes. In the food industry it can be found in jams, jellies, soft drinks, canned fruits and vegetables. It's use in restaurants is listed as: In experimentation.

Cheers,

Peter.

[miketerry]

Great thread,i have been looking to buy one of these kits recently and got a brochure through from this site and its very good.I wonder what people think of this kit http://www.msk-ingredients.com/specialist-products.php?pid=102

Edited March 15, 2011 by miketerry (log)

[Tri2Cook]

BTW- for those with more experience, does Malic Acid have much of a use? AFAIK it's the main ingredient in denture cleaning tablets...

Malic acid is your friend any time you do something with apples and feel that it's missing something. It restores some of the fresh taste to cooked out apples and can help restore balance in applications where the apples are trying to stand up to a lot of sugar. It has the ability to get the mouth watering so it's useful in palate cleansers, items where extra moisture in the mouth would contribute to the enjoyment, etc. I think it's a very handy acid to have around. I'd rank it right up there with citric and ascorbic in terms of usefulness.

[ChrisZ]

Thanks! Yesterday I flipped through the Fat Duck Cookbook, as well as the books for Heston's 'feast' series, and looked more closely at all the recipes. Having followed all of the Modernist Cuisine threads very closely over the past year, none of the ingredients looked unknown or foreign - which was not the case when I first bought the books!

I noticed that Malic Acid popped up quite a lot - more than citric acid or tartaric acid - and so I've ordered some and am looking forward to experimenting with it...

[Phaz]

Has anyone had any luck finding Glucose Syrup DE 40?

Some of the websites imply that it might simply be basic corn syrup (or that would work as a substitute) but I can't find any info for sure.

[Chris Hennes]

Chef Rubber sells glucose syrup, that's where I got mine: http://www.shopchefrubber.com/product.php?productid=14223&cat=1585&page=1

[Chris Amirault]

Speaking of glucose, I found the powdered version, along with malt powder and lotus root starch at a local Japanese/Korean grocer. I've also seen other stuff at other Asian stores around town.

[Chris Amirault]

So here are those containers, all labeled and ready to go:

I'm very happy with them. No more avalanches!

[lstrelau]

Just received my modernist ingredient kit from Cusine r_evolution:

http://www.molecule-r.com/Cost $58.95 Canadian plus shipping. I bought through Amazon.ca but you can order direct too.

Here is a lilnk to a you-tube video with excerpts from the DVD - Recommend muting your speakers - the 'sound-track' is pretty horrible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRpEpQPULNI

Certainly more expensive than purchasing the ingredients separately but it is great for first experiments. Includes a 50 recipe DVD with blow by blow techniques. It would have been useful to have printed recipes as well but that is not included. A VERY irritating 'muzak' sound track (that you can turn off - there is no verbal instructions), but very clear methods shown. Bit disappointing use of volume measures rather than weights but would be easy to convert to weights.

10 pre-measured sachets of the following items: Agar-agar, Calcium Lactate, Sodium Alginate, Soy Lethecin, Xantam gum. Obviously more expensive than bulk purchase but foil sachets fo should be shelf stable for long time.

Then, in addition to the DVD there is a food safe syringe and a length of tubing (for making agar-based 'spagetti' (looks very cool in the recipe demos) - (really looking forward to trying this technique), pipettes for making 'caviar' and rounded measuring spoons for spherification and finally a spoon with holes for transferring spheres.

Since the larger Modernist ingredient kit mentioned in other threads can't be shipped to Canada this was a good alternative.

I am really looking forward to playing with these. Having the demonstration videos is a big benifit for a newbie of these arts. Can't wait for my copy of MC to come to use in conjuction with my new kit.

BTW, most of the ingredients are available from the Gourmet Warehouse on East Hastings in Vancouver. Don't know if they ship.

Recipe Categories include:

Spherification Recipes

Gelification

Emulsification

Thickening

Some of the recipes include:

Port , or Honey Caviar

Parmesan or Arugula or Fruit Spagetti

Balsamic Sheets

Beet or Chives or Garlic Foams

Curry Wind

Quick and Easy Bechamel or Vinaigrette

Mojito Bubbles

Daiguiri Bites

Popping Chocolate

(edited for to move to related thread)

Llyn

[karlos]

I found Glucose at the craft store Michaels. It was in with the cake decorating stuff. More reasonable size than 5.5 kg.

[Camano Chef]

Has anyone considered using scales for reloading ammunition. I have a number of balance scales that are calibrated in grains.

One gram is equal to 15 grains therefore 2.1 grams is equal to 32 grains. This a reasonable measure of powder for reloading ammunition.

I will use this rather than purchasing another electronic scale since I have it.

BTW most ammunition scales are much more costly than cheap electronic scales, about US$100.00, however an inaccurate scale has very discouraging result when loading ammunition.

Hope this helps.

Phil