Is anything lost from wine, flavor-wise, when gelatinizing it?

[Alex Parker]

Im doing a really intense cheese dish and want to pair wines to the cheese using a thermo reversable gelatine. The idea is that the cheese sits on top of the gel, and when the guest puts a bit of the cheese, and the wine gel into their mouth, it reverts back to a liquid due to the heat of the guests mouth. I need to find 2 things.

1 - what gelatine will reverse back to a liquid with a not so hot temperature.

2) is anything lost in a wine by gelling it in regards to flavour, mouth feel, etc.

Would be really excited to hear from anyone about this.

Alex

[angevin]

Two things - gelatin is a solidifying agent that already has relatively low-melt properties; it will melt in the mouth. I think what you're asking is for it to melt more quickly, so I would think it's not a specific type you're looking for, but perhaps a specific level. Try using a fraction of the amount you would need to make jello. However, you're asking a lot - you want it to be solid at 70 F, yet liquid significantly below 98 F, a pretty tight range. The other thing you could try is to use a thinner layer with more surface area.

Secondly, if the cheese and the gelatinized wine start in the mouth at the same time, the wine will liquify far faster than the cheese will even begin to dissolve. If I'm imagining it accurately, that would be like taking a sip of wine, then following it with a bite of cheese. Whereas what you want is some mastication of the cheese in the mouth followed by a sip of wine.

Maybe try a ball of cheese with a gelatinized wine center?

It's a neat idea, but like a lot of these modernist methods, they don't actually improve on simple traditional practices. It's cool to try something different, but if it doesn't improve the overall sensory experience, it serves no purpose. Just my humble opinion.

All that said, if you can pull it off successfully, it would be pretty awesome – good luck!

Edited February 15, 2011 by angevin (log)

[technophile50]

What about making wine balls - http://www.mylifeasafoodie.com/2009/01/10/molecular-cooking-my-new-true-passion/ - using wine instead of apple juice. I saw Jose Andres serve Anderson Cooper a margarita ball, so the alcohol shouldn't be a problem. The contrast between red wine "berries" and cheese would look way cool.

[Lisa Shock]

Just remember that the cheese will mask a lot of the flavor of the wine, particularly the tannins in reds. (aka a big part of the reason people drink reds) This is why low-end wineries have handed out free cheese in their tasting rooms for centuries -you get that wine home and try it without cheese and wonder what you thinking when you purchased it. Whenever a merchant pushes cheese on you during a tasting, that's your cue to run away as fast as you can. Seriously good red wine just isn't paired with cheese.

So, you're going to have to run some tests and taste the pairing to adjust amounts of cheese and possibly the type of wine(s) used.

[Nayan Gowda]

Gelatin, being protein will bind to tannins in a wine thereby reducing the astringency (grip). It may be something that you will need to account for.

Personally, I think there are only a few wines that go with cheeses (and vice versa); but that's a whole different topic.

[Alex Parker]

Thank you everyone! A lot to think about here! Technophile, Im way interested in those wine balls. Im going to make some up and see how they fare.

[OliverB]

in the Fat Duck book he makes some whiskey gummys (like gummy bears), that might be an interesting combo too, a nice cheese and a wine gummy shaped in any way you want or can, depending on what forms you might have. Seems pretty easy and straight forward to make.

[Alex Parker]

Hmm... That may be neat too Oliver. Thanks mate! Im going to give it a shot as well. Its reving up to be quite a jelly weekend!

Alex

[Will]

What's wrong with just drinking the wine the old-fashioned way?

[mkayahara]

Another thing I'd be worried about is the heat required to hydrate and dissolve many hydrocolloids, including gelatin. "Cooked" wine has a very different flavour from the raw thing, in my experience.