Modernist failure

[Doodad]

So I ordered a kit last year from an online source that is not a cooking site, but had a good deal on a simplistic but fairly well stocked MG kit. So far no love. I have tried reverse spheres three times now with apple juice, cranberry juice and stock. None even began to form spheres. I have done them in a pro kitchen before so I know I can physically do it, but either my ratio or the kit is bad. I have tried three different ratios both from the kit and online. I could not even get agar to gel my cranberry when the spheres failed.

Could the ingredients be bad?

[ChrisZ]

What ingredients are in the kit? It would be surprising if they're all bad, and many of those types of ingredients have an indefinite shelf life. But they can vary in strength and some techniques, such as spherification, can be sensitive to a number of variables, for example the amount of calcium present in your water..

Have you downloaded the free recipe collection from khymos? Lots of information in there.

I've tried reverse spherification a few times and haven't had perfect results yet, but I've bounced between too soft and too rubbery so I know that my ingredients are fine. I'd check your ratios against as many online guides as you can find. Try a few small batches with different ratios- even in a 50ml bath - to see if you can get any results at all. If you can't get any spheres of any shape at all then something's wrong somewhere.

Regarding agar and other hydrocolloids, they all have their own characteristics and demands to work properly. Generally you want to add the gelling agent to a cold liquid because it can help avoid lumps, then you heat to a certain temperature and allow time for the gelling agent to hydrate. Agar should be boiled (unlike gelatine, which should not be boiled, and gellan, which only needs to go to about 80C). Again, the khymos collection is a good resource to check you're using each ingredient correctly.

[Broken English]

I think you'll find the hydration point of Gellan is 95.

I've also had some trouble with sperification, but that was more to do with the shape of them, and getting them even. I see in MC they freeze them into hemisphere molds and thaw them in a heated algin bath to set the shape.

[thayes1c]

My first five or so attempts at reverse spheres resulted in gloppy, mucousy sludge and lots of angry notes in my kitchen log. And then I found hemisphere molds at bed bath and beyond and that changed everything. I know it can be done without freezing, but I think that the insurance that freezing provides makes it worth it.

[mezze]

Had a similar problem which was corrected by adding sodium citrate. If your liquid is too acidic you will need to add some sodium citrate which to quote the Willpowder website is "used to control acidity and is an important part in the making of some spheres. Acts as an acid buffer- add to high acid liquids so gelling will work. It dissolves very easily and acts instantaneously. It can also stabilize emulsified fat."

Hope that helps.