Bacon Foam

[Daniel72]

Morning

Have been attempting to make the above which is to go on top of a nettle soup...first couple of attempts have tasted fine but the foam hasn't lasted. The make-up WAS spanish bacon lardons rendered down, cooled and added to cream (300G) - after 30 mins, bacon removed, 2 egg yolks added, then blitzed and put in cream whipper and charged with 2 nitro bulbs. Looked fine but foam collapsed quickly and was left with a very nice tasting bacon cream.

So, should I drop the cream and use a light chicken stock, use some soya lecithin instead/as well?

Thoughts appreciated!

Daniel

[mkayahara]

Yes, if you heat a cream-based foam above the crystallization temperature of butterfat, it's gonna collapse. That's why whipped cream is served cold. If you want to garnish a hot product (like soup) with a foam, the easiest approach is to stabilize the foam with egg whites or starch, or use something like agar or Versawhip, depending on what kind of texture you're looking for.

[KennethT]

Another way to do it to have a hot foam is to make a bacon stock (use the rendered fat as well) then make an agar/xanthan fluid gel using roughly 1% agar and like 0.2% xanthan. You can heat the fluid gel up to 180degF, then add to your whipper and foam away!

[Broken English]

By the sound of it the egg yolks weren't cooked, if they were they'd have thickened the cream and added stability. Xanthan will also thicken and allow more stability. Serving the foam slightly cooler will also aid thickness and therefore stability.

You could also try making a hollandaise with rendered smoked bacon fat, and adding that to the ISI.

[Daniel72]

Another way to do it to have a hot foam is to make a bacon stock (use the rendered fat as well) then make an agar/xanthan fluid gel using roughly 1% agar and like 0.2% xanthan. You can heat the fluid gel up to 180degF, then add to your whipper and foam away!

Thanks, will have a go at this as I've got those in the larder!

[Daniel72]

By the sound of it the egg yolks weren't cooked, if they were they'd have thickened the cream and added stability. Xanthan will also thicken and allow more stability. Serving the foam slightly cooler will also aid thickness and therefore stability.

You could also try making a hollandaise with rendered smoked bacon fat, and adding that to the ISI.

The recipe didn't suggest cooking the eggs - just adding them to the infused cream - to some degree I don't want thickness as I'm looking to get that airy foam bit one that holds at the same time

[Msk]

How about making a Bacon "Constructed Cream" Using Pork/Bacon stock instead of the Chicken stock and rendered bacon fat instead of the duck fat in the attached link

Then run it through an isi.

http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/simplified-jus-gras/

msk

[KennethT]

I don't think that will foam when warm though - the gelatin won't hold its structure when warm and will quickly deflate... hence the suggestion above to make an agar fluid gel - that will hold its foam very well even when warm.

[Broken English]

By the sound of it the egg yolks weren't cooked, if they were they'd have thickened the cream and added stability. Xanthan will also thicken and allow more stability. Serving the foam slightly cooler will also aid thickness and therefore stability.

You could also try making a hollandaise with rendered smoked bacon fat, and adding that to the ISI.

The recipe didn't suggest cooking the eggs - just adding them to the infused cream - to some degree I don't want thickness as I'm looking to get that airy foam bit one that holds at the same time

For it to hold effectively, you're either going to have to make it thicker, or use stabilisers (many of which thicken anyway). These foams are still light and airy, I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

You could use lecithin powder and make an 'air', which will be very light and stable, although I've never seen a cream based air.

[Msk]

I would start with the Jus Gras as a a base and see what the texture is when foamed, there is plenty you can do to amake it foam better if its not the texture you desire . Eliminating the cream and eggs will give you better flavor release (though a bacon and egg foam sounds pretty delicious to me as well---just not sure if you were going for that). I was approaching this from a cream-like standpoint since that what was originally tried.

A foamed agar gel of bacon stock might work, but I have heard agar has problems with stock, but I have no experience with that,

MSK