[Modernist Cuisine] Oysters with Cava Foam (6•327)

[Anonymous Modernist 347]

For my forthcoming class in Modernist Cuisine, I'm preparing what I call an "asparagus sunrise." It consists of a mousse of green asparagus in the center of the plate, with four radiating stalks of white asparagus. A perfect egg yolk (130 min at 63C) will sit on top of the mousse. Then to finish it off, I wanted to have a light, airy foam, like the sun peaking through the clouds. I tried the cava foam portion from the Oysters and cava foam recipe (MC 6-327), but substituting a non-sparkling Gewurtztraminer wine for the cava. When dispensed from a cream whipper, it foamed up nicely -- maybe even too much. But then it very quickly deflated, leaving a slightly sticky wine behind. I'd like it to stay intact for at least a couple of minutes. Was the problem caused by not using a sparkling wine, which would have added some of its own bubbles? iSi has a recipe for a Riesling espuma that calls for 900 ml of Riesling, 90 g of sugar, and EIGHT sheets of gelatin, which seems like a lot, but maybe not for 900 ml of wine. Another possibility might be the citrus air (MC 6-312) with lemon and lime juice and soy lecithin and xanthan gum. The lemon/lime would go pretty well with the asparagus, although it would make the wine pairing even more difficult. I suppose I could try adding some soy lecithin to the remaining wine, and charge it again. Any other thoughts? 

[Anonymous Modernist 10]

For my forthcoming class in Modernist Cuisine, I'm preparing what I call an "asparagus sunrise." It consists of a mousse of green asparagus in the center of the plate, with four radiating stalks of white asparagus. A perfect egg yolk (130 min at 63C) will sit on top of the mousse. Then to finish it off, I wanted to have a light, airy foam, like the sun peaking through the clouds.

I tried the cava foam portion from the Oysters and cava foam recipe (MC 6-327), but substituting a non-sparkling Gewurtztraminer wine for the cava.

When dispensed from a cream whipper, it foamed up nicely -- maybe even too much. But then it very quickly deflated, leaving a slightly sticky wine behind. I'd like it to stay intact for at least a couple of minutes.

Was the problem caused by not using a sparkling wine, which would have added some of its own bubbles?

iSi has a recipe for a Riesling espuma that calls for 900 ml of Riesling, 90 g of sugar, and EIGHT sheets of gelatin, which seems like a lot, but maybe not for 900 ml of wine.

Another possibility might be the citrus air (MC 6-312) with lemon and lime juice and soy lecithin and xanthan gum. The lemon/lime would go pretty well with the asparagus, although it would make the wine pairing even more difficult.

I suppose I could try adding some soy lecithin to the remaining wine, and charge it again.

Any other thoughts?

Your class sounds intriguing. What else are you making? Are you doing demonstrations, or will your students be cooking as well?



For your foam, you should try adding 0.8% gelatin to your mixture in addition to the xanthan gum. It will stabilize it quite well when it comes out of the siphon.

[Anonymous Modernist 347]

I tried the soy lecithin and xanthan, and that stabilized it quite nicely. The class (October 17) will be a demonstration and tasting menu, with as much as possible prepared in front of the class. For reservations, contact Max's Restaurant, in Santa Fe. At present, I'm planning a 10 course menu and appropriate wine pairings, featuring New Mexico wines as much as possible. The tentative menu will consist of the following: 1. Amuse bouche. Vacuum compressed watermelon topped with goat cheese foam and balsamic vinegar pearls (forward spherification) 2. Shrimp and lobster matrix, demonstrating transglutaminase (meat glue). 3. Asparagus "Sunrise", with a mousse of green asparagus in the center, and four radiating white asparagus pieces, topped with a perfect egg yolk surrounded with the foam. Sous vide vegetables, 6xC egg yolk, foams. 4. Smoked spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, using a PolyScience Smoking Gun. 5. Oxtail consumme with reverse-spherification mushroom balls. High altitude pressure cooking in a sterilizer, fining with methylcellulose, and reverse spherification. 6. 72-hour 55C sous vide brisket with mustard sauce. 7. Vegetable medley, with sous vide salsify sautes and Moroccan carrots; and mushroom risotto (cooked in a Thermomix) 8. Cold vanilla-infused pears with vanilla-brandy extract, topped with hot ice cream. (Sous vide pears, nitrogen cavitation, more methylcellulose) 9. Blue cheese foam sequence with gelled port, prepared on an Anti-Griddle (and a DIY version with dry ice) 10. Lagniappe, with mango sorbet enclosed in white chocolate that semi-exploes in your mouth. (A different kind of spherification.) Complete recipes with resources will be handed out, along with an extensive PowerPoint presentation on sous vide cooking. You and Nathan would be most welcome to attend! 

[Anonymous Modernist 310]

That look like a great class! Keep us informed with the results