Modern uses for blood

[Shalmanese]

Good magazine has a wonderful interview with Elisabeth Paul over her research at Noma on using blood.

Apparently, it's chemically quite similar to egg white, although with far more iron and a metallic taste) and that it can be used to foam meringues and flavor ice cream.

It's a really interesting piece about taking a very old fashioned, dying ingredient and figuring out novel ways to breathe new life into it.

[Deryn]

Yes, very interesting article. Thanks for posting it as I doubt I would ever have come across it on my own.

 

Not sure it made me want to try products/recipes that use fresh blood mind you. I have a new-fangled set of taste buds (as opposed to those of my father's generation and origin - he loved blood pudding). Too bad about the metallic thing. Fascinating to learn that you can foam it like eggs, indeed replacing all egg whites in a meringue.

[pastrygirl]

When I heard about blood's foaming capabilities a few months ago, I had to make blood genoise. Beautiful color while whipping, but it baked up brown. You couldn't really taste the blood with all the sugar in the cake and chocolate glaze on top, but it was fun to try.

[cakewalk]

When I heard about blood's foaming capabilities a few months ago, I had to make blood genoise. Beautiful color while whipping, but it baked up brown. You couldn't really taste the blood with all the sugar in the cake and chocolate glaze on top, but it was fun to try.

And here I was thinking it might be a good way to make red velvet cake without all that food coloring.

[pastrygirl]

And here I was thinking it might be a good way to make red velvet cake without all that food coloring.

 

Me too.

 

[cakewalk]

It does look lovely, kind of like when you mix sour cream into borscht and it turns the most beautiful magenta color. But blood does usually turn brown when it dries, so I guess there's no exception in baked cakes. What are your quantities there? How much blood in relation to flour, eggs, etc? (It's unlikely I'd ever use it, but I am curious about it.) Interesting that you couldn't taste the blood. Certainly give you a good shot of iron, though!

[pastrygirl]

 What are your quantities there? How much blood in relation to flour, eggs, etc? (It's unlikely I'd ever use it, but I am curious about it.) Interesting that you couldn't taste the blood. Certainly give you a good shot of iron, though!

 

Honestly I don't remember, it was back in March.  I'm pretty sure I used my usual genoise recipe, with blood instead of eggs by weight.  I made a birthday cake for the sous chef and served it at staff meal

[huiray]

Good magazine has a wonderful interview with Elisabeth Paul over her research at Noma on using blood.

Apparently, it's chemically quite similar to egg white, although with far more iron and a metallic taste) and that it can be used to foam meringues and flavor ice cream.

It's a really interesting piece about taking a very old fashioned, dying ingredient and figuring out novel ways to breathe new life into it.

 

"Everything You Need to Know About Cooking with Blood".

 

Um, not quite.  Perhaps everything you need to know about cooking it in Western Europe and the USA, maybe, with Western cuisines. :-)  The only sentence that mentions anything else is this one:

"Yet from Scotland to Italy, Spain to Russia, and Tanzania to China, many traditional dishes still use blood."

 

As for:

"But sometime in recent history, we forgot how to use blood."

Actually, the use of blood in many non-Western cuisines never went away. ;-)  And also considering that Blutwurst & Zungenwurst etc are common in some parts of Europe and Haggis in others and blood pudding and blood sausages scattered here and there (and even as related in the article) that statement is a little bit of a hyperbole. :-) 

Edited October 19, 2014 by huiray (log)