Decoding Ferran Adria (Merged Topic)

[chefwoody]

Outside of a fine-dining setting, one could wax just as eloquently about eating sweet peas right out of the pod as eating a liquid ravioli made of them.

However, having tasted a pea soup made in the same manner, I can assure you that it tastes as raw as the season that made its ingredient. Also, as should be the goal of any good chef, the peas, through careful seasoning, taste more like themselves than if they were just eaten right out of the pod; not to mention the color, which is greatly enhanced by a VERY quick (approximately 10 seconds) blanch and shock to bring out its chlorophyll.

And, most importantly, do you think anyone would go to a restaurant and pay several hundred dollars for a meal that consisted of a bowl of raw sweet peas and a nice bottle of wine? While taste is paramount in matters of cuisine, I deeply believe that dining is about much, much more. I believe in the "whole picture" when it comes to restaurants and think that each element is just as important as the other.

As for tricks, I am all for them. Even when these tricks are experienced, the diner eventually comes back around to another flavor, sight, smell, or texture that is very real - one that he or she can connect with.

[docsconz]

Well put, chefwoody. I don't think anyone would question Adria and the prgressives' commitment to quality and underlying traditions.

It is this that in my mind at least makes Adria and his peers consistent with the ideals of Slow Food.

By the way, I would like to complement everyone in this thread. It presents a somewhat different view of Adria, El Bulli and what is behind it all, or at least somewhat different take on what I have seen and followed.

Tony, thanks for the teasers. I, too am really looking forward to seeing the completed project.

[Bux]

"Less me! More food!"

A wise decision.

Seriously, Cooks Tour was one of the more interesting and enjoyable shows on TV. Certain among the best of the food shows, but they always ran the danger of appealing to those who wanted to see Tony Bourdain, rather than learn more about the things at hand that intersted him. The balance was off in some of those shows for me. There was too often some frustration of not getting enough of the subject. With Adria as the subject, even at an hour, I suspect the conflict would have been greater. I think it would be easy to feed Adria to the sharks that see him as less of a cook than a crazed scientist. I'd even fear that would be the result of a half hearted attempt to do him justice, but with lots of laughs thrown in to appeal to a wide audience. I haven't always gotten every dish Adria's sent out, but both my meals there were compelling. They were rivoting experiences and joyful. I've been looking forward to this feature from the earliest comments you've made here on your visit to El Bulli. The QuickTime clips are excellent and I hope they foretell of a great presentation. Thanks for posting what seems to be an answer to my last post.

[Bux]

By the way, I would like to complement everyone in this thread. It presents a somewhat different view of Adria, El Bulli and what is behind it all, or at least somewhat different take on what I have seen and followed.

That's interesting. In what way does it show a different Adria or at least a different view of him? I guess I've read so damn much about him by now that successive posts tend to tell me more about the poster than about Adria. Most of what I've read may well have been on eGullet, but if eGullet still has the power to develop Adria in a more rounded way, we're doing something right.

[Jason Perlow]

By the way, I would like to complement everyone in this thread. It presents a somewhat different view of Adria, El Bulli and what is behind it all, or at least somewhat different take on what I have seen and followed.

That's interesting. In what way does it show a different Adria or at least a different view of him? I guess I've read so damn much about him by now that successive posts tend to tell me more about the poster than about Adria. Most of what I've read may well have been on eGullet, but if eGullet still has the power to develop Adria in a more rounded way, we're doing something right.

Actually Bux, after watching the show, I now truly feel I have a grasp for Adria's personality, his thought process and what the food is really like -- just following the threads on eG didn't seem to make me "grok" it in its entirety.

[Bicycle Lee]

How the heck did those "raviolis" work?

Adria demonstrated this technique when he was in London. Here's my understanding of it: Sodium alginate (a carbohydrate found in seaweed) is added to the liquid solution. Then spoonsful of liquid are dropped into a solution of calcium chloride. This sets off an ion exchange reaction, and causes the polymers in the alginate to link and thicken, creating the "skin" of the ravioli. Adria uses the same technique to create "caviar" out of apple juice, essence of ceps and other liquids.

Waldman, Amy Sue; Schechinger, Linda; Govindarajoo, Geeta; Nowick, James S.; Pignolet, Louis H. The Alginate Demonstration: Polymers, Food Science, and Ion Exchange J. Chem. Educ. 1998 75 1430. (November 1998)

For a student lab demonstration in which this technique is used to make "snakes" out of Gaviscon, click.

I was under the assumption that things like green peas already contained sodium alginate, and that you only had to add this substance to food items that did not inherently contain them.

I, too, cannot wait to see the finished product...looks interesting.

Edited May 28, 2004 by Bicycle Lee (log)

[vserna]

But once I saw the man eating Iberico ham with his fingers,

Goodness, is there any other way?

[chefwoody]

Lee,

As far as I have been able to ascertain (I am doing more research as I type) the alginate being used to make the raviolis (and lots of other items) is only extracted from a type of brown seaweed. It appears that it occurs in the seaweed as a mix of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium salts. Based on these facts, I am going to assume, for now at least, that it is possible that it occurs in other green plants. But, I am also going to assume that the levels of each of the salts differs in other organisms to the effect that it does not react to calcium the same way that this particular seaweed alginate does (that it forms a stable matrix in the presence of calcium).

Here's a link to a manufacturer of alginate that describes much of its chemistry:

http://www.fmcbiopolymer.com/Biopolymer/V2...%253D33,00.html

I'll post more information as I find it.

[ingridsf]

Every time I hear Adria's name, I immediately think "Dali." Surreal. Cerebral. Brilliant but best approached conceptually rather than through, I don't know, hunger? Gathering now that while complex enough to satisfy through intellectual appreciation, his food is -- food. I had wondered. Not that I'm for everything-I-ever-learned-about-food-I learned-in-kindergarten. Or a Thomas Kincaid -- ACCK! -- of the kitchen.

[Bicycle Lee]

Lee,

As far as I have been able to ascertain (I am doing more research as I type) the alginate being used to make the raviolis (and lots of other items) is only extracted from a type of brown seaweed. It appears that it occurs in the seaweed as a mix of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium salts. Based on these facts, I am going to assume, for now at least, that it is possible that it occurs in other green plants. But, I am also going to assume that the levels of each of the salts differs in other organisms to the effect that it does not react to calcium the same way that this particular seaweed alginate does (that it forms a stable matrix in the presence of calcium).

Here's a link to a manufacturer of alginate that describes much of its chemistry:

http://www.fmcbiopolymer.com/Biopolymer/V2...%253D33,00.html

I'll post more information as I find it.

thanks...that site is cool...do they sell all of that stuff? I would really like to get my hands on some cellulose gel, and some sodium alginate.

[chefwoody]

If you contact them directly, you can get free samples of most, if not all, of the products that they carry. In order to purchase anything from them, they require a minimum amount (I think the minimum is a 50 lb. bag - It would take YEARS to use all of that!)

[ducphat30]

PLEEEEEEEASE HELP ME!!!! What do I need to download in order to see the clip ????? I am ready to throw something. I can get to the site, nothing happens when I click on Adria. God I hate being computer stupid!!!!

[tan319]

PLEEEEEEEASE HELP ME!!!! What do I need to download in order to see the clip ????? I am ready to throw something. I can get to the site, nothing happens when I click on Adria. God I hate being computer stupid!!!!

Quicktime?

[tan319]

Wow, it's been awhile for this one.

Any news on this getting distribution, etc.?

Would love to own it on DVD.

[rgruby]

I just found this link: http://zeropointzero.com/ferran.html

containing clips of Anthony Bourdain's documentary on El Bulli. Has this come out yet? If not, does anybody know when, where?

Sorry to all if this has made the rounds already.

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

[tan319]

there's a thread here called 'Decoding Ferran Adria', the name of the documentary.

Still waiting on more info.

Check it out.

[rgruby]

there's a thread here called 'Decoding Ferran Adria'

Yup, there is. It's here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=43712

D'oh! If I'd had the title correct - Decoding, not Deconstructing - I would have found it. Sorry 'bout that. But while we're here, does anybody know when it will be aired?

For the record, we've merged the last three posts into the original thread

[Dryden]

Update - does anyone know when/where this will be aired?

[Bux]

I think we're all still waiting to hear of a deal.

[Bicycle Lee]

If you contact them directly, you can get free samples of most, if not all, of the products that they carry.  In order to purchase anything from them, they require a minimum amount (I think the minimum is a 50 lb. bag - It would take YEARS to use all of that!)

←

Just to follow up....I did contact FMC and expressed interest in their products...They were gracious enough to send out a KILO of alginate!!!! Damn...good thing I got a buddy who can get me calcium chloride.

[Mystic]

I'm looking for a copy of this show. Can anyone help me out?