Micri in desserts?

[nathanm]

I posted this recently on the cooking board, but it was suggested that I post it here, which is probably correct since pastry chefs tend to use high-tech gelling agents and emulsifiers even more

I just got a sample of Micri - a starchy substance invented and promoted by the Spanish chef (and medical doctor) Miguel Sanchez Romera. It has been mentioned in the past on eGullet, but with very few details.

Micri is promoted as a miracle emuslifying agent, used for hot or cold sauces, sorbets and ice creams. The main Micri site is here, complete with recipiesrecipies.

These include a number of dessert recipes - including Micri based ice cream and sorbet, cake and sauces.

Micri is a fresh, moist product (a thick paste) based on manioc, a tropical tuber from South America that is also the basis for tapioca.

In use, it appears that you generally stick an immersion blender into the tub or jar of Micri, whip it from a thick paste into a smoother consitency, then mix with other ingredients. The short shelf life is a bit of a bother - gelatine, agar agar, arrowroot and other gelling or emuslifying agents are powders that keep well. On the other hand it may be convienent to use out of the container.

Personally, I don't use starch thickened sauces - hot or cold - very much. However, I thought that I would give it a try. I have 800 grams of it and it only lasts 3 weeks in the refridgerator so time for some experiments!

Earlier eGullet threads were mostly about speculating what it was, and repeating breathless press articles stating that it was a miracle product.

Does anybody have any experience with it? Any suggestions?

[akwa]

Chef

I have not used too much, but it tends to work well to make syrups, sauces, reductions, etc, without any sugar at all. If you want a more stable base, try 20 corn starch, 20 potato starch slurry per liter water. Lasts relatively indefinitely. I would recommend testing in granite bases, that can be molded after freezing. In addition as a base for whipped foams it functions very well as it can incorporate air hot or cold. Im not sure if this is any help for you, but keep me posted.

I posted this recently on the cooking board, but it was suggested that I post it here, which is probably correct since pastry chefs tend to use high-tech gelling agents and emulsifiers even more

I just got a sample of Micri - a starchy substance invented and promoted by the Spanish chef (and medical doctor) Miguel Sanchez Romera. It has been mentioned in the past on eGullet, but with very few details.

Micri is promoted as a miracle emuslifying agent, used for hot or cold sauces, sorbets and ice creams. The main Micri site is here, complete with recipiesrecipies.

These include a number of dessert recipes - including Micri based ice cream and sorbet, cake and sauces.

Micri is a fresh, moist product (a thick paste) based on manioc, a tropical tuber from South America that is also the basis for tapioca.

In use, it appears that you generally stick an immersion blender into the tub or jar of Micri, whip it from a thick paste into a smoother consitency, then mix with other ingredients. The short shelf life is a bit of a bother - gelatine, agar agar, arrowroot and other gelling or emuslifying agents are powders that keep well. On the other hand it may be convienent to use out of the container.

Personally, I don't use starch thickened sauces - hot or cold - very much. However, I thought that I would give it a try. I have 800 grams of it and it only lasts 3 weeks in the refridgerator so time for some experiments!

Earlier eGullet threads were mostly about speculating what it was, and repeating breathless press articles stating that it was a miracle product.

Does anybody have any experience with it? Any suggestions?

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[ducphat30]

From a stabilizer standpoint for hot and cold emulsions what are some of the differences of micri vs. zanthan gum?

[tan319]

A chef friend of mine and I recently experimented with making our own Micri-ish base using tapioca.

We got basically the same results as Micri.

[milla]

Is that 20 grams per liter of each?

thanks in advance...

Chef

I have not used too much, but it tends to work well to make syrups, sauces, reductions, etc, without any sugar at all.  If you want a more stable base, try 20 corn starch, 20 potato starch slurry per liter water.  Lasts relatively indefinitely.  I would recommend testing in granite bases, that can be molded after freezing.  In addition as a base for whipped foams it functions very well as it can incorporate air hot or cold.  Im not sure if this is any help for you, but keep me posted.

[xdrixn]

May I ask how you prepared the tapioca?

[nathanm]

Seeing this thread pop up again, I realized that I never did report back on my experiments. That's mainly because they were not very good - micri just wasn't that interesting.

The micri that I had was a lot like the paste that kindergarden kids use. You are supposed to whip it smooth with an immersion blender - that didn't work terribly well. The result was a tasteless goo that did add body to sauces.

Mine was always a bit lumpy so I would have to strain it. It might have been too old or something.

The starch slurry that akwa suggests sounds like a much better idea.

I am also about to experiment with xanthum gum and some other hydrocolloids as gelling agents.

Nathan

[akwa]

as my friend davide scabin said

after sanchez romera had prepared a dinner in his restaurant

that is a genius

he sells nothing

this was not an insult

he was truly impressed by the ability to make a product out of commonly found ingredient and transpose into the marketplace as a novelty

for example brazilians and chinese have been using manioc/tapioca since before there was spain as we know it

nathanm, with regards to micris lack of value, you appear to be quite thoughtful regarding other applications and i would suggest not to discard micri so fast, only that you take it in context

it is just another stabilizer

contrary to recent press indicating otherwise, stabilizers are stabilizers are stabilizers

likewise starches are starches are starches

the value of micri lies in what it means not what it does

money for nothing

btw the frozen applications are from my experience not up to the claims made from the manufacturer, but the potential remains untapped, like the microwave