Clarifying juices and broths using gelatin

[Jonpong]

So I gave the agar version a shot and at this point I'm not impressed but that's with the disclaimer that there may be self-inflicted problems I'm dealing with. I used .07% agar in a batch of smoked turkey stock, froze it, dumped it in a filter lined sieve and after 72 hours in the cooler it's still not completely drained out.

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I believe you have to do the clarification at room temp, which takes about 8 hours or so. But i have yet to try it, hopefully this week if im not too lazy

[Mallet]

What sort of yield is typical with this method? I want to try and adapt this technique for use in some French Laundry recipes (no more constant skimming ), but need to know if I expect much less yield than with the usual skimming and straining...

[Tri2Cook]

If you get the gelatin right and are patient enough to let it drain out completely (if you've been doing the French Laundry recipes you're patient enough ), the yield is surprisingly high. The patience required depends on the volume you're working with. I'd say you lose no more (or not much more, possibly less) than you would to evaporation in the traditional method but I've never done a side-by-side test, that's just based on casual observation. Too much gelatin leads to a steep descent in yield as the level goes up. I have my best results with something that's almost, but not quite, too fragile to actually think of as a gel. It wobbles around in a way that makes you think it didn't gel at all and looks like you could still pour it (maybe you can, I haven't tried). There's a bit of educated guesswork and finger crossing involved with liquids that have some degree of natural gelatin in them if there's not enough present for them to gel on their own without a little booster shot. In some cases the natural gelatin exceeds what you actually want in there. That's a fun one. "Hey, it's been draining for 3 days... where the #&%@ is my consomme?"

I had bad luck with the agar version but it appears that may have been my fault. I drained it out in the cooler instead of at room temperature and it took much longer than I expected, longer even than gelatin. That one may have to be reserved for specific applications, some things I won't feel happy about leaving out at room temp all day.

[CDRFloppingham]

This thread is giving me a culinary boner.

Do you need to heat the 0.5% gelatin solution to get the gelatin (good ole Knox) to go into solution, then cool, then freeze?

Or is it OK if you put the gelatin into a cool/cold liquid, stir well, then freeze?

[Tri2Cook]

You have to hydrate the gelatin (doesn't matter if it's powder or sheet). Once hydrated, you can dissolve it directly in the liquid to be clarified if it's hot. If not, you can heat part of the liquid in the microwave or on the stove, dissolve the gelatin in it and stir it into the rest of the liquid.

[Mallet]

I used this technique to make lobster consommé for the FL's lobster consommé en gelée and it worked out beautifully with 0.5% gelatin (the lobster bodies presumably have little to no natural gelatin in them, which simplified things considerably). The yield was much higher than the yield given in the recipe book using a clarification raft, almost double. The stock was very clean and clear, so this is definitely my go-to method for clarification in the future!

[Ruth]

I have an important (for me) question. If I do this with a strong meat stock -I always add one or more pig's feet to my meat stocks - will it still gel after the gelatin filtration? I like to make head cheese for which I need a strong almost hard gel. The natural gelatin is also essential when one uses a stock as a base for sauces. I can see this is a great solution for fruit and vegetable based stocks but would like to know exactly what will happen to the texture of a gelatin- filtered meat or fish stock.

Ruth Friedman

[fauxtarga]

This is a pretty interesting post (w example ratios + technique):

http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/07...-technique-yet/

which was inspired by this post on saturday

http://www.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2...rification.html

I think this removes a lot of the barriers to this technique - time, equipment, etc.

[Tri2Cook]

This is a pretty interesting post (w example ratios + technique):

http://cookingissues.wordpress.com/2009/07...-technique-yet/

which was inspired by this post on saturday

http://www.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2...rification.html

I think this removes a lot of the barriers to this technique - time, equipment, etc.

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I agree, accept for the "pretty interesting" part. It's #$%@ing awesome!

Edited July 14, 2009 by Tri2Cook (log)