Tag Archives: meringue

Cryopoached Coconut Meringue with Powdered Strawberry

07 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in foams, liquid nitrogen, recipes

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cryopoached coconut puff copy

Jethro and I were asked to create a dish with “wow factor” for a group of scientists for an upcoming event.  We wanted to craft a bite that’s first and foremost delicious, but also illustrates some of the hallmarks of modernist cooking: textural transformation, surprise, and use of unconventional techniques to refine and reinterpret something traditional.  It also had to be practical and economical, since we’ll be serving nearly 200 people in two hours.  This meant quick plating time, low portion cost, and minimal prep.  After some brainstorming, we decided that a cryopoached (liquid nitrogen-frozen) puff would fit the bill.  Jethro had already made the Fat Duck’s Cryopoached Green Tea Sour (which I recognized from Modernist Cuisine), but we wanted to make a version that was our own, and frankly, one that was simpler and cheaper.

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Kitchen Cryogenics: Playing With Liquid Nitrogen

13 Thursday Jan 2011

Posted by in blow shit up, liquid nitrogen

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LN2 Steam

Continuing my free fall into contemporary cooking techniques, I wanted to work with liquid nitrogen for some seriously cold cooking.  Liquid nitrogen is incredibly cold: −321 °F/−196 °C!  As it warms up, it boils away back into a gas, creating the exact opposite of a deep fryer – a deep freezer.  This is the stuff that urban legend says poor Walt Disney is frozen in for possible future reanimation.  My interests, however, are purely culinary.

Grabbing A Cold One

I wouldn’t be able to go to Sur la Table to get what I needed for this round of cooking.  I instead went to my local provider of industrial gases and inquired about purchasing a small amount of liquid nitrogen (also known as LN).  They said I couldn’t do it without the use of a dewar, a container especially designed for carrying and storing LN.  So, I did some research online, waited patiently, and was able to score a small 5 liter dewar for 40% off list price on eBay.

MVE Lab 5 Dewar

I first read Cooking Issues’ excellent Liquid Nitrogen Primer before I got started.  The three main takeaways:

  1. Do not keep LN under pressure in a closed container. It will explode. It can blow your hands off.  Thus, a proper dewar is necessary.
  2. You can suffocate on nitrogen and die and you won’t even know it.  Your body won’t warn you ahead of time.  You must be in a well ventilated area.
  3. It is really, really cold.  Avoid getting burned the same way you’d avoid hot oil.

It was a cold wet day in Seattle when I went to fill my dewar up with LN, but I still drove home with the windows down, the dewar tightly strapped in the back seat surrounded by towels, determined to not get killed before I froze some foodstuffs at home for my amusement.  I made it back safely and got down to some cold cooking.

Deep Freeze Frying

I placed a towel on my kitchen counter and placed a metal bowl inside of a larger metal bowl on top.  This was in case the LN was so cold the first bowl cracked open.  At least I would have a chance to get the thing outside if need be.  The window above the counter was opened for ventilation.  I decided to do a bunch of different things, some successful, others less so.  But it gave me a good insight into what’s possible.

First off was ice cream.  I was trying to make some ice cream bowls as Ferran Adria’s video showed in his talk at Google. At elBulli, they freeze an ice cream base on the underside of a ladle and then slip it off, creating a beautiful ice cream bowl to be filled with other goodies.  I, however, couldn’t get the bowls off correctly from the ladle – they were frozen solid on there, and they would always chip and break.  As my LN quickly evaporated, I decided to forgo that experiment after several tries and keep trying other techniques.

I scooped up some ice cream and threw it in.  It created a delicious little fudgesicle nugget, frozen on the outside but still creamy inside.

Fudgesicle Nugget
Creamy Chocolatey Goodness

Next up was an idea for a frozen spruce meringue.  I beat some egg whites and sugar together until they were fluffy, and then added some spruce spice I made last week.  It turned out great  – cold, crunchy, and creamy.  And forest-y.

Frozen Spruce Meringue
Creamy Frozen Spruce Meringue

Next up – orange slices.  After a quick freeze, I smashed them in a bowl to create an orange risotto.

Orange Risotto

Finally, I messed with some alcohol.  Alcohol doesn’t freeze in the freezer, but LN has no problem with it.  I took plum wine and poured it into a small bowl.  I then stirred in LN to create an Asian alcohol sorbet.

Stir It Up

Plum Wine Sorbet

For the most part, my initial foray into the world of liquid nitrogen cooking was very successful.  And addictive.  With instant fudgesicles, ice creams and sorbets, I can see it being a big hit during summer BBQs.   I know now someday when I get a new home, my kitchen will have a hot station, a cold station, and a very, very cold station.

Sake Sorbet

Sake Sorbet

Jethro

Savory Chorizo Meringue Tapas

21 Sunday Nov 2010

Posted by in recipes

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chorizo meringues
Thank you, Spain, for one of the best flavor combinations on earth: chorizo, Manchego cheese, and olives.  Any combination of the three yields an irresistible tapa (Spanish snack), and this recipe is no exception.  Turing the chorizo into a savory meringue is a nod to the textural transformations that Spanish chef Ferran Adrià pioneered, and which are now a hallmark of modernist cooking.  Plus, it’s crunchy!

Makes: about 50 pieces
Total kitchen time: 2 hours (20 minutes working time)

Shopping list:

  • 1 dry-cured chorizo (available in the deli sections of finer grocery stores)
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 lb Manchego cheese
  • 50 Spanish olives
  1. Preheat your oven to 300°F and set the top rack in the middle position.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and dust with flour (adding a little cooking spray to the parchment helps the flour stick).
  2. Cut off about 4” of the chorizo and slice thinly.  Use the remaining chorizo for a snack while you’re cooking – you deserve it.  Blend the sliced chorizo in a small food processor until it is broken apart.  This should yield about 1/2 cup.
  3. Add the egg whites and cream of tartar to the bowl of your stand mixer, with the whisk attachment installed (you can use a hand mixer, but mixing times may vary).  Beat the egg whites on medium-high for about 2 minutes, or until they hold soft peaks.
  4. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl.  With the mixer running on medium-high speed, slowly drizzle in the sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Continue mixing until the egg whites are glossy and hold stiff peaks.  Finally, mix on high speed for 45 seconds until the egg whites are stiff.
  5. Carefully fold the ground chorizo into the egg white mixture.  Spread the mixture in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet until it is about 1/2” thick (this will occupy nearly the whole baking sheet).
  6. Bake at 300°F for 90 minutes, or until the top is light brown and firmly spongy to the touch.  Remove the meringue and transfer to a cooling rack.  Let cool 10 minutes.
  7. Slice the meringue into 1 1/2” squares and top with a thin slice of Manchego and an olive.

I was hoping to find a way to make the meringue using my whip cream charger instead of the stand mixer.  I did come close by rendering the oil from the chorizo and adding it to egg whites and cream of tartar.  It foamed on its way through the charger, but without the sugar, the foam just wasn’t strong enough to hold up in the oven.  Oh well, that’s the fun of experimenting!

Scott