Blini With Asparagus Caviar, When Three Year Olds Do Molecular Gastronomy

Asparagus Caviar

(By the way, if you like this post, please give it a Thumbs Up on Stumbleupon - much appreciated!)

So, I'm working more on dishes for my first Herbivoracious dinner party. I want the amuse bouche to be traditional buckwheat blini with creme fraiche and asparagus caviar. The caviar is made using the spherification technique pioneered by Ferran Adria. You need sodium alginate (derived from seaweed), and calcium chloride. (A good source for this stuff is WillPowder if you want to play). You can also make big balls, "raviolis", worms and so on.

The technique isn't really hard, in fact a three year old can do it!

When Kids Do Molecular Gastronomy in Their Jammies

... ok, well, maybe a 3 year old can't make perfect little caviar pearls, but believe me she can have good fun trying! Yes, I'm a proud Dad, but I was also thinking that my daughter is probably the only 3 year old in the world who at this exact moment is doing molecular gastronomy.

I wasn't totally happy with the asparagus balls because I really wanted them to be clear, but these came out opaque. If I filter the liquid to make it clear, there isn't much taste left. Oh well, more screwing around to come.

(Enjoying this post? Get more like it by subscribing to our feed).

The basic schtick is:

Puree whatever you want to spherify, and strain as needed. It can't be anything too acidic, for that you need a different magic powder.
Add about 0.3% alginate by weight to the liquid and blend the heck out of it. Ideally let it sit for awhile so the bubbles come out.
Make a solution of about 0.7% calcium chloride by weight of water. You don't need much, a small bowl is good. A bowl where you can fit a strainer (see pic above) works well so you can just lift it out and catch all your caviar at once.
Have another bowl of clear water handy too.
To make caviar, fill a syringe (with no needle) or a small squeeze bottle with the alginate mixture. Start dripping little drops into the calcium chloride solution. Experiment with how hard you squeeze, how high above the water you drip and so on to get nice little spheres.
Drain and dip in the clear water to rinse off excess calcium chloride.
Pop in your mouth and experience a sense of wonder.
If it isn't working well, up the percentages as high as 0.5% alginate and 1.0% calcium chloride.

To do worms, put the syringe under water and squeeze. To do ravioli, fill a spoon with the alginate solution and kind of lower/tip it in. Play!

I tested the blini and creme fraiche separately, and just to have the asparagus taste in the mix I roasted one little tip. Tasted pretty good I think. I'll let y'all know how the final version comes out.

Blin With Creme Fraiche and Roasted Asparagus

Find related articles in: Appetizers | Experiments | Favorites
Leave a comment about this article (17) | Here's the permalink.
Published on March 31, 2008.

Help us grow:

Thumbs Up!

Recent Comments

Jim Fowler commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Thanks for honest and thoughtful writing on this subject. I am very like you but not as eloquent... Jim

renato commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

When I say umans, I'm meaning HUMANS.

renato commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I've always seen myself as a "potential vegetarian" or an omnivore with vegeterian tendencies, or whatever, but that was never something I gave thoughts about.

Since childhood I've prefered salads and vegetables over meat - with the exception of fish. But you know, living with people who eat meat all the time, you end up eating meat too, even not liking it at all.

Well, I went to Argentina, my favorite neighbour country (time to say, I'm Brazilian). In Argentina all they eat is meat. They are much more carnivores than omnivores. So, that was ok for me, cause since then I didn't have any concern about eating meat, except its taste. But one week of it made me so sick.

When I returned to Brazil I thanked so much God or the deities or the powers of nature (you see, I have no standard religion) for the incredible amount of vegetables we have here - I believe it doesn't compare to anywhere in the world. Fresh vegetables! I decided to stop eating meat. Many of my friends were going vegetarian at the same time. Thanks to the Universe and its forces, or to simple coincidence. And most importantly, add to that that my pet dog was run over by a bus and I could see all that suffering and trauma in her eyes. And my own despair. There came the realization that there are feelings between us umans and animals. "Do animals have feelings?" is not a necessary question for me, since I have feelings towards them, and that's enough. For your curiosity's sake, she recovered very very well. Dogs are so resistant!

I do very ocasionally eat fish and seafood - so I'm actually pescetarian, which is a specific kind of omnivorism. But meat... since I made my decision I tried meat one more time, but it tasted quite rotten, like a dead thing (which indeed it is). I can't stand the smell of animal fat anymore.

Hard to put up with people that think you'll die or get terribly sick if you don't eat meat. So to deal with it I started reading a lot about vegetarianism, and related issues. You know, a little database to try to argue with meat lovers. Most of the texts I've found are just ideological pamphlets, just too irate to be valid. Yours, Michael, is one of the few that address the issue in a nonpassionate, tolerant way. It made me realise that a diet is a matter of choice and should be adressed in a simple, natural way. It's as simple as choosing a pair of shoes to wear (assuming you're not a girl), especially when you feel good about it.

Sarah commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

My reasons are similar to yours, but slightly different. I just find the idea of eating the flesh of another living creature, a creature that can feel pain, and has free will, simply barbaric. We're all connected, I don't see a tremendous difference between eating a cow and eating a human, both disgust me beyond belief. I don't think we should be feeding ourselves on death, it just seems wrong. Armed with this, I can combat any possible circumstance people hypothetically construct for meat eating.
It frustrates me when people demand explanations for my choice, and mock me for my lifestyle, thank you for writing such a well voiced and intelligent article that helps to combat the antipathy many meat eaters seem to feel towards vegetarians.

Michael Natkin commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Thanks Amber! I started when I was 18, so I remember well how much flak you take at that age. For what it is worth, it gets a lot easier as you get older and the people around you are more accepting.

Spa Flyer commented on How to Make Fluffy Couscous - Easy Couscous Recipe:

Wow, thanks for the tip. I only recently discovered cous cous and just love it. I was curious why it was fluffy sometimes, and not others, and thought it was the water. I think now it was the depth or narrowness of the various bowls I was using. I'll use my big, flat roasting pan next time. Thank you!

frantic foodie commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

Michael, love the way you wrote this one, was a vegetarian for 5 years. You should print this and wear it on your forehead, that way people won't even have to ask

Amber commented on Why I'm A Vegetarian, Dammit:

I've been a vegetarian for 4 years. I'm only 17, so I seem to get more flack from meat-eaters about my decision. It's always pretty hard for me to get my point across to people who ask because I tend to get angry or flustered and I just drop the subject before I start crying or yelling. This article explains exactly why I made my decision and continue to live by it. So, when people ask me from now on, I do believe I will tell them the URL to this article. Thank you, and I will also be checking out this website from now on.

Subscribe!

Subscribe via RSS:
(What is RSS?)