These Culinary Thymes

Someone once told me that no matter what we do we never stop learning.  I would have to agree with them.  The moment you stop looking for the answers is the moment you stop growing.  At the age of 28 I took a chance and went to culinary school.  I think that I was destined to become a chef because I graduated in the top five percent of my class and I never studied once.  I am now on the other side of the text book shall we say.  I am an instructor at the Viking Culinary Center at Loaves & Fishes Cookshop in Garden City NY.  Although the classes are more recreational than professional it still doesn’t change my demeanor.  No matter what, where or why I still teach my students how to cook.  This being said, the teacher still needs to be the student from time to time.

For about a year or so I have been into the whole molecular food science thing, but with no real luck in achieving any real training.  The closest thing so far was making some “airs” with soy lecithin or powdering some nutella and peanut butter.  I really had no idea where to turn until my boss handed me this piece of paper a few weeks ago.  On this said piece of paper was information about a class being held right here on Long Island.  The class I signed up for was being taught by Chefs Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot of www.ideasinfood.com and it is the first in a series on different food additives.  Today’ class was on hydrocolloids and I have to be honest…I had a blast.  Hydrocolloids are used to thicken liquids (ie. water based liquids, hence the hydro) such as gelatin and corn starch.  These were among the very first ones.  To work they need to be dispersed in the liquid, given time to hydrate and then they will gel.  Today we went beyond those common items and moved on the Agar, Carageenan and Xanthan gum.  I don’t want to give anything away but all I can say is that with these new methods and products there are endless possibilities ahead.  For those of you out there who think that these “new methods” are more science fiction and magic tricks think again.  Most of the things that are “cutting edge” have been used for centuries.  The next time you are in the store, pick up a carton of ice cream, or Good Season dressing mix or even an egg.  You just might be shocked to find out that you have already been exposed to Xanthan gum, or Carageenan or Sodium Chloride.  For all that it’s worth, going back to school can be a great thing.

Until next time…have a good one.

       When you think of marshmallows it brings back memories of camp fires, s’mores and pieces of flaming goo on the end of a stick.  The origin of the marshmallow dates back to Egypt where honey was mixed with the sap of the mallow plant.  This was the case up until the 1800’s when cornstarch was used to replaced the mallow plant.  These days there are so many places you will see marshmallows…from little “Peeps” at Easter time, to breakfast cereal and even on the menu’s of some high end restaurants. 

I had eaten at a restaurant in New York City some eight years ago.  The name of the restaurant was “First” and the chef there was a friend of a friend.  It was a very nice place, with an industrial look to it.  The food was pretty good, from the wings to the mussels, but the dessert was worth the wait.  Out to the table came all the fixings to make s’mores, which included a tiny cauldron of hot charcoal.  It was like you were camping out at your table.  The experience was a lot of fun and it was one of those times that a person won’t forget.  Not only will I never forget that night (mostly because it was one of the first restaurants in NYC I had ever dined in) but it got my big brain cooking too.  I have been curious about making my own marshmallows, but seeing what goes into them I had been reluctant…that is until now. 

Seeing that Molecular Gastronomy is the wave of the future I decided to try my hand at making some in a different way.  I did some research on the web and ordered both Xanthan gum and Methyl-cellulose F50.  If you have ever had “Good Seasons” Italian dressing then you have had Xanthan gum before (it is the reason the dressing stays thick) and you might find Methyl-cellulose in ice cream.  I decided to use them in a different way than ever before.  The following is my recipe for “Molecular Marshmallows.”  I am still in the working stage, but this is my first go at them.  They are pretty cool and not exactly what you are used to…but they are cool just the same.

250g. Bottled water (tap water has a funny after taste with this)

1.5g. Xanthan Gum

1.5g. Methyl-cellulose F50

Dash of Vanilla

Dash of Salt

2-3 cups Confectioners (powdered) sugar, more if you like it sweeter

In the bowl of a 7qt. mixer dissolve the Xanthan gum and Methyl-cellulose with the water and vanilla.  Turn on the mixer on medium and treat it like you are making a meringue.  Once the water comes to soft peak start adding the confectioners sugar, a little at a time.  As it turns it will start to become more dense and elastic, similar to something between marshmallow fluff and canned vanilla frosting.  This can be spooned out and caramelized just like a real marshmallow.  It will hold its shape, but will be more like whipped cream rather than a commercial marshmallow.

Well, that’s about it for this round.  Join me next time for more…until then, bye.