First Molecular Recipe: Fresh Fruit Plate

posted by andrew, Aug 06, 2007

Fresh Fruit Plate

h3. Molecular Fresh Fruit Plate: Watermelon Caviar on Watermelon Foam, Kiwi Noodles, and Pineapple Poi

Ingredients

For Watermelon Caviar on Watermelon Foam
* 1 Small, seedless Watermelon
* 100g Sodium Alginate Base (20g Sodium Alginate blended with 1 liter of water)
* 20g 1:1 Simple Syrup (boil 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water until sugar dissolves), plus more for whipped cream
* 5g Calcium Chloride
* 500g Water
* 1c Heavy Cream

For Kiwi Noodles
* 1 very ripe kiwi fruit, peeled
* 1/2 t “Agar Agar”:http://www.bulkfoods.com/agar_agar.htm
* Sour Mix

For Pineapple Poi
* 1 recipe “Marcel Vigneron’s Pineapple Poi”:http://recipes.bravotv.com/top_chef/season_2/episode_12/hamachi_poke_with_pineapple_poi.php
* 1 whole pineapple, peeled and cored
* 1 T Xantham Gum

Preparing the Watermelon Caviar on Watermelon Cream

# Cut the watermelon into quarters using a chef’s knife. Grate the pulp into a large mixing bowl using a cheese grater. If you find it easier, you may need to cut the watermelon into eighths. Strain the grated watermelon through a wire strainer, reserving liquid. Press pulp to extract as much juice as possible. Discard pulp.
# Measure 130g of the juice and blend with simple syrup and sodium alginate base until smooth. Pour mixture into a squeeze bottle, chilling until just before serving.
# Add 4T of watermelon juice to heavy cream and stir with a whisk. If desired, add a dash of simple syrup to sweeten.
# Fill a whipped cream siphon with cream mixture and attach cap per manufacturer’s directions. Chill siphon until just before serving.
# Before serving (after completing kiwi noodles and pineapple poi). In a shallow container, whisk calcium chloride into water until calcium chloride dissolves. Place a wire strainer in the water bath, and using the squeeze bottle filled with watermelon and alginate, drop single droplets of watermelon liquid into chloride bath. Repeat until desired amount of caviar has been dropped. Let stand for one minute. Remove caviar using wire strainer and gently wash with cold water. Pat dry.
# Before serving (after completing kiwi noodles and pineapple poi). Charge whipped cream siphon with N₂O per manufacturer’s instructions. Shake 3 to 4 times and pipe a small amount of whipped cream onto plate. Place the desired amount of caviar on top of cream.

Preparing the Kiwi Noodles

# Blend peeled kiwi until smooth. Pour into a measuring cup (you should have around 1/4 cup of kiwi puree). Fill measuring cup up to the 1/2 cup mark with sour mix and whisk. Add sour mix and kiwi mixture into a small saucepan (non-stick if possible) and add agar agar. Let stand for 12 minutes.
# Bring mixture to a boil and cook for five minutes. Pour mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet and slide around with a spatula until mixture is evenly 1/8th inch thin (or thinner if you desire thinner noodles). Refrigerate to set for at least three hours.
# Slice noodles into strips using a pizza cutter or chef’s knife and carefully remove from baking sheet using the tip of a knife to pry up one end.

Preparing the Pineapple Poi

# Follow Marcel’s Recipe (blend pineapple chunks and xantham gum until smooth)
# Pour mixture into a squeeze bottle to arrange on plates

Future Ideas / Directions:

* Other noodle flavors: I tried serving peach noodles with this. They didn’t turn out tasty. I want to try strawberry noodles.
* Originally, I wanted to try cutting balsa wood planks and soaking them in the excess watermelon juice in order to have a paddle on which to serve the watermelon elements. Thanks to PenDOT construction, I wasn’t able to get to a hobby store to look for balsa, but I think next time I try this, it’s a possibility.
* Also, serving the caviar in a watermelon juice bath in a Chinese spoon might be nice.

Good luck. This recipe was really cool. The kiwi noodles were a surprise hit. Also, it’s been fun, in the past week, tasting the poi as it ripened in the fridge.

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3 Comments

Susanna Harris

11.07 / 2003

This is great! Got any recipes that produce caviars using agar agar?

Many thanks!

laura

02.25 / 0258

i am having a really hard time finding the spherification kit. i need one for my guys birthday present… any help would be fabulous, thanks.

Derek

03.10 / 2028

blindedbyscience.pilsch.com, how do you do it?

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First Molecular Recipe: Fresh Fruit Plate

posted by andrew, Aug 06, 2007

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