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

• Sour Mix

   

  For Pineapple Poi

• 1 recipe Marcel Vigneron’s Pineapple Poi
  • 1 whole pineapple, peeled and cored

• 1 T Xantham Gum

  Preparing the Watermelon Caviar on Watermelon Cream

  1. 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.

1. 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

2. 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.
3. 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.

1. 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

2. Follow Marcel’s Recipe (blend pineapple chunks and xantham gum until smooth)

1. 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.