WHY THE FOAM?(3)

El bulli (Spain) – Ferran Adria and the Fat Duck (England) – Heston Blumenthal are probably the most famous restaurant serving foams in their menues. 

But if we check the San Pellegrino´s World´s Best Restaurant 2015 ist really hard to find one restaurant is not serving foam at all in their menues. Just the number 13, Asador Etxebarri has never served a modern culinary foam in the regular menu.

1. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, Spain

Chef: Joan Roca

2. Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy

Chef: Massimo Bottura

3. Noma, Copenhagen

Chef: René Redzepi

4. Central, Lima, Peru

Chef: Virgilio Martinez 

5. Eleven Madison Park, New York City

Chef: Daniel Humm

6. Mugaritz, Guipúzcoa, Spain

Chef: Andoni Luis Aduriz

7. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London

Chef: Ashley Palmer-Watts

8. Narisawa, Tokyo

Chef: Yoshihiro Narisawa

9. D.O.M., Sao Paolo, Brazil

Chef: Alex Atala 

10. Gaggan, Bangkok

Chef: Gaggan Anand

11. Mirazur, Menton, France. Cost: €85-€140 ($95-$156).

12. L'arpege, Paris. Cost: €240-€320 ($268-$357).

13. Asador Etxebarri, Bisquay, Spain. Cost: €125-€195 ($140-$218).

14. Astrid y Gaston, Lima, Peru. Cost: s/385 ($183).

15. Steirereck, Austria. Cost: €132-€142 ($147-$158).

16. Pujol, Mexico City. Cost: 1325 pesos ($87).

17. Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain. Cost: €195 ($218).

18. Le Bernardin, New York City. Cost: $170-$205.

19. Azurmendi, Larrabetzu, Spain. Cost: €145-€175 ($162-$195).

20. The Ledbury, London. Cost: £105-£115 ($162-$178).

21. Le Chateaubriand, Paris. Cost: €70 ($78).

22. Nahm, Bangkok. Cost: ฿2300 ($69).

23. White Rabbit, Moscow. New entry. Cost: 5,500 RUB. ($102).

24. Ultraviolet, Shanghai, China. Cost: ¥4,000 ($645, inclusive of beverage pairings).

25. Faviken, Sweden. Cost: 2200 SEK ($264).

26. Alinea, Chicago. Cost: $225-$275.

27. Piazza Duomo, Alba Italy. Cost: €180- €220 ($201-$246).

28. Test Kitchen, Cape Town South Africa. Cost: 590r-950r ($49-$79).

29. RyuGin, Tokyo. Cost: ¥27000 ($224).

30. Vendome, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. Cost: €190- €268 ($212-$299).

31. Frantzen, Stockholm, Sweden. Cost: 2300 SEK ($277).

32. Attica, Melbourne, Australia. Cost: $195 AUD ($154).

33. Aqua, Germany. Cost: €185-€230 ($206-$257).

34. Le Calendre, Italy. €200-€226. ($223-$251).

35. Quintonil, Mexico City. New entry. Cost: 990 pesos ($65).

36. L'astrance, Paris. Cost: €170-€230 ($190-$257).

37. Biko, Mexico City. Cost: 995 pesos ($65).

38. Amber, Hong Kong. Cost: $1988 HKD ($256).

39. QuiQue Dacosta, Denia, Spain. Cost: €185 ($206).

40. Per Se, New York City. Cost: $310.

41. Mani, Sao Paolo, Brazil. Cost: R$380 ($125).

42. Borago, Santiago, Chile. Cost: 35,000-57,000 CLP ($52-$84).

43. Tickets, Barcelona. Cost: n/a, a la carte tapas.

44. Maido, Lima, Peru. Cost: n/a, a la carte raw fish.

45. Relae, Copenhagen. Cost: 450-750 DKK ($67-$112).

46. Restaurant Andre, Singapore. Cost: S$298 ($223)

47. Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, Paris. Cost: €380 ($424).

48. Schloss Schauenstein, Austria. Cost: 235-249 SFr ($252-$267).

49. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocatino Hills, New York. New entry. Cost: $218.

50. The French Laundry, Yountville, California, USA. Cost: $295.

WHY THE FOAM? (2)

Espuma is the Spanish word for foam or froth and is the descriptive word for a technique developed by Ferran Adrià.

A culinary foam consists of natural flavours such as fruit juices or vegetable purees, soup and stock bases mixed with gelling or stabilising agents such as lecithin, gelatine or natural fats in cream and other dairy produce. This is achieved by the introduction of air by using either a mechanical technique of whipping the fluids with either a hand held immersion blender or extruded through a cream whipper using N2O cartridges.

This technique is not new to us and has been used for many generations such as the making of cappuccinos and the old childhood favourite for adding a topping to an Ice-cream Sunday. Adrià has taken this 1970′s technique and equipment, refined the philosophy and used the science behind it all to develop the more commonly used culinary foams, airs and espumas that we all know these days.

In the ‘90s, when Ferran Adrià developed this technique it took the culinary world by storm and and it was considered avant-garde at that time. Then foams were used in the white-tablecloth establishments around the world and became totally over used. However who cares if foams are so ‘yesterday’ in the restaurant world? I still love the technique and think it’s definitely one to retain. It shows that the culinary world is turning and we are not all stuck in obeying the classic French school of cooking . I class it as a cookery technique developed and learnt in my cookery era and I’m proud of it and shall celebrate it for as long as I can.

The benefits of this technique is that when you incorporate air mechanically, in a fierce manner, into a very intense and strong flavoured sauce you expand the flavour so it becomes light and sumptuous and the volume doubles.

As briefly explained before there are two kinds of foams. I differentiate the two as follows:

1. The one that I refer to as a foam or cappuccino is made with a hand held immersion blender creating a wispy foam,
2. The other foam, espuma or air ,is created by a cream whipper, also known as a siphon, using N2O cartridges to incorporate the air which creates a dense mousse type foam.

Which foam to use and when is a matter of personal preference. To create the perfect foam or air it is important that you have a understanding of how to achieve this and I have listed a few facts that should set you on your way.

Espuma and Foaming facts:

• The liquid or puree must be thick and or dense enough to hold its shape.
• For the foam to hold its shape for a period of time there must be some form of thickening or gelling agent present in the liquid.
• Thickening and gelling agents are: gelatine, lecithin, agar and natural fats such as butter, cream and other dairy produce
• For hot foams the best thickeners are fat or starch; this could be found in butter, cream or milk. It’s also important to make sure that the liquid is not too hot, the perfect temperature is between 5o°C and 65°C. Place the cream whipper in a bain-marie filled with hot water; do not keep for longer than 2 hours.
• Cold foams also require fat to stabilise the shape but if you make dairy free foam you can use gelatine with dense liquid or purees, to stabilise the foam. All depends on what you are making but I normally use 1 leaf of gelatine to 250ml of dense liquid. If your choice is dairy you can add fat by adding yoghurt, crème fraîche or cream.
• There are two different gasses available to charge the cream whipper . Standard gas bulbs that will give you the foaming characteristics are Nitrous oxide (N2O) .
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is also available and will give the liquid a fizzy texture commonly found in fizzy drinks. Select your gas carefully to give you the desired end result. If you would like to experiment with making fizzy soda drinks I recommend that you should investigate the Soda Siphons bottles.

WHY THE FOAM? (1)

Francois Vatel is known as the great French chef who killed himself on the morning of the 24th of April 1671 at Chantilly, France over a fish delivery that went wrong. The invention of Chantilly whipped cream, the most famous culinary foam is often attributed him when he worked in the kitchens of the Château de Chantilly.  He was commissioned to organize a party for the Duc de Condé, owner of Chantilly, and his cousin the king Louis XIV. The party lasted from 23 to 25 April, sumptuous meals were served, illuminations, hunting and lavish entertainment was organized. There were problems with supplies; legend has it that one of the problems was the non-delivery of cream for the dishes Vatel had planned. In order to give volume to the cream supplies he had, Vatel created a foam of cream and sugar, Chantilly cream his immortal invention, but for the famed Vatel however, things did not go so well. Unable to bear the indignity of failure when all the fish supplies spoiled, Vatel committed suicide before the party was over.

However the use of foam in cuisine has been used in many forms in the history of cooking. For example,  meringue, mousse, cappuccino and ice cream are all foams.  In these cases, the incorporation of air, steam or another gas creates a lighter texture and/or different mouth feel. More recently, foams have become a part of molecular gastronomy technique. In these cases, natural flavors (such as fruit juices, infusions of aromatic herbs, etc.) are mixed with a neutrally-flavored gelling or stabilizing agent such as agar or lecithin, and either whipped with a hand-held immersion blender or extruded through a whipped cream canister equipped with nitrous oxide cartridges. Such foams add flavor without significant substance, and thus allow cooks to integrate new flavors without changing the physical composition of a dish. Some famous food-foams are foamed espresso, foamed mushroom, foamed beet and foamed coconut. An espuma or thermo whip is commonly used to make these foams through the making of a stock, creating a gel and extruding through the nitrous oxide canister.

Foam-making seems to have been raised to an art form by modern chefs at the cutting edge of cuisine, and for all I know, the skill to produce foam of a particular stability, texture, colour, fragrance, or flavour may be a requirement for graduation from some culinary schools. The concept of foamy-textured food is not new however.

Today I give you some old ideas to help you introduce a little more lightness into your food life.

Foaming Sauce [a pudding sauce]

Beat 1 cup sugar and ½ cup butter together. Add the yelks of 2 eggs and the grated rind and juice of a lemon. Beat the two whites stiff and mix all together. Just before serving, stir in quickly 1 cup boiling water

Breakfast, Dinner and Supper (1887), Battle Creek Co. Michigan.

Foamy Eggs [a pudding sauce]

1 egg, ½ cup maple sugar, ½ tsp. vanilla, ½ cup whipped cream.

Beat egg white until stiff, beat in gradually the maple sugar powdered; when smooth and light, add vanilla and well-beaten yolks. Stir in whipped cream, serve at once.

"Win the War" Cook Book (1918) published by St. Louis county unit,

Woman's committee, Council of National Defense.

Foam Omelette.

Beat the yolks of two eggs till they are thick and light; add half teaspoon of pepper and two tablespoons of milk, then the whites beaten stiff. Spread on a hot buttered omelette pan. Run a knife along the edges, and occasionally underneath, to prevent burning.  Let it cook till well browned underneath. Fold carefully, and serve at once.

Queensland Figaro, (Brisbane, Qld) May 19, 1928