The Analytical Kitchen » Molecular gastronomy

Spring GM Menu

ben — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 23:15:24 +0000

Amuse for Sparkler

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Plain and Vegemite gougère

Vegemite and cheese just works as a combo, although I think most diners believed the plain gougère were superior.

Surf, Turf ‘n’ Garden

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Barramundi, bacon, peas, asparagus, lemon butter

Barramundi and bacon sandwiched together with transglutaminase (“meat glue”) and baked (slightly over-baked in this case). The lemon butter includes ultra-fine shavings of lemon zest to give freshness and lift.

“Steak”

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Watermelon steak, feta, mint

Slow baked watermelon in Sherry and butter, akin to this rendition. The mint can be overpowering, but otherwise an interesting interlude. There was much discussion on a potential wine matching here, and we concluded that a rosé or a rosé Champagne might be a suitable match.

Braised pork belly, galangal-scented salad, Szechuan pepper toffee

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Braised pork belly, galangal-scented salad, Szechuan pepper toffee

Voted the favourite dish of the menu by the diners. The pork belly is braised slowly with Chinese flavours (soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger, spring onion, brown sugar). The concept behind the salad was that the diner would experience the ethereal aromatic lift of galangal. Unfortunately, IMO, galangal is too hot-spicy to achieve this aromatically without burning and overpowering the diner’s palate. In the end, the galangal was simmered with mirin, and sugar added, to take the edge off the heat. Flavour-wise, this worked successfully, although the resulting salad dressing was perhaps a little too sweet.
Nevertheless, this is a dish I am happy with: the Szechuan pepper adds spice aromatics, the salad of shaved capsicum (bell peppers), carrot and fennel add colour and crunch, and both compliment the tender sweet-savoury pork belly and (braising liquid) reduction-sauce. This style of dish harks back to the days when I focused heavily on flavour impact.

Lamb fillet, eggplant purée, mint salad, rosemary lamb jus

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Lamb fillet, eggplant purée, mint salad, rosemary lamb jus

I prefer fillet to backstrap (eye of loin) for this dish, and it is ideally BBQed. The eggplant is baked then flame-charred for a smoky flavour before it is puréed. A little yoghurt is then added and it is reduced and seasoned. I prefer baby garden mint (Mentha sachalinensis) leaves, but when caterpillars decimate…

Manchego, Comté/St Agur, poached pear, croutons, spiced walnut

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Manchego, Comté/St Agur, poached pear, croutons, spiced walnuts

My standard kind of cheese course – you might call it a signature dish.

Lavender icecream, Manuka honey, scorched almonds

(Photo ©Cam Wheeler)

Lavender icecream, Manuka honey, scorched almonds

Salted Caramel and Peanut Truffles

A modification of David Everitt-Matthias’ Salted Caramel and Peanut Truffles (see Beyond Essence, 2013) – I simply omit the layer of chopped peanuts that surrounds the salted peanut caramel core, instead rolling the salted peanut caramel core in milk chocolate before a final cocoa powder dusting. But I still wonder, do we ever truly appreciate the truffle after so many preceding dishes?

Slow cooked rib eye

ben — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:06:57 +0000

If you haven’t tried cooking beef at low temperatures, you should.

Calpains denature at about 40°C/105°F and cathepsins at about 50°C/122°F. Slow cooking for extended periods below these temperatures gets the enzymes working breaking down the muscle tissue to give tender meat.
At about 50°C/122°F (“rare”) the protein myosin begins to coagulate, which solidifies the meat and forces moisture out.
At about 60°C/140°F (“medium”), collagen shrinks and the meat gets firmer and more moisture is pushed out.
At about 70°C/160°F (“well done”), the collagen begins to dissolve into gelatine. It takes a while for all the collagen to dissolve at this temperature (and up to 82°C/180°F), but eventually it will result in drier and tougher meat.

By cooking beef below 50°C/122°F for an extended period of time, it’s possible to achieve excellent flavour and tenderness. (Cook only the outside of the meat to kill of bacteria before doing this – a blow torch is best.)

The rib eye below did go a little over 50°C/122°F, but it took a while to get there. Many home ovens can’t maintain these low temperatures – a water bath is a better option. Paired with some onion relish below, it was still moist, with a tender texture and good flavour.

Slow cooked beef

Foams

ben — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 12:57:16 +0000

Foams get a pretty bad rap these days. Yes, sometimes they can look like something that’s come out of an insect orifice (in which case they probably shouldn’t be on the plate)… but they do have their place.

This one’s a heat-activated Methocel.

Foam