guests who have never had them before they will be the most talked about part of the meal.
H OW S PHERIFICATION W ORKS
At it’s most basic, spherification is controlled gelling. Some ingredients gel in any liquid, such as agar, so if it is hydrated it will set right away. However, some ingredients only gel in the presence of certain ions, such as calcium or potassium. These gelling agents are used in spherification.
You can mix the gelling agent in a flavored, neutral liquid, one lacking the ions required to gel, called a “base”. If you drip this base into a “setting bath” that contains the ions, the outside of the base will begin to gel as the gelling agent interacts with the ions. If you remove it before it solidifies you will have a gel sphere, called a membrane, with a liquid center.
So using these specific ingredients in various ways allows you to control the gelling so it only occurs on the outside of the base, and only to a thickness that you prefer.
G ELLING A GENTS, I ONS, AND S EQUESTRANTS
There are a few things needed to achieve spherification.
Gelling Agents
There are many gelling agents that can be used for spherification. In general, any gelling agent that requires specific ions to gel can be used. In this book we focus on using sodium alginate because it is very effective at both direct and reverse spherification. Once set, it also can be heated above the boiling point without melting, making it very versatile.
However, you can also use carrageenan, gellan, or even pectin depending on what you are gelling and the properties you want the spheres to have.
Ions
In order for the gelling agents to gel they need to be in the presence of calcium or potassium. In order to supply this you add calcium salts. There are several different ones but the most common are calcium chloride, which has a bitter taste, and calcium lactate, which we prefer to use.
Sequestrants
Some liquids you want to use in spherification might already contain calcium or potassium ions. These liquids will not work as they are because the gelling agent will gel instantly. In these cases you need to use sequestrants. Sequestrants basically tie up all the calcium and potassium ions in a liquid so they can’t react with the gelling agent. You can then use the liquid for spherification like you normally would.
Some common sequestrants are sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate. The full use of sequestrants is outside the scope of this book but they are usually used in a 0.1% to 0.2% ratio.
D IRECT VS R EVERSE S PHERIFICATION
There are two main types of spherification, direct and reverse. At the most basic level, in direct spherification the gelling agent is in the base and in reverse spherification it is in the setting bath.
While it seems like a minor difference it causes a few changes in how they work. This is because in both methods it is always the gelling agent that gels, never the liquid containing the ions.
Gel Location
The location of the membrane is affected by the type of spherification used. In direct spherification the gelling agent is in the flavored base so the membrane grows inward as the ions reach the gelling agent. For reverse spherification the membrane grows outward, into the setting bath.
Gelling Cutoff
What happens when the spheres are removed from the setting bath is also affected by the type of spherification used. Spheres made with direct spherification will continue to gel until eventually becoming solid. This is because not only is there gelling agent in the flavored base, there is now also some ions. These ions continue to gel the liquid so the spheres must be served in a timely manner.
In reverse spherification the gelling agent is in the setting bath so once the spheres are removed there is nothing else to gel. This means these spheres can be stored for several hours before serving.
Membrane Flavor
The flavor of the membrane will depend on the type of spherification used. In direct
H OW S PHERIFICATION W ORKS
At it’s most basic, spherification is controlled gelling. Some ingredients gel in any liquid, such as agar, so if it is hydrated it will set right away. However, some ingredients only gel in the presence of certain ions, such as calcium or potassium. These gelling agents are used in spherification.
You can mix the gelling agent in a flavored, neutral liquid, one lacking the ions required to gel, called a “base”. If you drip this base into a “setting bath” that contains the ions, the outside of the base will begin to gel as the gelling agent interacts with the ions. If you remove it before it solidifies you will have a gel sphere, called a membrane, with a liquid center.
So using these specific ingredients in various ways allows you to control the gelling so it only occurs on the outside of the base, and only to a thickness that you prefer.
G ELLING A GENTS, I ONS, AND S EQUESTRANTS
There are a few things needed to achieve spherification.
Gelling Agents
There are many gelling agents that can be used for spherification. In general, any gelling agent that requires specific ions to gel can be used. In this book we focus on using sodium alginate because it is very effective at both direct and reverse spherification. Once set, it also can be heated above the boiling point without melting, making it very versatile.
However, you can also use carrageenan, gellan, or even pectin depending on what you are gelling and the properties you want the spheres to have.
Ions
In order for the gelling agents to gel they need to be in the presence of calcium or potassium. In order to supply this you add calcium salts. There are several different ones but the most common are calcium chloride, which has a bitter taste, and calcium lactate, which we prefer to use.
Sequestrants
Some liquids you want to use in spherification might already contain calcium or potassium ions. These liquids will not work as they are because the gelling agent will gel instantly. In these cases you need to use sequestrants. Sequestrants basically tie up all the calcium and potassium ions in a liquid so they can’t react with the gelling agent. You can then use the liquid for spherification like you normally would.
Some common sequestrants are sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate. The full use of sequestrants is outside the scope of this book but they are usually used in a 0.1% to 0.2% ratio.
D IRECT VS R EVERSE S PHERIFICATION
There are two main types of spherification, direct and reverse. At the most basic level, in direct spherification the gelling agent is in the base and in reverse spherification it is in the setting bath.
While it seems like a minor difference it causes a few changes in how they work. This is because in both methods it is always the gelling agent that gels, never the liquid containing the ions.
Gel Location
The location of the membrane is affected by the type of spherification used. In direct spherification the gelling agent is in the flavored base so the membrane grows inward as the ions reach the gelling agent. For reverse spherification the membrane grows outward, into the setting bath.
Gelling Cutoff
What happens when the spheres are removed from the setting bath is also affected by the type of spherification used. Spheres made with direct spherification will continue to gel until eventually becoming solid. This is because not only is there gelling agent in the flavored base, there is now also some ions. These ions continue to gel the liquid so the spheres must be served in a timely manner.
In reverse spherification the gelling agent is in the setting bath so once the spheres are removed there is nothing else to gel. This means these spheres can be stored for several hours before serving.
Membrane Flavor
The flavor of the membrane will depend on the type of spherification used. In direct
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