Source
r/MolecularGastronomy•
Trettman

[Question] Seared scallop, herby beurre blanc and cucumber caviar

Hey all,

I wanted to go hard this new year, so I thought that I might try out some molecular gastronomy for the appetizer. My idea was then to have a single seared scallop, presented on a bed of herby beurre blanc together with some fresh herbs and a thin slice of snack cucumber, topped with a somewhat acidic "caviar", also with a taste of cucumber. The problem then comes with the "acidic" part, since I know that regular spherification requires a somewhat high PH value. I have a very nice cucumber vinegar that I'd like to incorporate in it, and it would be ideal if the caviar is somehow able to "break through" the very buttery sauce. I've been digging an experimenting this past week, but I'm not really satisfied with my results. Does anyone here have a tip on how I might proceed? Is there a way to have a liquid with somewhat of a "tang" that I can use to balance out the meal?

Thanks!

Posted Dec 21, 2021, 9:22 AM UTC

212
wasacook•

Can you tell us what you have tried so far? What has worked and what hasn’t. Have you tried using citric acid, MSG, varied salt content, or changing PH using a base like baking soda yet?

2
TrettmanOP•

To be honest I haven't really tried too much since I don't know to begin. I've tried direct spherification using different amounts of sodium alginate and calcium chloride, and while I have "achieved spherification" the results have been kinda grainy and not too nice. I've been thinking about trying to raise the PH level, but I'm not sure how it'll affect the final taste.

2
Sun_god25•

Why not try to make ala nage type sauce with the cucumber and then just use the caviar to top it off ? So that way you can incorporate the tang at a different level and won’t mess up the caviar ?

1
TrettmanOP•

I'm not really sure what an a la nage type sauce means, even after googling it. However, I am interest in switching sauce, since I just tried the recipe out with a beurre blanc but found that it's not really what I'm looking for, especially in terms of consistency.

1
Sun_god25•

Basically ala nage is like a court boullion liquid but with fruit or flavor. I use that concept a lot, if you go to my profile you can see a few variations of what I have made.
Try making a base with cucumber water and herbs and then monte butter into it to finish the sauce just like how you do make a burre monte sauce

1
TrettmanOP•

Okay! I definitely like the look of the frothy sauce here. Would that be possible to achieve with a burre monte type sauce?

I'll reply to your other comment here as well, since it's easier. Your tomato caviar that you made with agar looks absolutely stunning. Definitely getting my hopes up for using agar for the caviar! Also, regarding that, would you have any tip for how to make the liquid for the cucumber caviar? I'm currently just thinking cucumber water (that may need to be reduced in some way to provide more flavor), the aforementioned cucumber vinegar and salt.

I must say that your posts have really inspired me. Getting hyped over here! And thanks for your suggestions!

1
Sun_god25•

For the caviar I would start by making a cucumber stock, use all the happy ingredients that resonate with cucumber (ginger, lemongrass,hard spices etc) and make your base you can give it the acidity as you prefer.

For the sauce it’s possible but the shine won’t be there as here I used oil! Maybe do a broken sauce? I would need to know more about your concept of the dish before And how do you wish to plate it to see what techniques can used in reforming the dish.

Not a problem! Shoot me a DM anytime. Always here to help with food ideas.

1
Sun_god25•

Also have you tried to get your caviar through agar ? Or other gelification methods ? Rather than straight spehrification ?

1
TrettmanOP•

No, I've been thinking about agar but I want to keep a somewhat liquid center. I'm gonna try reverse spherification tomorrow and see how that works out, if not then I might just have to resort to agar.

1
Sun_god25•

If you play around with agar ratio you can get a little liquid in the center but will still be jelly like.

If you’re going to try reverse sphere then maybe make a pod and then inject the vinegar ? Or do it like making an egg in reverse sphere

1