Culinary Foam unveiled: All the secrets of Espuma invented by Ferran Adriá

A series dedicated to culinary foam, a classic element of the molecular cuisine.

Inspired by GinTónic, a culinary foam creation by Chef Jordi Cruz – Restaurant Abac

Culinary foam (from the Spanish “espuma”) is one of the most known techniques of modern cuisine. Culinary foam has been invented by the chef of “El Bulli” Ferran Adrià in the Nineties. Nowadays, culinary foam has become an indispensable element in the elaboration of the menus of gastronomic restaurants.

The origin of the culinary foam.

From whipped cream to whipped cream, meringue and mousses, the concept of incorporating air into a product already existed in the kitchen. The development of specific tools such as the N2O siphon, the universal connection kit and the nozzle holder kit has widened the choice for the chef, revealing its infinite possibilities of use. Ferran Adrià’s merit has been to use salty ingredients in the preparation of foams, also using this technique to make hot foams. The use of the siphon makes it possible to avoid adding cream or cooked meringue to the formula, so that the basic flavour is fully preserved. Thanks to the siphon, any flavoured liquid can be transformed into a foam, once the desired type of binding has been chosen. The three main functions of the siphon are: frothing, carbonating and infusing.

The Whipping Siphon, Chef’s Secret Weapon.

The siphon allows to make preparations based on fruit puree or coulis, obtaining a very light airy texture also from a dietetic point of view. Classic creams, such as pastry cream or butter cream, can be aerated thanks to the N2O siphon charges and become a lighter pre-dessert that allows to control portions more effectively when planning the menu of a gastronomic restaurant.

Any preparation made with a siphon can be called a foam. What characterises foams is their lightness and airy texture, due to their higher concentration of air compared to traditional mousses. Foams can be cold, hot, sweet or savoury.

Suggestions for use of the culinary foam.

In particular, the culinary foam can be used alone, as a garniture, sauce, mousse or to finish a cocktail. Also, the culinary foam can be served in different savory or sweet dishes. This can be added to preparations according to their consistency or density.
The final density of the product varies according to the developed formula. The amount of gelatin, egg white, fat or starch will determine the consistency of the foam making it more or less thick. For this reason, we can modify the recipes obtaining foams of the same ingredient with different characteristics. Also, a more or less gas added to the siphon will vary the density of the foam.  Also, the time to sit in the refrigerator may vary the final result.

Other techniques to create foams

Foam Kit Deluxe, the high-efficiency portable aerator

The Foam Kit Deluxe air technique is perfect for creating airs and bubbles in a homogeneous format. It has the ability to produce foams from a minimum amount of liquid, starting from 20cl. This way you can use a more concentrated liquid to maximise the aromas and get more out of each production.

By pressing a button, you can control the production of foam in a perfect way, giving the possibility to work in any space without the need for plugs or cables, only with 2 batteries of 1.5 V LR20, which guarantee more than 96 hours of autonomy.

In just a few seconds it generates air and bubbles, simply dilute the indicated proportion of the chosen foaming agent or stabilisers such as soya lecithin or sucroester.

VOM: The kit that allows you to produce flavoured flying clouds

The Vom Edible Cloud starter kit allows you to create edible flying clouds. They are made up of small bubbles filled with helium gas and allow you to add an endless number of flavours, both for sweet and savoury recipes.

With this technique designed especially for cocktail makers, chefs and pastry chefs, you can give creative shapes to foams with the necessary buoyancy to rise into the air. Once the cloud is placed on the VOM Holder, it will start a drip emulating the rain effect of a cloud.

Features:
– The cloud remains stable for 4 to 5 minutes depending on the PH of the product.
– You can “tame” the VOM clouds and make fun conceptual shapes out of them.
– A new gastronomic technique to explore and discover.
– Helium has the effect of sharpening the voice for a few seconds if you inhale enough of it.