Tag Archives: sodium alginate

Melon Spherification – Our First Molecular Gastronomy Experiment

Scott and I decided to try something new, real new.  Spherification, part of the modern Spanish culinary art called Molecular Gastronomy.  We settled on melon caviar for our first attempt.  They call it caviar because it looks like the large fish roe you get on sushi with a similar consistency.  A kind of thin skin surrounds a liquid inside that tastes like whatever you are spherificating – in our case, melon.

sodium alginate and calcium chloride

sodium alginate and calcium chloride

We started by blending the melon into a fine puree and then straining out the pulp.  We then mixed it with Sodium Alginate.  We prepared a mixture of water and Calcium Chloride that we injected droplets of the melon mixture into using a large syringe.  The proportions for everything are very precise and require a scale.  The amount of each chemical to use depends on the pH of the substance you are using.  I will soon have an algorithm and hopefully a website that will help to calculate the proportions for common substances.

pureeing the melon to prepare for spherification

pureeing the melon to prepare for spherification

straining out the pulp

straining out the pulp

the caviar bath

the caviar bath

Our first attempt was a success: the little caviar balls tasted just like melon and the consistency was pretty cool.  It’s kind of like boba except the inside is liquid.  The possibilities with these things are endless.  Stay tuned.

spherification: melon caviar!

spherification: melon caviar!