New toy: Foam bomb!

For Fathers' Day I was the happy recipient (without the usual, blatant hints) of a whipped cream bomb, which I immediately put to use to make a mustard espuma for smoked salmon. The entire meal was from Michael Smith: Maple Cured Hot Smoked Salmon with Rye Bread Pudding, Mustard Foam, Pickled Red Onions and a Fish Hook.

The foam was so easy to make and really gave the salmon a tremendous lift. Me thinks this summer I will, in my usual fashion, get carried away with espumas. This week, I'll be cooking a leg of lamb on a spit over the coals; a mint foam might be interesting.

I have Tramonto's Amuse-bouche book with a number of great foam ideas. Next up: squash blossoms with basil foam.

Stop me before I make beef liver foam for the dog!

Bill/SFNM

Stop me before I make beef liver foam for the dog!

Do! Do! Followed by a photo and plating instructions!

Thanks for the recipe links, I never saw before such complete information down to the plating instructions. If you hadn't mentioned the fish hooks, I might not have followed the link all the way down.

Happy Father's DAy!

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I never saw before such complete information down to the plating instructions.

Thanks, Cathy.

Michael Smith, who seems to have dropped out, is one of my favorite cookbook authors. The recipes from his web site and from "The Inn Chef" cookbook are perfect for special occasions - a lot of work can be involved, but at the end of the meal you feel it was more than worthwhile. One of my favorite sides is his Oyster Mushroom Strudel with Spinach Sauce and a Merlot Swirl.

OK, here's a question that's either really silly, or so basic that it shows my lack of fundamental knowledge (or, more likely, both!):

Smith uses white onions in both recipes. Why? What unique properties characterize white onions, as opposed to, say, yellow Spanish?

Geo

Microgravity Study Could Make Perfect Chocolate Mousse

All chefs know that preparing the perfect chocolate mousse is one part science and one part art. ESA’s microgravity research is helping the food industry understand the science behind the foams found in many types of food and drink such as meringues and coffee.

Not all foams are created equal. Consumers expect a chocolate mousse to keep its structure and taste on the journey from the supermarket to their fridge. But the froth on some drinks would seem strange if it did not disappear after a few minutes.

Creating the right type of foam on demand is tricky. Liquid flows downwards on Earth and foams are torn apart by gravity pulling on the bubbles.

Foams are easier to study in weightlessness because the bubbles are evenly spread rather than the larger bubbles floating to the top.
...

Is there a current link that can be posted on what a "foam bomb" is?
The current link goes to the WS home page. What I pulled up on google does not make sense to me.
I am assuming something like the chilled insert to the kitchenaide mixer?

Sounds more like an ISI Whip canister.

Geo wrote:OK, here's a question that's either really silly, or so basic that it shows my lack of fundamental knowledge (or, more likely, both!):

Smith uses white onions in both recipes. Why? What unique properties characterize white onions, as opposed to, say, yellow Spanish?

Geo

Can't speak to their use in these recipes but white onions have a somewhat sharper or more pronounced flavor and their flavor is also a little "cleaner," if that makes any sense. (As an entirely off-the-cuff, if not off-the-wall, analogy, white onions tend to be a single, clear note and yellow onions either a chord or a note with overtones and undertones; the single note is there but it's a little muddled.) For whatever reason, they are usually the preferred onion in Mexican cuisine (at least in the various Mexican cookbooks and recipes I have or have seen).

And hell, perfesser, ain't no such thing as a silly question.

Cathy2 wrote:Microgravity Study Could Make Perfect Chocolate Mousse

All chefs know that preparing the perfect chocolate mousse is one part science and one part art. ESA’s microgravity research is helping the food industry understand the science behind the foams found in many types of food and drink such as meringues and coffee.

Not all foams are created equal. Consumers expect a chocolate mousse to keep its structure and taste on the journey from the supermarket to their fridge. But the froth on some drinks would seem strange if it did not disappear after a few minutes.

Creating the right type of foam on demand is tricky. Liquid flows downwards on Earth and foams are torn apart by gravity pulling on the bubbles.

Foams are easier to study in weightlessness because the bubbles are evenly spread rather than the larger bubbles floating to the top.
...

If your chocolate moose is foamy it has a problem Cathy

Geo wrote:OK, here's a question that's either really silly, or so basic that it shows my lack of fundamental knowledge (or, more likely, both!):

Smith uses white onions in both recipes. Why? What unique properties characterize white onions, as opposed to, say, yellow Spanish?

Geo

I've got an Indian cookbook that recommends white onions as having less water, thus more pulp. You don't want sweet onions for caramelizing, for instance -- you want to bring out and develop the sugars from the longer carbs, not start with them.