Infusing Raw Oysters

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Jeff Heuer

Oyster photo by Swamibu

In an earlier post, I wrote about the possibility of seasoning your produce as it grows. Researchers added salt to the typical nutrient bath used to grow hydroponic tomatoes, and the mature tomatoes retained the flavor of the salt they grew in.

A new post by chadzilla points to a similar technique, flavoring oysters while they’re still alive. Live oysters feed by filtering the water around them for nutrients, at a rate of up to 3 gallons an hour. Because of this, the specific makeup of the brine they live in impacts the flavor of the oyster. Chad infused his oysters with pickle brine, then served them raw with thin vacuum pickled cucumber slices and bacon powder, using a technique inspired by Dave Arnold and Nils Noren of the French Culinary Institute. Here’s their recipe, from StarChefs:

Carrot and Cardamom-Infused Oysters with Lime Crème Fraiche

Chefs Dave Arnold and Nils Noren of The French Culinary Institute – New York, NY
Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients

Oysters:
• 5 liters freshly squeezed carrot juice, skimmed and strained
• 130 grams aquarium salt*
• 3 grams finely ground cardamom
• 24 Long Island or North oysters

Lime Crème Fraiche:
• 250 grams crème fraiche
• ½ gram xantham gum
• 20 grams strained lime juice
• Zest of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper

To Assemble and Serve:
• Chopped chives

*preferably Instant Ocean brand

Method

For the Oysters:
Use a high shear blender to combine carrot juice, aquarium salt, and cardamom to a particle size of less than 10 microns. Wash oysters (but do not shuck!) and lay them right-side up in a container big enough to hold all oysters and liquid. Pour carrot-cardamom mixture over oysters and let sit at a temperature between 50 deg. F and 70 deg. F, out of light, for 2 hours. Do not move or disturb oysters during this time or they will not eat the surrounding liquid.

For Lime Crème Fraîche:
Whisk together crème fraîche, xantham, gum, lime juice, and zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Assemble and Serve:
Remove oysters from carrot bath and rinse. Shuck oysters and use only those that have ingested carrot liquid for service. Top with mini-quenelle of lime crème fraîche and garnish with chopped chives.

Chemist, Biologist, Architect, Historian

Posted on February 9, 2009 by Jeff Heuer

Michael Laiskonis, executive pastry chef at Le Bernardin, writes eloquently about the many dimensions of being a chef:

It seems we wear many hats as chefs; we’re chemists and biologists, we’re architects and historians. And there’s the art/craft aspect, too. I am (or at least used to be) a huge film buff, and one alternate dream career for me would involve directing. It hit me the other day how there’s a parallel between making a film and the running of a restaurant: the creation of and immersion into a mood, an atmosphere, a narrative arc. And it’s all a game of chance, as no matter how much of what we do is for ourselves as cooks, we’re really trying to anticipate what will make a lot of different people happy. Our clients come to the restaurant for much more than mere sustenance; perhaps we sometimes wear the hat of psychologist, too.

Cheese “Snow” Using Liquid Nitrogen

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Jeff Heuer

Here’s a cool video of Alex Talbot of Ideas In Food using liquid nitrogen to quickly freeze cheese, which is then powdered in a blender. The video is taken from a November dinner at A Razor, A Shiny Knife, Michael Cirino’s Brooklyn-based supper club.

Cooking with Liquid Nitrogen from Mike on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Cathy Erway has a photo gallery of the entire dinner, entitled “A New Palate”, available on flickr.

Alex and his wife Aki Kamozawa are doing a hands-on workshop on “cold cooking” with liquid nitrogen on March 16th, through the Astor Center here in NYC. Sounds like fun!

This class will explore different techniques using liquid nitrogen covering basics on safety and handling and culinary techniques in order to bring cold cooking into your kitchen as a useful and efficient tool as well as an ingredient of refinement.

Test Your Tongue! The Science of Taste

Posted on February 5, 2009 by Jeff Heuer

Just bought my ticket for next week’s event at The New York Academy of Sciences on the science of taste.

The fourth event in the Science of the Five Senses Series, a 5-part series of live events designed to convey to scientists and nonscientists alike the state-of-the-art scientific knowledge about how humans perceive our environment, through presentations that integrate science and art.

At this event, a leading expert in taste and a popular food writer look at our understanding of the science of taste and the chemical underpinnings of flavors and foods. Learn about your own tastebuds by sampling miracle fruit, artichokes, fruit strips, and more!

Linda Bartoshuk, PhD is an internationally known researcher in the chemical senses of taste and smell and Director of Human Research at the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste. She joined the University of Florida faculty as a visiting professor in the College of Public Health and Health Professions in 2005 from Yale University. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. Her research explores the genetic variations in taste perception and how taste perception affects overall health.

Harold McGee is a New York Times columnist and food science guru whose books include On Food & Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen; The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore. He started out studying physics and astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, and then English literature at Yale University. In 1984 he published On Food and Cooking. Twenty years later, the revised and enlarged edition was named best food reference of 2004 by the IACP and the James Beard Foundation. In 2005, Bon Appétit magazine named McGee food writer of the year. In 2008, Time Magazine named him to its annual list of the world’s most influential people. He writes a monthly column, “The Curious Cook,” for The New York Times.

Full information and registration details here. Looks like we’ll be tasting miracle fruit courtesy of the Miracle Fruit Man!

A Meal In Venice

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Jeff Heuer

Photo by musical photo man

While I usually focus here at Tasty Molecules on the science, technique, and ingredients behind modern food, the whole context of a meal, and who it is shared with, are every bit as important to our enjoyment of food. In that spirit, I invite you to read this answer to the question “what was the best meal you have ever had?” — an account of a memorable meal eaten in Venice some three decades ago.