Spherification

Spherification was first developed in the 1950s by a a company called Unilever, a Dutch and British company that produces food, beverages, beauty products and cleaners. However, spherification in the Culinary world first appeared in elBulli. Executive Chef Ferran Adria used this technique with olives, creating an olive pouch that when you take a bite it melts away. Using two chemicals sodium alginate and calcium chloride to form an “layer” or “skin” around your chosen liquid encapsulating it into a perfect bubble for lack of a better word.

Now it has become somewhat of a fad but its something I’ve been obsessed with, thinking of any application for it. The simplicity and beauty of spherification is what draws me to this technique of molecular gastronomy.

There are two different “forms” of spherification: Basic and Reverse.

Basic: this method is used for fruit juices, teas, and vegetables that do not contain any calcium.
To perform basic spherification the juice (fruit/tea/veg) is mixed with a small amount of powered sodium alginate, then dripped into a cold water bath containing calcium chloride. You would then wait a few seconds to minutes and gently remove your spheres from the liquid. Rinse and rest in water until needed. This creates a layer of “skin” around your liquid, this gives the same feel as caviar would.
* A lot of chefs or restaurants use this for “caviar pearls”. You can buy pre-made ones though they can be expensive.

Reverse: this method is used when the chosen liquid contains calcium (milk) or high amounts of alcohol. To keep it basic, you taking the two chemical compounds calcium and sodium, and adding them to different procedures during spherification. Adding calcium lactate or calcium lactate gluconate to your liquid and suspending the liquid in a sodium alginate bath. You must allow enough time for the “skin” to form around your chosen liquid before removing and rinsing your sphere.

Let’s be real for a minute, there are a lot of science words and chemicals involved in this kind of technique. No you don’t have to be a scientist but you have to at least understand the compounds you are using. I would definitely recommend talking with someone who either has preformed spherification before or a chemist.

Here are some definitions of the different chemicals to help:

Calcium lactate gluconate: is lactic acid, salt from calcium and gluconic acid mixed together into a calcium tablet. This is the chemical compound Ca₅(C₃H₅O₃)₆·(C₆H₁₁O₇)₄·2H₂O

Gluconic Acid: is an organic compound C₆H₁₂O₇ . This organic compound is apart of a special group of chemical compounds  called stereoisomers that all that the same base elements (oxygen, hydrogen and carbon) but are group or bonded together into different chains.

Sodium Alginate: is a polysaccharide, a by product of brown algae or seaweed found in the cells walls of the algae itself. When extracted and added to water to turns to a “gum like” substance. (This is what forms the layer of “skin” during spherification)

Calcium Chloride: this is an inorganic compound, a salt that is a crystal at room temperature but can dissolve in water. It is widely used in food productions in Europe and USA. It is used as a firming agent in tofu, it is in almost any energy drinks, and in canned vegetables. It is also a way to add salty flavor without increasing the actual salt content.