Cointreau Caviar

Calcium bath:

500 g (18 oz) water

2.5 g calcium chloride

Preparation:

– Start by preparing the calcium bath. Dissolve the calcium chloride in the water and keep it in the fridge while you prepare the Cointreau mix for the caviar.

– Mix the sodium alginate in the water using an immersion blender until the sodium alginate is completely dissolved. If this is your first time doing this, be aware that this may take longer than expected.

– Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, mix with the Cointreau. Pass it through a sieve to eliminate some of the air bubbles created by the immersion blender. If you have gold flakes, this is when you should add them to the mix.

– Start creating the caviar. Remove the calcium bath from the fridge. Fill a syringe with the Cointreau mixture and expel it drop by drop into the calcium bath. The syringe needs to be high enough for the drops to sink when they get in contact with the bath but not too high or the drops may break into smaller drops creating “baby” spheres. Leave the caviar “cooking” for about 1 minute in the calcium bath and then carefully remove it using a sieve. Then rinse it very gently with water to remove the calcium.

– Consume immediately since the jellification process continues even after removing the caviar from the calcium bath and will eventually convert into a solid gel sphere with no magical liquid inside.

(via www.molecularrecipes.com)