Recipe for fruit pearls (gelling)
In molecular gastronomy, there is a lot of focus on the terms fruit pearls and fruit caviar/fake caviar, and often people cannot tell the difference. To address this, we have teamed up with Githa Bennorth, who is a Gastronomic Developer, cookbook author, and expert in molecular gastronomy.
The difference is simple: The fruit pearls are solid all the way through, whereas the fruit caviar has a thin shell and is liquid in the center.
Here, you will find a recipe for fruit pearls made through gelling, typically using agar agar. It is a vegetable gelatin made from seaweed. Regular gelatin can also be used. Typically, it is made from a juice/fruit liquid, hence the name fruit pearls.
It involves mixing your desired liquid with agar agar, and when it is cooled, it will set into a firm and stable mass. This is done by dripping the liquid into ice-cold oil, which causes the droplets to form into round balls/pearls.
Here, the fruit pearls are made with beet juice, but there are no limits to what you can use. In the video, the juice is made by mixing beet powder, but you can explore many different approaches if you wish.
Fruit pearls (gelling)
Equipment
- Slotted Spoon
- Drip Bottle
- Pipette
- Mini Scale
Ingredients
- 1 l Oil tasteless
- 150 gram Beetroot Juice
- 1 pinch Salt can be omitted
- 2 gram Agar agar gelling product, alternative gelatin
Instructions
- Make sure the oil is ice-cold from the freezer when it’s going to be used.
- Start by either juicing a beetroot or using beetroot powder mixed with water. If it is too sweet, add a bit of salt.
- Pour it into a small bowl.
- Carefully add agar agar so it sits on top. Then take a small pot and heat it up while stirring regularly.
- It needs to be heated to 90 degrees Celsius (194 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Once the temperature is reached, strain the liquid preferably into a dripper bottle. If you don’t have a dripper bottle, pour it into a bowl and use a pipette to make your pearls.
- Let the liquid cool for about 10 minutes.
- Now it’s time to make the pearls. It is important that your dripper bottle/pipette is 6-7 cm above the oil. If starting from too high up, it will splatter on the surface of the oil; if too close, it won’t penetrate the oil’s surface.
- Drip the liquid into the cold oil and let them sit in the oil for a few minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and check if the pearls are firm.
- Place them in a small sieve and rinse them in warm water (use cold water if you used gelatin).
- They are now ready to serve.
Notes
The oil can be strained, frozen, and reused another time for the same purpose. It can be used several times.