Recipe for gin & tonic sphere
With Gin & Tonic spheres, you can offer your family and friends a unique culinary experience. The small spheres are bursting with flavor and intensity – and they look beautiful on a dessert presentation.
In this recipe, you will be introduced to what is known in the molecular gastronomy world as reverse spherification. Essentially, it involves using chemistry to create a gel membrane around a liquid. Here, we are working with Gin & Tonic. The idea is to create small flavor bombs that provide a special experience when breaking the sphere and receiving a fresh taste of Gin & Tonic. You can read more about the technique here.
The concept of spherification might sound a bit challenging and daunting, but the technique is actually straightforward. Below, you will find a detailed breakdown of the elements and techniques you will need.
Gin & Tonic Sphere
Ingredients
- 100 gram Tonic
- 40 gram Cucumber Juice
- 30 gram Gin
- 15 gram Lime Juice
- 35 gram Sugar
- 3 gram Calcium Lactate from Special ingredients
- 1 gram Xanthan Gum from special ingredients
- 1 liters Water Use mineral water
- 5 gram Sodium Alginate from Special ingredients
Instructions
Sodium Alginate-bath
- -
- Bring out your blender, and pour the water into it.
- Add Sodium Alginate gradually as the water blends.
- Blend for 2-3 minutes until it is well dissolved.
- Pour into a container and set aside in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- -
- Bring out your blender again, and blend all the wet ingredients (tonic, cucumber juice, lime juice, and gin)
- While the blender is running, gradually add the dry ingredients (sugar, calcium lactate, and xanthan gum)
- Pour the mixture into a silicone mold shaped like small, round ice cubes.
- Place the mold in the freezer - and wait until they are frozen.
- Now take the Sodium Alginate mixture out of the refrigerator, and pour it into a pot.
- Heat the mixture to 50°C - use a thermometer.
- When the Sodium Alginate mixture reaches 50°C, pour it into a bowl.
- Add the frozen spheres to the mixture - a few at a time.
- Stir gently.
- Then take the spheres out of the Sodium Alginate mixture, and transfer them to a container with cold water.
- Transfer the now "clean" spheres to another container - they are ready for serving.
- -
- Carbonation simply means adding fizz or CO2 to the spheres.
- Pour tonic water into a siphon bottle.
- Then carefully transfer your finished spheres into the siphon bottle.
- Attach a gas cartridge to the holder, and fill with CO2. Let the siphon bottle sit for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, unscrew the lid and gently pour out the carbonated spheres.