Ramp Gnocchetti. AEX-18.RSS


As the seasonal obsession with ramps continues one finds that the simplistic use of ramps while quite delicious really does little justice to the allium. The bulbs are absolutely best pickled while a puree of the greens has endless uses from savory ice cream to pasta. Standard technique requires you to blanch the greens at some point to get a vivid non-oxidizing puree. I do find that the exposure to heat loses a lot of the ramp flavor between blanching and puree process in a vitamix.

Answer to this minor problem = Pacojet.


I find that a super quick salted water blanch followed by putting it directly into liquid nitrogen goes quite a long way to preserve the flavor. It is then packed into a Pacojet container and frozen.


Processed you get fine  green  powder intensely redolent of ramps which will ultimately be the flavor base of the pasta.



On a side note I would like to run this puree in a centrifuge and make some kick-ass ramp butter. Click the "Beckman-Coulter" link on this page and read about "Allegra X-14" under "General Purpose Centrifuges".



Weighed and thinned out with a measured amount of water and added directly into the        AEX-18.









...........and the rest is history.

It obviously does not require $8 grand worth of equipment to make pasta however most chefs already have Pacojets and the resulting pasta when dropped into boiling water manages to retain most of the ramp flavor especially when simply served with butter and cheese. I would imagine simple dishes like Ramp-Aglio Olio or Cacio e Pepe noodles would be quite tasty simple food.

I am thinking shellfish like Abalone, Spot Prawns or Scottich Langoustine perhaps even chive flowers or leek ash.
Possibilities are endless.
Ideas are free.....sadly kitchen toys are not.
Posted in Studiokitchen

Maple Elixir.RSS

1. (LEFT) Maple Syrup SONICATED with Bourbon. All or most of the alcohol removed with evaporator centrifuge including some moisture loss resulting in a very intense bourbon flavor and deeper maple flavor that still retains it's complexity without any burnt notes. It could certainly be used as is but is absolutely perfect when diluted to taste with the original maple syrup to balance out the flavor. 2. (RIGHT) Maple Syrup SONICATED with Vanilla. Really intense maple-vanilla flavor. As above dilution yields the perfect balance but can be used as is. Best way to decant seems to be to let it flow directly into a mason jar slightly smaller in Dia. than rocket bottles giving maximum yield. The remainder is rinsed out with very hot water and used for a brine.
Posted in Studiokitchen

"Pedigreed Maple Syrups"RSS

I think one should use all tools and thought within their reach to just see "What If". Unless you try you don't know. I love maple syrup in it's most natural form and with the recent proliferation of pedigreed maple syrups on the market with things like vanilla bean infusion, aging in bourbon barrels or crystallizing into powder I am trying to see what maple syrup tastes like when it is reduced carefully at various states of intensity much like German dessert wines. One could certainly just boil it down in a pot however indications are that too much heat for too long may fundamentally change the nature of the syrup and not for the better. While I gravitate between cooking carefully chosen high quality ingredients with a balance of interesting elements as the underlying cooking philosophy, I find MODERNIST CUISINE to be a fantastic public service by the MC team in terms of exposure to new tools and ideas. Referring to the second book "Techniques and Equipment" page 392. we are reducing maple syrup by 30 and 50% to compare to the original using the Genevac Rocket Evaporator. We started with 2 exceptional syrups Grade A-Medium Amber and Grade B directly from a reputable farm.     Load up the evaporation bottles. Reduce the samples. On a different note since the centrifuge cavity has room for 6 bottles we decided to also "wash" a good maple syrup with bourbon after cavitating it with oak barrel woodchips. All the alcohol washed out but most of the bourbon aroma and flavor remains simulating a more intense version of standard barell aged maple syrup which does take several months.....Total time here...about 3 hrs.  
Posted in Studiokitchen

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