Kitchen Classroom: Edible Spheres | Living

Spherification is a cool technique that transforms liquids into solid, edible spheres.

Security: Uses the microwave

Time: 45 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling time before you begin

Yield: Makes about ½ cup spheres

Do not substitute other types of oil for the vegetable oil. You can make edible spheres out of any water-based flavorful liquid. If your flavorful liquid is thick, like chocolate syrup or coconut milk, first mix ¼ cup of the flavorful liquid with ¼ cup of water. Then, measure from that mixture. Try sprinkling edible spheres over ice cream, yogurt, or your favorite desserts or adding them to a cold, fizzy drink. Learn about the science of gelatin in the Can’t We All Just “Gel” Along? experiment, and see it in action again in our recipe for Mirror Cake.

PREPARE INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons plus ¼ cup pomegranate juice, measured separately

1 tablespoon of unflavored gelatin

GATHER COOKING EQUIPMENT

Tall container (about 24 ounces) with lid

four bowls (1 large, 2 medium, 1 small)

START COOKING!

At least 4 hours before you want to make your spheres, pour oil into tall container, cover container, and place container in refrigerator.

Add 2 tablespoons of pomegranate juice to small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over surface of juice. Use rubber spatula to stir until no large lumps of gelatin remain. Set aside.

Add remaining ¼ cup pomegranate juice to liquid measuring cup. Heat in microwave until steaming, 30 to 45 seconds.

Use oven mitts to remove liquid measuring cup from microwave (ask an adult for help). Pour hot pomegranate juice into bowl with gelatin mixture. Whisk mixture until fully combined and no lumps remain.

Place funnel, if using, over squeeze bottle. Carefully pour gelatin mixture into squeeze bottle (ask an adult for help). Secure top on bottle. Place bottle in refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to let gelatin mixture thicken slightly.

Remove container of oil from refrigerator and place in center of large bowl. Arrange ice around container of oil (Surrounding the oil with ice will keep it cold while you’re forming your spheres.) Carefully remove lid from container of oil.

Remove squeeze bottle from refrigerator. Hold bottle at angle over container of oil. Gently squeeze bottle until droplets fall into oil. Each droplet should form sphere and fall to bottom. To make larger spheres, quickly drip several drops of liquid into same spot. Continue forming spheres until all liquid is used. (If gelatin mixture clogs nozzle of bottle, unscrew cap, run under warm water, and use tooth pick to push out an stuck gelatin. If mixture becomes to thick, heat squeeze bottle in microwave for 5 seconds.)

In sink, set fine-mesh strainer over medium bowl. Carefully pour oil-sphere mixture into strainer. Use rubber spatula to scrape any remaining spheres into strainer. Discard oil.

Fill second medium bowl about halfway with cold water. Transfer spheres from fine-mesh strainer to bowl of cold water. Use rubber spatula to gently stir spheres in water. Working over sink, gently pour water-sphere mixture back into strainer, letting water go down drain. serve (Leftover spheres can be stored in airtight container, covered with layer of vegetable oil. For up to 1 week. Follow steps 8 and 9 to rinse spheres before serving.)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How do those liquid droplets transform into solid, round spheres? There are two star players on the spherification team: gelatin and cold oil. When the room temperature gelatin mixture drips into the cold oil, the drop in temperature almost instantly transforms the liquid droplet into a solid sphere. If the oil isn’t cold enough, the droplets won’t form round spheres – they look more like blobs (but they’ll still be tasty). (Gelatin mixtures are liquid above 50 degrees and solid below 50 degrees.

Speaking of our other star ingredient, you might have heard that oil and water don’t mix. Squeezing drops of flavorful liquid (that’s made mostly of water) into the oil causes the liquid to squeeze together in tight little sphere shapes. The oil pusses the flavorful liquid into the smallest shape it can form – not loose blobs, not egg shapes or cubes, but perfect, round spheres!

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