For a couple of week, we have started doing experiments in molecular cuisine… Finally we are ready to prepare you our first recipe: Purple Spell. This blueberry cocktail will amaze and delight your friends 🙂 . In a base of vodka and ice, small molecular blueberry float free… Just before drinking it, shake it and by magic your drink will turn deep purple.For the preparation of Purple Spell cocktail we used the technique of reverse Spherification, one of the basic techniques of molecular cuisine. According to this Spherification, you will have to pour a liquid that contains calcium into a solution of sodium alginate. If the liquid that you want to turn into a ball does not contain calcium, like blueberry jam, you can add calcium gluconate; this “salt” is tasteless, so it will not alter the recipe in any way 😉 . The reaction between the calcium and sodium alginate creates a thin transparent membrane around the liquid content.

Once you have extracted the spheres from the sodium bath, the reaction will stop gelling, so you can prepare them in advance without worrying that the inside becomes solid. Do not leave them, however, in a too dry environment, because the gelatinous membrane may crack; to preserve them for a long time you have to leave them immersed in a liquid.
Now after this long explanation, here’s the preparation of the purple spell blueberry cocktail 😀 .

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Stampa

Purple Spell (blueberry cocktail)

Cuisine Egg free, Gluten free, Lactose free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 45 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Difficulty

Ingredients

For the bath

• 1 l of distilled water
• 5 g of sodium alginate

For the molecular spheres

• 125 g of blueberry jam
• 25 g of crème de cassis
• 3 g of calcium gluconate

For the cocktail

• half a lime
• Sugar syrup
• Vodka
• Ice

Instructions

The bath

1. Start preparing your bath where you'll dip your spheres. Unite distilled water and sodium alginate; mix thoroughly, using a blender. It's very important that the water is distilled, otherwise the sodium alginate will react with the calcium present in the water, making the mixture too thick.
2. Pour the mixture into a large container: This shape will help you later 😉 .
3. Cover the container with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator, until all the air bubbles are gone, it will take a few hours.

Blueberry jam cream

1. Puree the blueberry jam together with the crème de cassis; pass the mixture through a sieve to remove all the seeds.
2. Add the calcium gluconate and blend again. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest. It may also take up to 24 hours for all the air bubbles to dissolve.

The molecular spheres

1. Take out the two bowls from the fridge and fill another container with normal water: you'll use it to rinse the spheres.
2. Fill a syringe with mashed blueberries, acting gently on the plunger spill one drop at a time into sodium bathroom. Be careful not to drop too many balls, otherwise they will stick together.
3. Let the balls in the bath for about a minute, then gently take them out and dip them in the water for another minute. This will stop gelling, leaving liquid the inside of the ball 🙂 .
4. You can save the molecular blueberries in the fridge until ready to prepare cocktails.

The cocktail

1. Squeeze the lime half and pour into a tall glass.
2. Add a tablespoon of syrup.
3. Finely chop the ice using a blender and completely fill the glass. Together with ice, drop generously your molecular spheres.
4. Be gentle in the preparation, you don't want to break the balls too soon.
5. Now fill up with vodka and serve the cocktail without mixing. It must be stirred just before you sip it, in order to break up the molecular blueberries 🙂