unicorn tears
April 2, 2016 9:08 PM Subscribe
"The Raindrop Cake is inspired by traditional Mizu Shingen Mochi from Japan," and it's coming to New York.
It's a kind of shingen mochi, a rice cake with roasted soy bean and brown sugar syrup. Sweet mochi, a common dessert and a killer.
But is the cake a lie?
How would you even go about making it? Here's one way, and here's another.
It's a kind of shingen mochi, a rice cake with roasted soy bean and brown sugar syrup. Sweet mochi, a common dessert and a killer.
But is the cake a lie?
How would you even go about making it? Here's one way, and here's another.
Yeah okay whatever so it's not a cake
Still gonna eat it
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:24 PM on April 2, 2016 [12 favorites]
Still gonna eat it
posted by Hermione Granger at 9:24 PM on April 2, 2016 [12 favorites]
The only people getting confused about its status as a cake are English speakers who don't have a word for mochi.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 9:26 PM on April 2, 2016 [32 favorites]
posted by I-Write-Essays at 9:26 PM on April 2, 2016 [32 favorites]
If a blob of goo is a cake I don't want to have a word for it.
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:31 PM on April 2, 2016 [23 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 9:31 PM on April 2, 2016 [23 favorites]
The molecular biologists among us know that "dessert" as an agarose gel, suitable for electrophoresis. It is edible in the same sense that cardboard is.
posted by gingerest at 9:39 PM on April 2, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by gingerest at 9:39 PM on April 2, 2016 [20 favorites]
It looks exactly like a saline breast implant (left; right is silicone). I now am not sure if I would like to put the cake into my mouth.
posted by un petit cadeau at 9:57 PM on April 2, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by un petit cadeau at 9:57 PM on April 2, 2016 [10 favorites]
Gee that was not at all hard to read (sarcasm font)
posted by boilermonster at 9:58 PM on April 2, 2016 [19 favorites]
posted by boilermonster at 9:58 PM on April 2, 2016 [19 favorites]
I ate some lotion once.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:24 PM on April 2, 2016 [21 favorites]
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:24 PM on April 2, 2016 [21 favorites]
One of the pastry chefs in the cafeteria at my office has been experimenting with combining mochi and cake. It's kind of hard to explain, but it basically winds up being this super-dense mochi with a crumbly crust on the top and bottom. They're totally stunning; the chocolate one tastes like what brownies want to be when they grow up.
posted by Itaxpica at 10:38 PM on April 2, 2016 [21 favorites]
posted by Itaxpica at 10:38 PM on April 2, 2016 [21 favorites]
Beautiful pictures in the first article, it's a shame THEY MAKE THE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING TEXT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO READ LINE-BY-LINE GOD-MOTHER-FUCKING-SON-OF-A-MUSK-OX-DAMN-IT HAVE YOU TRENDY WEB PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF ACCESSIBILITY OR EVEN FRIGGING USABILITY GOD DAMN IT.
Looks like an interesting cake.
posted by smoke at 10:44 PM on April 2, 2016 [39 favorites]
Looks like an interesting cake.
posted by smoke at 10:44 PM on April 2, 2016 [39 favorites]
Additionally; calling agar a "vegetarian gelatine substitute" really does it a disservice. Certainly, it can be used for that, but it's so much more and yields a different texture and sets quite different as well. Setting at room temperature is one of its main advantages, imho, and I prefer a pannacotta made from it.
posted by smoke at 10:47 PM on April 2, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by smoke at 10:47 PM on April 2, 2016 [11 favorites]
Man, regardless of truth or accuracy, let’s just savor that first comment on the Huffington Post tumblr, from one “fozmeadows”:
posted by Going To Maine at 10:51 PM on April 2, 2016 [32 favorites]next up, in food trends that are apparently not satire: why not eat a fucking gelatin jellyfish? it’s new! it’s translucent! it looks like an unused breast implant or something you’d find stranded above the tideline! it has almost zero calories because it contains nothing in the way of flavour or nutritional value, and we think that’s just nifty.
this is some dadaist aspic minimalism bullshit, I swear to allsuffering christ. why not eat some clingwrap while you’re at it? or - let’s go crazy - a slice of fucking cheesecake? ARE THE SHADES OF PEMBERLEY TO BE THUS POLLUTED? DID WE SUFFER AND DIE IN VAIN?
I would eat this; I don't care if it's actually Jell-O. I like mochi.
posted by limeonaire at 10:56 PM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by limeonaire at 10:56 PM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
I can see how this might be underwhelming in countries where adults don't already consume (non-alcoholic) jello, but agar and starch based jello-like sweets are all over Japan. The popular warabi mochi is similar, but stickier and sort of between jello and tapioca balls. Not tried the new Shingen stuff, but I guess the appeal is that it's sort of an un-sticky-fied warabi.
posted by p3t3 at 10:58 PM on April 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by p3t3 at 10:58 PM on April 2, 2016 [6 favorites]
They look like the way I imagine water is provided to the 'pets' in Goldfish Bowl.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 11:12 PM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Confess, Fletch at 11:12 PM on April 2, 2016 [2 favorites]
What bothers me a little is that it's going to be sold as a summer refreshment at NYC prices.
The thing is literally 99% sugar water set in a gel, with some cheap condiments (kinako and black syrup).
It's some sort of metaphor for making easy money of something that is low effort and minimal material cost, and whether or not you're using the finest organic sun-dried agar for your product becomes part of your marketing ideology rather than a statement, conviction, or vision about importance of ingredient sourcing.
At the 114-year old store in Japan, "Water Gel" is a seasonal novelty item that happens to be sold amongst a variety of other traditional-style Japanese pastries. That's the context that makes it special.
posted by polymodus at 11:22 PM on April 2, 2016 [8 favorites]
The thing is literally 99% sugar water set in a gel, with some cheap condiments (kinako and black syrup).
It's some sort of metaphor for making easy money of something that is low effort and minimal material cost, and whether or not you're using the finest organic sun-dried agar for your product becomes part of your marketing ideology rather than a statement, conviction, or vision about importance of ingredient sourcing.
At the 114-year old store in Japan, "Water Gel" is a seasonal novelty item that happens to be sold amongst a variety of other traditional-style Japanese pastries. That's the context that makes it special.
posted by polymodus at 11:22 PM on April 2, 2016 [8 favorites]
i'm not sure how this weird and exotic kind of website is supposed to be experienced
are
are you supposed to try to read it?
posted by indubitable at 11:37 PM on April 2, 2016 [17 favorites]
are
are you supposed to try to read it?
posted by indubitable at 11:37 PM on April 2, 2016 [17 favorites]
It responds if you tap the arrow keys right or left.
... I always check the arrow keys.
posted by aroweofshale at 11:53 PM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
... I always check the arrow keys.
posted by aroweofshale at 11:53 PM on April 2, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, if you press ESC you go into a login prompt.
Um. Whoops?
posted by aroweofshale at 11:53 PM on April 2, 2016 [8 favorites]
Um. Whoops?
posted by aroweofshale at 11:53 PM on April 2, 2016 [8 favorites]
Man, tough crowd here.
posted by teponaztli at 12:31 AM on April 3, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by teponaztli at 12:31 AM on April 3, 2016 [8 favorites]
I think the elephant in the room (not a substitute elephant, mind you, a different sort of elephant) is that "killer" link above. Once more, we have a country who is trying to export it's deadly foodstuffs -- mochi, is t not enough that you cut short the lives of the Japanese? Will you not rest until the entire world has choked in your sticky (if tasty) embrace?
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:45 AM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:45 AM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
THERE IS NO END TO THIS NATION'S DEPRAVITY: Japanese invent healthy ‘salad’ cakes
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:58 AM on April 3, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:58 AM on April 3, 2016 [5 favorites]
It looks just like a saline breast implant...
More than a mouthful is a waste.
posted by pearlybob at 3:58 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
More than a mouthful is a waste.
posted by pearlybob at 3:58 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
(for clarity) The "killer mochi" is another kind of mochi that is eaten for New Year. But still, it's like calling marshmallows "killers" because someone dies playing "chubby bunny".
posted by sukeban at 4:03 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sukeban at 4:03 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oh cool can we get our DNA stained across this? Then it would be a personalized water cake.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:38 AM on April 3, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:38 AM on April 3, 2016 [8 favorites]
> The thing is literally 99% sugar water set in a gel
Think of how many much people will drink soda pop, which is primarily water and isn't even gelatinized. Or how much more they'll pay for wine, which is primarily water and some ethane contaminants. Or the ridiculous prices they'll pay for distilled liquor, where the makers go to extra lengths to concentrate the contaminants!
Truly, humans are strange, as are the lengths they will go for things that do not serve purely to provide sustenance.
posted by ardgedee at 4:40 AM on April 3, 2016 [17 favorites]
Think of how many much people will drink soda pop, which is primarily water and isn't even gelatinized. Or how much more they'll pay for wine, which is primarily water and some ethane contaminants. Or the ridiculous prices they'll pay for distilled liquor, where the makers go to extra lengths to concentrate the contaminants!
Truly, humans are strange, as are the lengths they will go for things that do not serve purely to provide sustenance.
posted by ardgedee at 4:40 AM on April 3, 2016 [17 favorites]
One of the pastry chefs in the cafeteria at my office
We aren't even allowed a toaster. It's a condition of the lease. HMMMMM.
posted by howfar at 4:44 AM on April 3, 2016 [6 favorites]
We aren't even allowed a toaster. It's a condition of the lease. HMMMMM.
posted by howfar at 4:44 AM on April 3, 2016 [6 favorites]
Healthy Salad Cakes, aka those moulded Jell-o salads that used to shownup at church potlucks when you were a kid.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:33 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:33 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
You could make this with the Unicorn Tears seltzer, then gently drop it on top of a cronut and sell it with a Shamrock Shake on the side. (That last one may only be a delicacy to me...WHY ARE MINT SHAKES NOT AT MCD's ALL THE TIME?)
posted by xingcat at 6:19 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 6:19 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Okay I am totally making this. Then again, I have an excuse. If the thread's still open, I will report back.
posted by Mchelly at 6:21 AM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 6:21 AM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
This should be a marketing case study. "Raindrop Cake" is a killer name for a likely not so great product. It looks and sounds wonderful.
posted by davebush at 6:47 AM on April 3, 2016
posted by davebush at 6:47 AM on April 3, 2016
"Smorgasburg"?
posted by effbot at 6:56 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by effbot at 6:56 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
"A slime draws near."
>Eat slime
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:22 AM on April 3, 2016 [21 favorites]
>Eat slime
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 7:22 AM on April 3, 2016 [21 favorites]
Smorgasburg is a weekly food fair in Williamsburg on the bank of the East River. It's gained a reputation as a place where experimental street food goes to start a trend. The kind of place where you might stand in line for 40 minutes to spend $7 on something you eat off a paper tray in 3 bites. Ramen burgers were the last thing to really get a lot of buzz, like two years ago.
It's also nice because you get a lot of young restauranteurs from all over NYC show up in one place to sell their stuff, so you can try a lot of different things before making a 40 minute subway pilgrimage to a tiny shop 5 blocks off the G train.
It's also hella bougie, and perhaps worth hating just for that reason. "Raindrop cake" sounds EXACTLY like something you could get at Smorgasburg.
posted by GameDesignerBen at 7:28 AM on April 3, 2016 [6 favorites]
It's also nice because you get a lot of young restauranteurs from all over NYC show up in one place to sell their stuff, so you can try a lot of different things before making a 40 minute subway pilgrimage to a tiny shop 5 blocks off the G train.
It's also hella bougie, and perhaps worth hating just for that reason. "Raindrop cake" sounds EXACTLY like something you could get at Smorgasburg.
posted by GameDesignerBen at 7:28 AM on April 3, 2016 [6 favorites]
Pepsi Clear?
posted by Thorzdad at 7:34 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:34 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
> Oh cool can we get our DNA stained across this? Then it would be a personalized water cake.
With a little effort, you can get your DNA stained across anything.
posted by davelog at 8:20 AM on April 3, 2016 [10 favorites]
With a little effort, you can get your DNA stained across anything.
posted by davelog at 8:20 AM on April 3, 2016 [10 favorites]
next up, in food trends that are apparently not satire: why not eat a fucking gelatin jellyfish?
Eating them is a great way to control species
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:32 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Eating them is a great way to control species
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:32 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Someone left the cake out in the rain?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:41 AM on April 3, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:41 AM on April 3, 2016 [5 favorites]
Setting at room temperature is one of its main advantages, imho, and I prefer a pannacotta made from it.
I find that really strange. One of the joys of panna cotta is that, when made properly, it melts on contact with your tongue. Agar has a higher melting point than gelatine (~42C if memory serves vs body temp for gelatine) and thus doesn't.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:09 AM on April 3, 2016
I find that really strange. One of the joys of panna cotta is that, when made properly, it melts on contact with your tongue. Agar has a higher melting point than gelatine (~42C if memory serves vs body temp for gelatine) and thus doesn't.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:09 AM on April 3, 2016
Tastes like water... Pretty much describes my wife's coffee.
posted by Splunge at 9:09 AM on April 3, 2016
posted by Splunge at 9:09 AM on April 3, 2016
Agar is vegan while gelatin is boiled animal bones, now they don't make much film for photography any more, gelatin is what is left of slaughtered beasts for better or worse. I watched a film in a high school biology class the bones come in to Eastman Kodak by the trainloads.
That raindrop thing is absolutely fascinating, I want it in fresh lime, or margarita flavor, with some gummi worm side decor. Maybe cubes of crisp meringue sticking to the half orb, even the meringue made from garbanzo bean water. This could be an interesting vegan dessert. Imagine meringue unicorn horn, whoa!
The vegetable cakes? We once had mashed potatoes in Barcelona that looked just like a giant, multicolored cake when the waiter came by with the cart. As a five year old I was saddened by the ugly surprise of magenta mashed potatoes.
The videos are like those whisper sites with the sounds of slicing strawberries. I do wish I could read the videos, so I will go back for the gummi fruit no bake cheese cake and try out the side arrows.
posted by Oyéah at 9:37 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
That raindrop thing is absolutely fascinating, I want it in fresh lime, or margarita flavor, with some gummi worm side decor. Maybe cubes of crisp meringue sticking to the half orb, even the meringue made from garbanzo bean water. This could be an interesting vegan dessert. Imagine meringue unicorn horn, whoa!
The vegetable cakes? We once had mashed potatoes in Barcelona that looked just like a giant, multicolored cake when the waiter came by with the cart. As a five year old I was saddened by the ugly surprise of magenta mashed potatoes.
The videos are like those whisper sites with the sounds of slicing strawberries. I do wish I could read the videos, so I will go back for the gummi fruit no bake cheese cake and try out the side arrows.
posted by Oyéah at 9:37 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
I want it in fresh lime, or margarita flavor, with some gummi worm side decor.
One way to do that is calcium gluconolactate mixed into a liquid which you then drop into a 5% (by weight) alginate/water solution. Google 'spherification.'
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:44 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
One way to do that is calcium gluconolactate mixed into a liquid which you then drop into a 5% (by weight) alginate/water solution. Google 'spherification.'
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:44 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's also coincidentally, a sandwich that contains itself.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:49 AM on April 3, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by blue_beetle at 9:49 AM on April 3, 2016 [5 favorites]
calcium gluconolactate Well now, that is interesting. That is where those bubble teas come from.
posted by Oyéah at 9:55 AM on April 3, 2016
posted by Oyéah at 9:55 AM on April 3, 2016
No, bubble tea is usually made with tapioca pearls. Not the alginate/calcium reaction--that's what creates faux caviar.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:58 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:58 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
You know, everybody making fun of this is right. It's not a dessert unless it has 4 different kinds of fudge, and you can watch your life timer ticking down a full week while snarfing it down. Otherwise what's the point, right? And yes, how interesting something is to eat depends entirely on the ingredients.
But in all seriousness, using water instead of scotch is unforgivable.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:01 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
But in all seriousness, using water instead of scotch is unforgivable.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 10:01 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
There is an agar shortage that is making my research more expensive to conduct. Therefore, I do not appreciate this.
posted by acrasis at 10:48 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by acrasis at 10:48 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
So it's like a tasteless, blobbier version of one of my favorite desserts, Vietnamese agar?
posted by numaner at 11:27 AM on April 3, 2016
posted by numaner at 11:27 AM on April 3, 2016
I don't think it's supposed to be OMG the greatest thing ever you must make a pilgrimmage and pay whatever it takes to eat this. It's a seasonal novelty treat. In the way that you don't really expect a pig's ear or whatever you call that deep-fried crap at the fair, or cotton candy to show up at a five-star restaurant.
I'd try it. In fact, I'd probably make a day trip to Yamanashi to try it, but I don't need much excuse to make a day-trip quest for something just for the fun of it.
posted by ctmf at 11:34 AM on April 3, 2016
I'd try it. In fact, I'd probably make a day trip to Yamanashi to try it, but I don't need much excuse to make a day-trip quest for something just for the fun of it.
posted by ctmf at 11:34 AM on April 3, 2016
Jell-o cake? It should have cottage cheese and canned peaches too.
posted by zippy at 11:41 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by zippy at 11:41 AM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
>If a blob of goo is a cake I don't want to have a word for it.
Word.
In all seriousness, though, the use of "cake" in this context probably goes back to an older English translation of Japanese sweets, such as mochi and manju, as "cakes" or "tea cakes."
If you embiggen this picture of Benkyodo, a Japanese sweet shop founded in San Francisco in 1906 (and still alive today), you'll see that the phrase "tea cakes" is used prominently in the display.
posted by Gordion Knott at 11:43 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Word.
In all seriousness, though, the use of "cake" in this context probably goes back to an older English translation of Japanese sweets, such as mochi and manju, as "cakes" or "tea cakes."
If you embiggen this picture of Benkyodo, a Japanese sweet shop founded in San Francisco in 1906 (and still alive today), you'll see that the phrase "tea cakes" is used prominently in the display.
posted by Gordion Knott at 11:43 AM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Think of how many much people will drink soda pop, which is primarily water and isn't even gelatinized. Or how much more they'll pay for wine, which is primarily water and some ethane contaminants. Or the ridiculous prices they'll pay for distilled liquor, where the makers go to extra lengths to concentrate the contaminants!
Truly, humans are strange, as are the lengths they will go for things that do not serve purely to provide sustenance.
I actually thought of those as I wrote my comment. There are good reasons why soda and wine don't share the same criticisms. It just takes a little further thought to see them.
posted by polymodus at 12:22 PM on April 3, 2016
Truly, humans are strange, as are the lengths they will go for things that do not serve purely to provide sustenance.
I actually thought of those as I wrote my comment. There are good reasons why soda and wine don't share the same criticisms. It just takes a little further thought to see them.
posted by polymodus at 12:22 PM on April 3, 2016
Truly, humans are strange, as are the lengths they will go for things that do not serve purely to provide sustenance.
Second, since you didn't pay attention to the final sentence of my first comment, please note that I wasn't concerned about the "utility" of foods that we eat. If you go back and look at the comment, I was talking about cultural appropriation, and related social issues related to food.
posted by polymodus at 12:26 PM on April 3, 2016
Second, since you didn't pay attention to the final sentence of my first comment, please note that I wasn't concerned about the "utility" of foods that we eat. If you go back and look at the comment, I was talking about cultural appropriation, and related social issues related to food.
posted by polymodus at 12:26 PM on April 3, 2016
I really really want to see one of those "in the photo vs real life" things of this. I feel like the presentation, cute plate, and good photography is making this look way cooler and less awkward than it probably would on just a porcelain plate in normal lighting.
One of the pastry chefs in the cafeteria at my office has been experimenting with combining mochi and cake. It's kind of hard to explain, but it basically winds up being this super-dense mochi with a crumbly crust on the top and bottom. They're totally stunning; the chocolate one tastes like what brownies want to be when they grow up.
This interests me more than cronuts or any other meme foods i've heard in a while. Like, where's this place again?
posted by emptythought at 1:50 PM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
One of the pastry chefs in the cafeteria at my office has been experimenting with combining mochi and cake. It's kind of hard to explain, but it basically winds up being this super-dense mochi with a crumbly crust on the top and bottom. They're totally stunning; the chocolate one tastes like what brownies want to be when they grow up.
This interests me more than cronuts or any other meme foods i've heard in a while. Like, where's this place again?
posted by emptythought at 1:50 PM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
emptythought: "I really really want to see one of those "in the photo vs real life" things of this. I feel like the presentation, cute plate, and good photography is making this look way cooler and less awkward than it probably would on just a porcelain plate in normal lighting. "
Do a Google image search for 水信玄餅 and you'll find a few candid shots interspersed with the regular photography. The real thing looks pretty much the exact same as the professional shots.
posted by Bugbread at 4:10 PM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
Do a Google image search for 水信玄餅 and you'll find a few candid shots interspersed with the regular photography. The real thing looks pretty much the exact same as the professional shots.
posted by Bugbread at 4:10 PM on April 3, 2016 [1 favorite]
This interests me more than cronuts or any other meme foods i've heard in a while. Like, where's this place again?
It's not accessible to the public unfortunately, but this looks like a close substitute if you want to make it yourself.
posted by Itaxpica at 4:29 PM on April 3, 2016
It's not accessible to the public unfortunately, but this looks like a close substitute if you want to make it yourself.
posted by Itaxpica at 4:29 PM on April 3, 2016
So I bought a bunch of agar this morning and have been playing around with it all day. It's really fun. I don't have any sort of mold to make the raindrop, but I made a sheet with just some sugar water in a pyrex dish and it's pretty great. Right now in the fridge I have some Earl Grey and Coffee setting up, and I'm contemplating making some with cayenne or something like Tobasco.
As a vegetarian, I haven't had jello in decades, so I'm enjoying it even more.
If anyone has any tips on getting it super clear like in the photos, I'd love them. I'm thinking of making a something to photograph things in or through.
posted by nevercalm at 4:33 PM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
As a vegetarian, I haven't had jello in decades, so I'm enjoying it even more.
If anyone has any tips on getting it super clear like in the photos, I'd love them. I'm thinking of making a something to photograph things in or through.
posted by nevercalm at 4:33 PM on April 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
or cotton candy to show up at a five-star restaurant.
Adria did a dish called Mummy that was a deep fried fish skeleton enrobed in cotton candy...
nevercalm, getting agar to be super clear has never been a priority the few times I've played with it, but at a guess you'd want to keep the solution at liquid temperature for as long as possible to allow air bubbles to come out before setting. Seriously though that's a totally wild-ass guess.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:47 PM on April 3, 2016
Adria did a dish called Mummy that was a deep fried fish skeleton enrobed in cotton candy...
nevercalm, getting agar to be super clear has never been a priority the few times I've played with it, but at a guess you'd want to keep the solution at liquid temperature for as long as possible to allow air bubbles to come out before setting. Seriously though that's a totally wild-ass guess.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:47 PM on April 3, 2016
data point: I just made dark cherry jello with Chambord and canned mandarin oranges. Highly recommended!
posted by Bassariscus at 7:35 PM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Bassariscus at 7:35 PM on April 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
> This interests me more than cronuts or any other meme foods i've heard in a while. Like, where's this place again?
It sounds a lot like butter mochi (recipe @ Lucky Peach), a Hawaiian dessert. I made it last week and it is really really really good.
posted by Maecenas at 8:47 AM on April 4, 2016
It sounds a lot like butter mochi (recipe @ Lucky Peach), a Hawaiian dessert. I made it last week and it is really really really good.
posted by Maecenas at 8:47 AM on April 4, 2016
nevercalm (and fffm): maybe try konnyaku?
Unlike agar, konjac/konnyaku jelly sets up crystal clear with very little trouble (images; konnyaku powder on amazon). It's also vegetarian (derived from the root of Amorphophalus konjac, a plant named "misshapen penis" with a giant flower that smells of rotting flesh when it blooms; what's not to love?!). Konjac jellies seem firmer/more rubbery to me than agar-agar, but that might just be the preparation; perhaps reducing the concentration will achieve the right consistency?
posted by Westringia F. at 4:13 PM on April 4, 2016
Unlike agar, konjac/konnyaku jelly sets up crystal clear with very little trouble (images; konnyaku powder on amazon). It's also vegetarian (derived from the root of Amorphophalus konjac, a plant named "misshapen penis" with a giant flower that smells of rotting flesh when it blooms; what's not to love?!). Konjac jellies seem firmer/more rubbery to me than agar-agar, but that might just be the preparation; perhaps reducing the concentration will achieve the right consistency?
posted by Westringia F. at 4:13 PM on April 4, 2016
Right now I'm looking at my konjac facial sponge in a very different way.
posted by sukeban at 3:34 AM on April 5, 2016
posted by sukeban at 3:34 AM on April 5, 2016
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