Advanced Techniques - Cocktail Pods (Reverse Spherification)

Summary

The video script details an innovative culinary experiment involving the creation of cocktail pods, inspired by the Tide Pod Challenge and a whiskey brand's marketing campaign. The process uses reverse spherification, which requires sodium alginate and calcium lactate gluconate to form a gel-like membrane around a frozen cocktail. The host demonstrates making rye old fashioned and boulevardier pods, emphasizing the importance of precise measurements and the use of a digital scale. The resulting pods are described as an explosion of flavor, with a fun and visually appealing presentation. The script also includes a promotional mention of wireless earbuds, highlighting their affordability and quality. The video concludes with the host's enthusiasm for the project and an invitation to support further content on Patreon.

Takeaways

• 🍸 The internet has seen a resurgence in consuming things in pod format, with a whiskey brand recently creating cocktail pods that have gained popularity online.
• 🔬 The process used to create these cocktail pods is called reverse spherification, which involves a gelling agent and calcium ions.
• 🌊 Sodium alginate, derived from seaweed, is the gelling agent used, which needs to be combined with calcium ions to form a membrane.
• 📦 Calcium lactate gluconate is used as the calcium salt, chosen for its lower salt content compared to other calcium salts.
• 📚 A precise digital scale is necessary for accurately measuring the ingredients, particularly the sodium alginate and calcium salts.
• 🧊 A water bath with sodium alginate is created, and it's important to use distilled or filtered water to avoid interference from calcium.
• ⏳ The sodium alginate mixture needs to rest to allow the gelling agent to activate properly, ideally for 24 hours.
• 🍹 Cocktails are prepared in advance, combined with calcium salts, and then frozen in ice cube trays to create the right shape and volume for the pods.
• 🥄 Xanthan gum may be added to sour cocktails with higher water content to thicken them, as these types of cocktails can be more challenging to spherify.
• 🍽 After the spherification process, the pods are rinsed in cold water to remove excess sodium alginate and are then ready to eat.
• 📦 For storage, the pods should be kept in a mason jar filled with the respective cocktail (without calcium salts) to prevent the membrane from leaking.
• 🎧 The video includes a promotion for Ray Khan's earbuds, highlighting their value, sound quality, and design.

Q & A

What is the main technique used to create the cocktail pods?

The main technique used to create the cocktail pods is reverse spherification.

What are the two specialty ingredients required for the reverse spherification process?

The two specialty ingredients required are sodium alginate (a gelling agent refined from seaweed) and calcium salts in the form of calcium lactate gluconate.

Why is distilled or filtered water important in the sodium alginate bath?

Distilled or filtered water is important because it ensures there is no calcium present, which could interfere with the gelling process.

How long should the sodium alginate solution rest before use?

The sodium alginate solution should rest for at least one hour, or ideally for 24 hours.

What is the purpose of adding calcium lactate gluconate to the cocktail mixture?

Calcium lactate gluconate is added to the cocktail mixture to supply calcium ions, which are necessary for the gelling agent to form a membrane around the cocktail.

What is the recommended percentage of calcium salts to add to the cocktail mixture?

It is recommended to add 2 percent of the weight of the cocktail in calcium salts.

Why is it important to weigh the cocktail ingredients when making the pods?

Weighing the cocktail ingredients ensures the precise amount of calcium salts is added, which is crucial for the gelling process to work correctly.

What can be added to sour cocktails to help thicken them for the spherification process?

Xanthan gum can be added to sour cocktails to help thicken them, at about 0.3 percent by weight.

How long should the frozen cocktail pod be stirred in the warm sodium alginate bath?

The frozen cocktail pod should be gently stirred in the warm sodium alginate bath for about two minutes.

What should be done to store the cocktail pods overnight without the membrane leaking?

To store the cocktail pods overnight without the membrane leaking, they should be placed in a mason jar filled up with the same cocktail (without calcium salts).

What is the recommended temperature for the sodium alginate bath when preparing the pods?

The recommended temperature for the sodium alginate bath is 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the name of the person mentioned in the script who appears in the whiskey pod commercial?

The name of the person mentioned in the script who appears in the whiskey pod commercial is Pods Worth.

Outlines

00:00

🍸 Making Whiskey Cocktail Pods with Reverse Spherification

The video introduces a method for creating whiskey cocktail pods using a technique called reverse spherification. The process involves two key ingredients: sodium alginate, a gelling agent derived from seaweed, and calcium salts, specifically calcium lactate gluconate, which provides the necessary calcium ions. A precise digital scale is used to measure ingredients accurately. The sodium alginate is first dissolved in distilled water to form a 0.5% solution, which is then left to rest, ideally for 24 hours. During this time, cocktails are prepared with added calcium salts and then frozen in silicone ice cube trays to create the desired pod shape. Once the gelling bath and frozen cocktail pods are ready, the pods are gently stirred in the warmed sodium alginate bath. This activates the gelling agent, forming a membrane around the cocktail. After thawing, the pods are rinsed in cold water and are ready to be eaten. The video also provides a link to additional information and equipment in the description.

05:02

🎧 Reviewing Premium Wireless Earbuds and Making Boulevardier Pods

After demonstrating the whiskey cocktail pod process, the video transitions into a review of premium wireless earbuds, specifically the e25 model, provided by Ray Khan. The earbuds are praised for their sound quality, compact design, noise-isolating fit, and affordability compared to other premium wireless earbuds. A special discount link is provided for viewers. The video then returns to the cocktail pod theme, showing the process of creating Boulevardier pods using the same reverse spherification technique. The pods are tested for taste and consistency, with the presenter expressing satisfaction with the results. The video concludes with a teaser for a Patreon-exclusive attempt at creating a giant Negroni sphere and a toast to the viewers.

Keywords

💡Reverse Spherification

Reverse spherification is a culinary technique used to create a gel-like membrane around a liquid. In the context of the video, it's the process by which cocktail pods are made. The technique involves combining a gelling agent, sodium alginate, with a calcium salt to form a membrane around the liquid cocktail, encapsulating it in a sphere.

💡Sodium Alginate

Sodium alginate is a gelling agent derived from seaweed and comes in a powder form. It is a key ingredient in the reverse spherification process. In the video, it's used to create the outer membrane of the cocktail pods by reacting with calcium ions.

💡Calcium Lactate Gluconate

Calcium lactate gluconate is a type of calcium salt used in the spherification process. It provides the necessary calcium ions to react with the sodium alginate and form a gel. The video mentions it as a preferred calcium salt due to its lower salt content.

💡Digital Scale

A precise digital scale is an essential piece of equipment for accurately measuring ingredients, particularly in cooking and science experiments. In the video, it's used to measure out the sodium alginate and calcium salts to ensure the correct proportions for the spherification process.

💡Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned is a classic whiskey-based cocktail. In the video, it's one of the cocktails chosen to be made into a pod. The preparation of the Old Fashioned is detailed, including the specific measurements of its components and the addition of calcium lactate gluconate.

💡Boulevardier

The Boulevardier is another cocktail featured in the video, made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and rye whiskey. It's also turned into a pod using the spherification technique, showcasing the versatility of the process for different types of cocktails.

💡Xanthan Gum

Xanthan gum is a common ingredient used as a thickening agent. In the context of the video, it's suggested for use in cocktails with a higher water content, like a sour cocktail, to help thicken the mixture and facilitate the spherification process.

💡Water Bath

A water bath, also known as a hot water bath, is used to heat ingredients gently and evenly. In the video, a sodium alginate water bath is heated to 125 degrees Fahrenheit to facilitate the gelling process for the cocktail pods.

💡Cocktail Pods

Cocktail pods are the end product of the spherification process shown in the video. They are spheres of frozen cocktails with a gel membrane on the outside. The concept is likened to Tide Pods, playing on the internet's fascination with consuming things in pod format.

💡Ear Buds

Ear buds, or earphones, are personal audio devices. In the video, there's a mention of a partnership with Ray Khan, who sent the video creator a pair of ear buds. The ear buds are described as being a great value with good sound quality and a snug fit.

💡Negroni

The Negroni is an Italian cocktail made with gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. The video teases an attempt at creating a giant Negroni sphere on the creator's Patreon, indicating an extension of the spherification technique to larger volumes and different cocktail recipes.

Highlights

The internet has a weird obsession with consuming things in pod format

A whiskey brand recently brought out cocktail pods, causing a frenzy on the internet

The process used to make the cocktail pods is called reverse spherification

Two specialty ingredients are needed - sodium alginate and calcium lactate gluconate

Sodium alginate is a gelling agent refined from seaweed

Calcium lactate gluconate provides the calcium ions needed for the gelling reaction

A precise digital scale is needed to measure ingredients to the nearest 0.1g

A 0.5% sodium alginate solution is made by dissolving 5g in 1L of distilled water

The sodium alginate solution needs to rest for at least 1 hour, ideally 24 hours, to remove bubbles

The cocktail mixture is combined with 2% calcium lactate gluconate by weight, then frozen

The frozen cocktail is placed in the warm sodium alginate bath to form a gel membrane

The calcium salts in the cocktail activate the gelling agent in the bath

The pod is stirred in the bath for 2 minutes until the inside thaws and gelling stops

The pod is then rinsed in a cold water bath to remove excess sodium alginate

Sour cocktails with high water content may need to be thickened with xanthan gum

The resulting cocktail pods have a thin, edible membrane that bursts with flavor

If stored overnight, the membrane can leak so it's best to keep the pod in the cocktail liquid

The video demonstrates making whiskey pods using an Old Fashioned and Boulevardier cocktail

Transcripts

if there's one thing the Internet has

taught me in the last couple years is

that we have a weird obsession with

trying to consume things in pod format

now thankfully the tied pod challenge

meme has completely gone away but

recently a certain whiskey brand has

brought back our memories of the Tide

Pods with their cocktail pods and the

internet went a little crazy for these

things I mean can you blame them look at

how much they're enjoying these all

right so I'm going to tell you how they

do it it's actually not that complex

it's a well known process called reverse

spherification you need two specialty

ingredients the first being a gelling

agent called sodium alginate which is

refined from seaweed now this comes in a

powder form and in order for the gelling

to actually take place to form that

membrane we need to combine it with

calcium ions to supply those ions we're

gonna combine it with calcium salts in

the form of calcium lactate gluconate

there are some other types of calcium

salts like just calcium lactate and

calcium chloride but this one is great

because it has a lower salt content I'll

put a link to all the ingredients and

equipment I use in the description

and speaking of equipment you're gonna

want a precise digital scale one that

allows you to measure to the tenth of a

gram increment for legal purposes of

course all right we're gonna start by

making a water bath using our gelling

agent sodium alginate we're targeting a

point five percent solution so we're

gonna start by measuring out five grams

of sodium alginate then we're gonna pour

in 1 liter of distilled water into a

large bowl and it's very important that

there is no calcium in this water so

make sure it's distilled or filtered

next grab yourself a trusty hand blender

and slowly blend the powder into the

water now if you don't have a hand

blender just do this in a regular

blender okay it should have thickened a

little bit and have a ton of bubbles in

it now we do not want those bubbles so

we need to let this rest for at least

one hour or ideally 24 hours now that's

ok because there's another step we need

to do in advance we're gonna create our

cocktails that we want to go inside the

pods combined them with our calcium

salts and then freeze them we know the

whiskey pods are about 23 mils or a

little less than one ounce so these ice

cube trays are perfect for the right

shape the right volume and the bottoms

have silicone so you can pop them right

out all right so let's make our first

cocktail we're gonna go with a classic

rye old fashioned and it's actually

important to weigh this cocktail as

you're making it so we know precisely

how much of the calcium salts we should

add all right let's start with two

ounces or 60 mils of rye for our

sweetener I'm gonna use a hipster

barrel-aged maple syrup we're gonna add

a quarter ounce or about 7 mils hit that

with a few dashes of Angostura add one

ounce over 30 mils of water okay so we

need 2 percent of the weight in our

calcium salts so because this weighed

about 90 grams we're gonna add one point

eight grams of our calcium lactate

gluconate dump all that into a container

this nifty one here came with my hand

blender and we're just gonna blend that

up on high for about 30 seconds all

right and while you inspect my hairline

for bald spots I will just fill up the

ice cube tray this will make about five

pods worth coincidentally pods Worth is

the name of the guy in that whiskey pod

commercial what all right calm down pods

worth while we're at it let's get

another whiskey cocktail going here were

gonna make a boulevardier

so start with one ounce or 30 mils of

Campari then one ounce or 30 mils of

sweet vermouth and finally one ounce or

30 mils of our rye throw in another

ounce or 30 mils of water to account for

the dilution and because this drink

weighs a hundred and ten grams we're

gonna add 2.2 grams of our calcium salts

blend it up and pour it in the ice cube

trays will get about five or six pods

out of this man

this will work with any cocktail you

want but I will say if you're gonna make

a sour cocktail that maybe has a higher

water content you're gonna need to

thicken it a bit with some xantham gum

about 0.3 percent by weight I'll put a

recipe for a whiskey sour on the website

smash cut 24 hours later we've got three

bowls in front of us the first is our

sodium alginate bath heated to 125

degrees Fahrenheit I just microwaved it

on high for about two minutes

next to that we've got two bowls of cold

tap water you'll see why in a second and

we need a perforated spoon like this all

right grab our old-fashioned frozen pod

here and pop one out into the warm bath

and right when we drop that in the

calcium salts that we blended into that

cocktail are going to activate the

gelling agent in the water bath starting

to create a membrane around that pod

you're gonna gently stir the warm water

bath for about two minutes until the

inside of the pod completely thaws that

has stopped the gelling reaction and we

need to rinse off the sodium alginate so

pick it up with the perforated spoon

wipe the bottom with a towel and

transfer it to your first water bath

give that a light stir and then

literally rinse and repeat in the next

bowl after that transfer it to a paper

towel and it is ready to eat now we've

got our whiskey type pot I mean cocktail

pod the membrane should be thick enough

to just pick up with your hands without

breaking but if you try to store this

overnight the membrane will leak like

this so make sure if you want to store

this for later to put it in a mason jar

filled up with that cocktail itself so

in this case fill it up with the

old-fashioned but without the calcium

salts you can store it like this

indefinitely but before we move on to

the next pod I want to thank Ray Khan

for partnering with me on this video and

sending me these amazing ear buds and

the timing could not actually be better

for me because my quote unquote premium

ear buds just broke and these things

sound awesome first thing I notice about

the rake on ear buds is that they're

about half the price of any other

premium wireless earbuds on the market

and they sound just as amazing this here

is their latest model the e25 and it is

great it's got

six hours of playtime really seamless

bluetooth pairing it's got extra base in

a more compact design that has a nice

noise-isolating fit it comes in a bunch

of fun colors too so been using these

the past couple weeks

and they're just fantastic the fit is

really snug and discreet they never fall

out when I'm running on the treadmill

and for how small and discreet they are

I'm just amazed at how much sound you

can get out of them these earbuds are

already such a great value but they're

giving an additional discount right now

just click the link in the description

below to get 15% off your order all

right now on to the boulevardier pods

heat up your sodium alginate bath again

and pop in the frozen pod give that a

quick stir after a few minutes once it's

completely thawed we're again gonna

transfer it to the cold bath number one

cold bath number two and plate it up now

the easiest thing would be to put these

in the fridge for about an hour to cool

them down before getting her grubby

hands on them but let's make my Tide pod

eating dreams come true Cheers and yeah

I mean once you bite into this thing

it's like an explosion of cocktail this

is actually pretty great now I know what

pods worth was on about okay moving on

to the boulevardier in pod form honestly

I'm really impressed at how well this

thing holds together I would have

thought it would be a flimsy mess right

now but down the hatch and yeah this one

is fantastic I think this one's my

favorite it's a little less boozy than

the old fashioned and it's just a

delicious cocktail these things are

really fun give it a try but what if we

attempt a giant Negroni sphere over on

my patreon I attempt this monstrosity

and you can see if it's a fail or a

total success a huge thank you to all

those who support the channel and keep

it going I couldn't do without you guys

Cheers until next time