We have discussed the myriad possibilities and uses for our new skins. While Aki enjoyed the chocolate pudding, I
wanted something a bit more savory. Today during our class we decided to try something new. We had a corn puree on hand with which we were planning to turn into a hot custard when inspiration took over. We added Ticagel to the corn puree and heated the mixture to hydrate the hydrocolloids in the blend. Unfortunately, my liberal usage of butter in the mixture caused the corn puree to separate. Thankfully, the corn puree and the Ticagel were forgiving. We put the mixture into the blender and sheared it back together. We rolled out the resulting emulsion between two sil pats to create a thin corn skin. The additional butter in the corn base altered the texture of the skin just a bit. This skin is softer and more tender than the chocolate pudding skin.
This corn skin opens up many new opportunities for us. We tested the thermal nature of the pudding skin (thanks to yesterday's class) using a heat gun, so we know we will be able to use the skins in both hot and cold environments. Now that we have jumped into the savory realm we can use the skins as the pasta sheets for cannelloni or to drape over other ingredients thus creating hidden gems on the plate. Again we are just beginning. Ideas from parsnip to pear and miso to mango are popping up in our brains. And is a skin or a sheet our only option? Of course not, it's simply a question of figuring out how else to utilize this particular texture to its best advantage.
