Raspberry espuma by Ferrán Adriá

Maybe you've never heard about this gadget. It's the iSi Whip, which I use for making whipped cream since some years ago, because there's no other device as good for serving perfectly whipped cream, straight from the bottle. It will impress all your guests and will leave them utterly flabbergasted. I don't get paid for this, I'm that silly and I do it for free. I simply love this gadget. Mr. Ferrán Adriá, one of the most famous cooks in the world, in a quest to provide espumas, foams, mousses, or whatever you want to call them keeping the purest possible taste of the main ingredient, thought this artifact could be used to avoid air-entraining additives such as egg whites or similar things, and prepared various concoctions directly whipped in this device.


But the bad news is that this recipe can only be prepared with the mentioned device. You know that I'm the maniac for this kind of junk, even though I seem to have some childhood trauma that prevents me from buying a scale... For I am the proud owner of one of these artifacts from time immemorial, but so far I had not dared to make an Adriá style espuma. I'd been wanting to make a humble tribute to him for quite some time already and the time has come for it. Because, regardless of all the arguments about his molecular cooking, its prices and the temporary closing of his restaurant, this guy has contributed greatly to put Spain on the culinary map of the world. And I really appreciate it. As simple as that.

I have substituted agave syrup for the sugar, to make for an even lighter espuma. It's excellent as dessert or as palate-cleanser.



Raspberry espuma
Yields 4 normal servings or a handful of ridiculous spoons

• 250g fresh raspberries
  
• 50g sugar (you can use 40g agave syrup instead)
• 100g water
• 2 gelatine sheets

1. Put the raspberries in a saucepan with the sugar or sweetener and cook in a water bath for one hour. I did it in my Thermomix at 80ºC. I don't know at what temperature the puree was supposed to be in a bain-marie, but I guess pretty close to 100ºC. I didn't dare to go that high though. Allow to cool.
2. Pass the puree through a sieve fine enough to remove the seeds. I put it through a food mill first and then through a sieve and the result was a pretty smooth puree. I also added half the water to the puree to facilitate the process. Mr. Adriá says that with the 250g of raspberries and 50g of sugar you obtain 300g of raspberry puree... This man is an optimist. In the food mill and in the sieve you lose quite some puree even after patiently scratching the bottom of both, but that can't be helped.
3. Cut the gelatin sheets into strips and place in a bowl with cold water for 10 minutes. When they are soft, warm the remaining water and dissolve the gelatin in it. I wanted to experiment and substituted 10g of water for the same amount of wine, but it was barely noticeable in the final result. The next time I will add more wine (I often get to this conclusion ... food for thought).
4. Pour the puree into the iSi whip, close tightly and apply a gas canister. Shake vigorously and set aside in the fridge. That's what Mr. Adriá instructs you to do... But what happens then is that the mousse solidifies into a block in the bottom of the bottle and no agitation gets it off (at least, I didn't manage to). So I had to depressurize the device and stir the espuma with a spoon to loosen it. Then I used another canister to pressurize it. And it worked... I guess the best thing to do is to visit the fridge every now and then while the foam is solidifying and give the bottle a vigorous wiggle.
5. Then choose a nice container where the espuma can shine in all its splendor, invert the bottle, as connoisseurs already know..., press the handle with caution and... serve a beautiful pile of espuma. The espuma must be eaten almost immediately, since it deflates slowly but inexorably. I have to try adding more jelly next time.
6. Then you're ready to devour the espuma...
   

You certainly get a mousse with a pure raspberry flavor, frankly airy, which melts in the mouth, very light, volatile ... oh, ah, uh, I go into ecstasy.

There's a nice little e-book with Adriá's foam recipes in Spanish, but there doesn't seem to be an available English translation. Publishers out there, I could certainly aid in that translation... ahem.