organic gelato Archives

SKYCITY Sky Tower: Celebrating 20 Years of a Kiwi Icon

In honour of New Zealand’s tallest tower, I have created New Zealand’s tallest ice cream. 20 years after the opening of the Sky Tower, an icon of Auckland’s skyline, at SKYCITY Auckland, it was only fair that I recreated it in a gloriously edible form. The Sky Tower is renowned for its breathtaking views, superb dining and adrenaline activities. To celebrate this iconic piece of New Zealand, I wanted to fashion an ice cream that is exciting to experience, both in rich flavours and visual perfection. The creation came into being using 3D printing to form a mould [...]

SKYCITY Sky Tower: Celebrating 20 Years of a Kiwi Iconthisisthechief2020-08-04T22:32:53+12:00

The Chemistry of Egg Whites

Egg proteins change when you heat them, beat them, or mix them with other ingredients. Understanding these changes can help you grasp the many roles that eggs can play in the cooking process. Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids; in an egg white these are globular proteins which means that the long protein molecule is twisted, folded and curled up into a spherical shape. To keep the protein in that shape there is a variety of weak chemical bonds which keep the protein curled up tight as it drifts placidly in the water that surrounds it. The [...]

The Chemistry of Egg Whitesthisisthechief2017-01-25T20:03:04+13:00

Mono and Diglicerides

Emulsions occur when two substances that do not naturally mix together are forced together by applying a form of energy to create a new mixture. Force or energy applied in the kitchen might be more well known as stirring, whipping or shaking, the energy applied helps to disperse the substances molecules allowing the two substances to mix . No emulsions are permanent, but some emulsions will last longer than others and an example for this is the mayonnaise - an egg yolk in oil emulsion. The reason it remains emulsified for longer, is that egg yolk contains lecithin (a natural [...]

Mono and Digliceridesthisisthechief2017-01-25T20:03:05+13:00

Candy Floss Sandwich

This is a new food experiment. It is part of a paper im writing for the Auckland University of Technology about Candy floss. Ingredients: Take some Hazelnuts or Pistachios or Walnuts, grind them coarse, do the candy floss at 2% maltodextrin as it gains malleability because of different melting point with sugar and it also gives structure to the system so it spreads without losing too much volume. Put it down with hands, cover with baking paper and iron it without steaming, sprinkle some nuts down and go for the second sheet on top. Its a great way to surprise [...]

Candy Floss Sandwichthisisthechief2020-08-04T22:37:26+12:00

Why Chocolate and Blue Cheese.. the science of flavor pairing.

Sometime a new flavour combination is not that new.. and Dark Chocolate and Blue Cheese is one of them. The beautiful food pairing has been done in France under the shape of an amazing dessert that I have once tasted and it is called Coulant by famous Chef Michel Bras and lately developed in different form by Chef Heston Blumenthal. And that’s what we are trying to do today for you in a gelato / ice cream form of course…. Blue Cheese is an aged, smeared, moulded cheese that needs lots of attention in the making and unfortunately we don’t [...]

Why Chocolate and Blue Cheese.. the science of flavor pairing.thisisthechief2017-01-25T20:03:08+13:00

Thermodynamics of sorbet making (3) The algebric equation

In a nutshell, we now understand that solute particles cannot enter the solid phase of water, hence, fewer molecules participate in the solid / liquid equilibrium. This solid / liquid equilibrium is achieved when the rate of freezing becomes equal to the rate of liquefying. The freezing point of a substance is defined as the temperature at which the vapor pressure of its liquid is equal to the vapor pressure of the corresponding solid. Since the addition of a non-volatile solute always lowers the vapor pressure of solvent, therefore, it will be in equilibrium with solid phase at a lower [...]

Thermodynamics of sorbet making (3) The algebric equationthisisthechief2018-10-04T08:39:07+13:00

Thermodynamics of sobvet making (2) Depressing the freezing point of the solution

Water is a molecule with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water comes in three forms: a liquid when at temperature above zero celsius, at a solid state, ice when temperature is below zero celsius, and gaseous state (water vapor or steam) when temperature is above or equal to 100 degree celsius. To understand the role of sugar in the sorbet and find a natural substitute that would fight the ice crystal formation we analyze the definition of Freezing point which is: “The freezing point of a substance is defined [...]

Thermodynamics of sobvet making (2) Depressing the freezing point of the solutionthisisthechief2018-10-04T08:38:45+13:00

The thermodynamics of sorbet making (1) An introduction

The process of producing a sorbet can be divided in four different steps. • Ingredient preparations. • Freezing and Churning • Hardening and Storage • Display. Preparing the ingredients is a very important step because a good sorbet is the result of a choice of good quality ingredients. It is therefore very important to have an understanding of good fruit, sugar, water and find good reliable suppliers who will furnish the ingredients necessary for a quality sorbet. I.e.: a farmer that has quality fruit, an ingredient wholesaler specialized in sugar and other ingredients. Freezing and Churning is the phase that [...]

The thermodynamics of sorbet making (1) An introductionthisisthechief2018-10-04T08:39:33+13:00

All About Avocados (History and Science)

Avocado is not a common fruit in Italy. I only discovered it during a few trips overseas and I became a fan when I moved to New Zealand. Avocado here in Auckland and in New Zealand is used almost everywhere ... in salad, burgers, sushi and now even gelato! We want to show you where our organic Avocados come from, and how we make our organic avocado gelato. The Frech Orchard in Shelly Beach, 50-60 Kilometres from Auckland, is where we source our Avocados from. Fred and Christine are two amazing Avocados expert and grow the Hass Variety, the one that [...]

All About Avocados (History and Science)thisisthechief2018-10-04T08:37:38+13:00

Experimenting with candy floss and different gums

Experimenting with candy floss and different gumsthisisthechief2017-01-25T20:03:25+13:00