In this recipe, we describe the construction of a hydrosol for a dish from our Micheline star restaurant. It is a hydrosol from old apple varieties and dill, which we then use as a base to make a vinaigrette for our faux gras. The faux grass is made from various mushrooms and nuts, among other things. The vinaigrette serves as a refreshing element with a little acidity and strong aromas.
Preparation:
Chop the wood and the leaves or pass them through a food processor. Make sure that the stems are not too woody. The wood and the leaves serve as aroma carriers to transport the tart and woody aromas into the later dish.
Put the apple juice together with the stalks, leaves and all the ingredients in a kitchen blender and blend vigorously once. Place the mixture in a vacuum bag and leave it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Caution:
It is essential to distill the mass in two steps, as it foams very much due to the proteins that are released.
Select the following settings for distillation:
80 rpm, heating bath at 54° C, the cooling should have at least an initial temperature of 2° C.
For the first distillation, it is advisable to approach the boiling point in 5 mbar steps from an initial pressure of 250 mbar. At a certain point, the liquid will foam very strongly at the beginning, so it is advisable to stay with the device so that the liquid does not foam over into the receiving flask.
When the boiling point is reached and the process is running, the vacuum should be reduced rather slowly to an end point of 50 mbar.
After distillation, the hydrosol must still be enriched with the sugar syrup for a better viscosity. In order to take out the sweetness again a little, the hydrosol should still be balanced with a little acid. A white rice vinegar is best suited here. If a clear hydrosol is not necessarily needed, lemon or lime juice can also be used.
Further processing:
We now use the hydrosol as the basis for a vinaigrette, which we season again with a little apple juice and acid. The vinaigrette is then bound with xanthan gum and mixed with an apple seed herb oil before serving.
Have fun while enjoying!
Photo credits by Michaela Klose