Blown Up Brie

Texture is important, particularly with high-fat and decadent ingredients. We have explored the process of powdering lardo, olives, and foie gras. The use of liquid nitrogen helped the cause. In order to lighten ingredients like chocolate, avocados, and brie cheese, we have taken another approach. Initially, we used a combination of a whipped cream canister and a vacuum sealer to draw a large vacuum on these ingredients in conjunction with a few hydrocolloids to stabilize the delicate structure of bubbles. Recently, we have eliminated the vacuum sealer step. Now we are just putting our mixture, warm, into an insulated whipped cream canister and extruding it into mason jars. We seal the jars while the mixture is warm, and as it cools, it draws a vacuum in the jar, increasing bubble variance and allowing the mixture to set and stabilize. Once the mixture is cooled, we open the jar and pull out the lighter decadent ingredients. Today we were working with brie and berries. A few mustard greens and stems and a bit of juniper-aged balsamic balanced the dish.