Kitchen Chemistry

[Labarum]

I picked some Brambles (wild blackberries) the other day while out cycling. My wife makes a wonderful mousse which starts with three eggs and two egg yolks whipped with 4oz castor sugar. The juice of the berries is mixed with gelatine and whipped into the frothy eggs. Whipped cream is folded in to finish.

The eggs won't whip up with Granula Splenda. Is there a solution, ladies?

My cream cheese receipe works well with the bramble juice, but of course the texture is very different.

Any suggestions. I am guessing the hi-tech answer would be polydextrose, but it is not availabale in retail quantities in UK.

Would granular fructose work? That would be almost as carby as sugar.

[Lisa M]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

That granular is too *heavy* for the eggs to whip...I tried this making mock french toast this past Spring. I might suggest you find a liquid sugar free sweetner instead...I used DiVinci's SF Raspberry in mine and it did pretty good. Hope that helps...a little.

[Heidi3]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

if you add cream of tarter to egg whites it thickens them if you just want the eggs frothy however I never use gelatine so I dont know about that ...Scott123 would I bet!

...I always wondered what a "bramble" was...I have a huge bunch of brambles right outside my door .... I think I will call them that from now on!!!

[Heidi3]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

what is a briar patch? if you dont mind my asking? is it the same thing?

[Richt]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

Brian - I have moved this thread to "food chit chat". I trust you don't mind?

Rich

[Labarum]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

A bramble patch does turn into something of a briar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briar

I was moaning the whole time I was picking them that the best brambles were out of reach in the centre of the thorny (briar) patch.

To fall in would not have been nice!

Don't mind where the post sits, Rich, but I would be pleased if someone would come up with a technical answer to my technical question.

How do I do it without sugar?

Mind you, had a medical this morning and to my surprise I was in deep ketosis - yesterday I did have some of the Bramble Mousse with sugar and 100g of Lindt 70% Chocholate which would be 30g carb by itself - but I have been cycling 20, sometimes 30 miles a day.

The nurse told me I had lost a kilo since Christmas.

But back to subject - how do I do it without sugar?

[scott123]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

This is one of the many recipes where the texture of sugar helps. Splenda is mostly air, so it's pretty much worthless for replacing the texture of sugar. Sweetness is all it's good for.

Although the texture of sugar provides this dessert with a pleasant mouthfeel, I don't think it's essential for whipping the eggs. The sugar adds viscosity to the eggs so they whip up faster. Without the sugar, though, they'll still whip up. It just takes longer.

You could, in theory, put the eggs/splenda in a stand mixer and beat them for a very long time and they'd eventually whip up.

I'd recommend trimming off some of the time by beating the whites (until soft peaks form) and yolks (until yellow/ribbony) separately and then folding the two together.

Fructose probably would work, but I generally recommend avoiding fructose due to the health issues associated with it. Dana Carpender does a bang up job explaining the dangers of fructose in this article on Whey Low

Lastly, if you can tolerate it/afford the carb impact, Sionon (sorbitol) should work nicely. Half sionon/half splenda might be a good compromise- some sugary texture (from the sionon) but not quite so laxating/carby. You also get some synergy in the bargain so it'll be sweeter/taste better.

[not2late]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

I'd recommend trimming off some of the time by beating the whites (until soft peaks form) and yolks (until yellow/ribbony) separately and then folding the two together.

Scott, the recipe uses gelatine too. What would happen if you combine the softened gelatin with the egg yolk, then beat?

I make a dessert that combines whipped egg whites and a whipped gelatin mixture. Granted the whipped gelatin mixture isn't very billowy because the gelatin is whipped after it has set.

But for the above recipe, would gelatin mimick sugar's viscosity if it is added softened or non-set to the egg yolk?

[Labarum]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

Thanks, Scott.

Can you say more about "the texture of sugar" and what it does in recipes.

Home made ice cream runs into the same problem without susgar, I think, and ice cream is the only thing I realy miss on Atkins.

There is currently no low carb ice cream mix available in UK - I think those powders relied on polydextrose which is not available in UK in retail quantities.

What will adding Xanthum Gum to the eggs do - or am I wasting my time?

[Labarum]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

The full recipe, Ladies

Raspberry Mouse

1 lb Raspberries (we have always used brambles)
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
4 oz castor sugar
3 level tablespoons powdered gelatine
3 tablespoon water
8 fl oz UK double cream (little higher fat that US Heavy)

puree berries

whisk eggs (warmed if necessary, then cooled.)
Dissolve gelatine in water and quickly stir into puree then whisk into eggs.
Whip cream and fold in.
Leave to set in fridge.

To do this without sugar would make me very happy.

[cristylp]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

That sounds wonderful! Raspberries and blackberries are my weakness.

[Heidi3]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

that recipe looks wonderful!!!

I knew Scott would come through!!!!

[Labarum]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

It is wonderful, Heidi, but I must point out, for the benefit of less experienced readers, that the recipe as I have posted it is NOT Atkins friendly. Assuming the recipe is divided eight ways each portion would have 14g of pure sugar in it - plus the fruit sugar.

[scott123]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

Scott, the recipe uses gelatine too. What would happen if you combine the softened gelatin with the egg yolk, then beat?

I make a dessert that combines whipped egg whites and a whipped gelatin mixture. Granted the whipped gelatin mixture isn't very billowy because the gelatin is whipped after it has set.

But for the above recipe, would gelatin mimick sugar's viscosity if it is added softened or non-set to the egg yolk?

Hmmm... that's an interesting idea. Famed experimental chef Ferran Adria makes gelatin based foams at his restaurant, El Bulli, in Spain. He melts the gelatin in flavored liquid, chills it thoroughly and then whips it. The ratio of gelatin to liquid is critical, though. Gelatin based foams are a lot fussier than whipped egg whites. At first I was skeptical how the fat in the yolk might impact the foam, but then I came across a coconut milk foam here:

http://www.greatchefs.com/world%20de...nut%20foam.htm

The lecithin in the yolk could still be problematic, though. I'd probably keep the yolks separate. It might be worth melting the gelatin in the berry juice, chilling it until it's partially set and then seeing if it can be whipped. It probably won't incorporate much air, but it's worth a shot.

[scott123]

Re: Kitchen Chemistry

Thanks, Scott.

Can you say more about "the texture of sugar" and what it does in recipes.

Home made ice cream runs into the same problem without susgar, I think, and ice cream is the only thing I realy miss on Atkins.

There is currently no low carb ice cream mix available in UK - I think those powders relied on polydextrose which is not available in UK in retail quantities.

What will adding Xanthum Gum to the eggs do - or am I wasting my time?

Sugar functionality and splenda functionality are night and day.

First you have your textural roles in the taste/mouthfeel of the baked good/confection:

Moistness
Gooeyness/Chewiness
Cohesiveness/Binding

Beyond the obvious textural impact, sugar is responsible for a myriad number of chemical reactions:

Freezing point depression
Emulsion
Decreased water activity (preserving food)
Crystallization (fudge/fondant/buttercream icing/glazes)
Hygroscopicity (not only does sugar retain moistness, it draws some moisture from the air)
Caramelization
Glassing (Candymaking)
Osmolality (brining/fruit maceration)
Fermentation

In ice cream, sugar performs some major functions. Besides sweetness and sugary texture/chewiness, it provides

Freezing point depression (less ice crystal formation/maintaining scoopability)
Emulsion (smaller droplets of fat=smaller droplets of liquid=smaller ice crystals=better mouthfeel)
Viscosity (A viscous base allows more air to be incorporated- more air=/less ice crystals/improved scoopability)

Soluble fiber gums (such as xanthan, guar and thickenthin) are excellent at encouraging a smaller ice crystal size to form in ice cream. They also add a slight amount of viscosity. For areas such as scoopability and chewiness, though, they're not that great. Xanthan is definitely worth using, but it won't resolve the lack of sugar problem all on it's own.

A decent freezing point depressor is vital. Can you get your hands on glycerin? That helps in small amounts. Sorbitol is a decent freezing point depressor so I'd try a little sionon as well. Alcohol helps, but you have to use quite a bit of it.

With the right proportion of splenda, sionon, glycerin and xanthan, you could be looking at a pretty good homemade ice cream.