Categories Pastry Chef Articles
Marshmallows made with albumin powder by Jordi Puigvert in Evolution
One of the greatest strengths of the book Evolution, by Jordi Puigvert, is the effort to improve very basic pastry creations through new working methods. Elaborations and components as usual in your workshops and kitchens as the Italian meringue and marshmallows. Traditionally in the preparation of marshmallows based on egg whites it is impossible to use fresh fruit purées, as the whisked egg whites do not admit the adding of any other liquid or puree. Find out more!
Albumin powder
Albumin from egg white is a powdered protein with countless uses in pastry as we will see throughout this book. It basically allows to carry out numerous techniques impossible to develop with fresh or pasteurized egg whites. Compared to both traditional fresh and pasteurized egg whites, thanks to albumin powder almost all kind of liquids and semi-liquids products can be whipped, it shows greater stability and the risk of any bacteriological contamination is prevented.
- Origin:
- Protein derived from the egg white.
- How it is obtained:
- It is extracted from the enzymatic separation of the sugars contained in the egg white, and then subjected to a drying process with pressurized air, at a low temperature (80ºC), called Spray Dry. The final result is this protein we call albumin powder.
- Application:
- It allows to whip almost any product and stabilizes its emulsion.
It is advisable to hydrate the albumin into the liquid needed before use. - Dosage:
- 8-10% (100 g per liter).
- Properties:
- Ability to whip and bind air up to 60%. Coagulating power at 57ºC, and subsequent solidification at 70ºC.
- Remarks:
- It has no effect on ingredients containing fats or enzymes affecting the activity of the proteins of albumin. However, there is an exception within the fatty product family – olive oil and other types of oil can be added at the end of the whipping process to a maximum ratio of 50% fat/50% liquid.
Why are we using albumin in this case?
In the preparation of marshmallows based on egg whites it is impossible to use fresh fruit purées, as the whisked egg whites do not admit the adding of any other liquid or puree. In these cases, we use the purée and the albumin powder as a substitute for egg whites. That is to say, the molecular weight of the water from the egg whites is reconstituted thanks to the passion fruit purée or the mint infusion, and the liquid needed to hydrate the albumin is therefore obtained. This way, we obtain some fake egg whites which taste of passion fruit and mint instead of just its original aroma. For the chocolate and mint marshmallow, we gently fold the chocolate into the meringue by hand. We have to take into account that otherwise we would never be able to whip an ingredient with a high fat content such as chocolate.
Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water to 125ºC. Then add the gelatin sheets, previously bloomed in very cold water and drained.
Make sure the purée is firm like a meringue before pouring in the syrup. Continue to whisk until the mixture slightly cools down.
Another possibility is to fill a pastry bag with marshmallow mix and pipe intro stripes.
If a slightly firmer texture is desired, add 5% cocoa butter before pouring the mixture into the frame. This will help us combat an excessively humid atmosphere.
In the book, Evolution, you will find different recipes with this technique, like the passion fruit marshmallow and the chocolate and mint marshmallows (After Eight). There are also numerous step-by-step instructions to know the process in detail and apply coatings in every case.
