Spherified Mango Ravioli Recipe

One of the most interesting things in molecular gastronomy is spherification. Spherification is basically a process that seals a liquid in a jelly like membrane. There are several ways to accomplish this but in this article we will focus on the method of reverse spherification using calcium lactate and sodium alginate. When the calcium and the sodium alginate come in contact they form a membrane, encapsulating anything inside of it.

Spherification Process

The typical process for reverse spherification is actually pretty easy. You start with a non-acidic liquid, in this case fresh mango juice. You then blend in calcium to the liquid, we used calcium lactate.

To make the spherification process easier we took a page from the Alinea cookbook and froze the mango juice in spherical ice molds. Freezing the liquid makes it much easier for the juice to keep its form when you actually spherify it.

Once the juice is frozen you prepare the sodium alginate bath by blending the sodium alginate and sugar into water with an immersion blender. Warm the alginate solution until the sugar is completely dissolved and then strain it into a bowl.

Place the frozen mango juice into the alginate bath, making sure they are not touching. Depending on how thick you want the membrane to be you can leave it anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Once it is set remove them from the bath and rinse them off in water. You can then hold the spheres in water until you are ready to use them. They should stay spheres even when heated up to about 300F / 148C but prolonged heat can cause them to break down.

Spherified Mango Ravioli Tools Needed Sodium Alginate

Calcium Lactate

Immersion Hand Blender

Sauce Pan

Chinois

Hemispherical or spherical ice molds

A scale with small measurements, preferably grams

Spherified Mango Ravioli Prep Time: 30 Minutes, Total Time: 45 Minutes

Makes: 400 grams of spheres

Spherified Mango Ravioli Ingredients

For the Mango Spheres

400 grams mango juice, preferably fresh (14 ounces)8 grams calcium lactate (0.28 ounces)

Combine the mango juice and calcium lactate in a bowl using a hand blender. Pour into hemispherical or spherical molds and freeze.

For the Alginate Bath

1400 grams water (49 ounces)65 grams sugar (2.3 ounces)6 grams sodium alginate (0.21 ounces)

Combine the water, sugar, and sodium alginate in a sauce pan and blend with an immersion blender. Heat until the sugar dissolves and then strain into a bowl through a chinois.

To Finish the Spheres Fill a bowl with cool water.

Take the mango juice spheres out of the ice tray and place into the alginate bath. The amount of time you leave them in will depend on how thick you want the membrane and how large the spheres are. I recommended starting with one sphere at a time and test out some different times to see which time works best for your purpose. In general though you can do:

Small Spheres - 2 minutes

Medium Spheres - 4 minutes

Large Spheres - 5 minutesYou can also leave the spheres in for an extended time, around 7 to 10 minutes, and they will develop a super thick gel with a small liquid center which reminds me of some Asian candies I've had.

Remove the mango raviolis from the alginate bath and place into the bowl of cool water, rinsing them gently.

You can hold the spherified mango ravioli in this state for several hours. They can be served cold or heated up to 300F / 148C (though please don't serve them at a temperature much above 100F / 37C or you can cause severe burns).