Fluid gels: Jellous you haven't tried?

We take some lemon juice (liquid), turn it into a gel (solid), then blend it until it turns back into a liquid (almost). We just made a fluid gel! Why bother doing that? Must be a waste of time, right?

Well, bazinga! Guess what, fluid gels are incredible! You get a surprisingly different mouthfeel that can turn dishes into a whole new culinary experience. The flavour is released slower than from the original liquid, similar to the pleasant lingering taste of fatty foods.

Food scientists would probably call fluid gels “a suspension of gelled particles dispersed in a non-gelled continuous medium” [1]. They have unusual properties. They look like a thickened liquid, but retain their shape like a solid. Great for decorating plates or for coating food like a sauce.

Fluid gels are versatile. Fruit juices are commonly used, but other liquids work as well. How about some chicken cooked sous-vide style (more on that another time!), and served with some lemon fluid gel on the side, instead of a lemon dressing!

[1] D. Garrec and I. Norton, "Understanding fluid gel formation and properties", Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 112, no. 3, pp. 175-182, 2012.