23/12/2022, 09:02 The Science of Fluid Gels | ChefSteps

The Science of Fluid Gels

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23/12/2022, 09:02 The Science of Fluid Gels | ChefSteps

Know Your Steps

Preparing a fluid gel always involves four steps: Begin by

dispersing a suitable gum (like gellan) into a cold liquid that you

want to thicken. Next, heat this mixture until it’s hot enough
to hydrate the gum. Cool the solution until it weakly gels, and
then stir or blend so that it becomes a fluid gel.
Sounds simple enough, but experience tells us that there are
important nuances to each step. We detail those here to help
you through your first trials. As with most worthwhile things,
you’ll need patience and focus to pull off a proper fluid gel.
Just remember that once you master the technique, the
possibilities are endless.

Dispersion

Dispersion avoids clumping. The best approach: dry blend the

gelling agents with other powdered ingredients—such as
sugar—that will also be added to the liquid. You can then
gently stir or whisk the ingredients into a liquid without
making them clump.

The second-best approach is to disperse the gum into a cold

liquid with a blender. Slowly sift the gum into the mixing
vortex so that it is quickly stirred into the liquid before it can
clump.

We prefer the above strategies because they ensure

consistent results. Sometimes, however, you can add the gum
directly to a hot liquid and then use a blender to break up the
clumps. The problem with this approach is that you can wind
up mixing a lot of air into your liquid, and you may need to
strain out lumps that didn’t blend. This can throw off the ratio:
If you’re removing lumps from your liquid, how much gum did
you really add to your recipe in the end? The point is, it’s far
less simple to get predictable results this way.

Hydration

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After dispersion, you need to hydrate the gum to make it

functional. For Kelcogel F (low-acyl gellan gum), that means
heating the liquid above 185 °F / 85 °C to 194 °F / 90 °C before it will
gel and thicken your liquid, whereas Kelcogel LT100 (high-
acyl gellan gum) hydrates above 158 °F / 70 °C. Other
hydrocolloids have different hydration temperatures. No
matter which gum you are using, after dispersing and
hydrating it in a liquid, you’ll need to cool that liquid so that it
can gel.

Weak Gelling

The perfect fluid gel is one that gels weakly. A strong gel is
able to knit itself back together into tiny fragments of solid
gel—make your gel too strong, and you’ll wind up with a
grainy texture and appearance that can’t be fixed by any
amount of blending or sieving.

The key to avoiding this problem is to be mindful of dissolved

minerals present in the liquid you’re thickening. That’s
because gellan gum, like many modernist hydrocolloids, gels
in the presence of ions such as calcium. And the higher the
concentration of these ions, the stronger the gel. The degree
to which this is a concern, however, also depends on the
gelling agent you’re working with. Kelcogel F (low-acyl gellan
gum) will gel particularly easily in the presence of dissolved
minerals, whereas Kelcogel LT100 (high-acyl gellan gum) is
less sensitive to them.

The easiest way to weaken an overly strong and grainy fluid

gel is to add an ingredient that sequesters the unwanted ions.
Sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate are two
sequestrants commonly used in the modernist kitchen. A
good rule of thumb to follow if your fluid gel is not as smooth
and silky as desired: to a gellan-based fluid gel with a
concentration of 0.1–1.0 percent, add either 0.3–0.5 percent
of its weight in sodium citrate or 0.2–0.3 percent in sodium
hexametaphosphate, respectively.

Blending/Mixing

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This final step turns our gel into a fluid gel. If your recipe has
worked perfectly, you can just stir or sieve the gel to break up
its weakly gelled structure. But if you have a thick or strong
gel, you may need to mix it more aggressively with a blender.
In this case, we recommend blending it slowly and steadily to
avoid whipping air bubbles into it. (Slurping noises are a sign
you’re working too quickly.) Whipping air into a fluid gel is a
fantastic way to make a foam, but if that’s not what you’re
after, take it slow.

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Fluid Gel Vocab

Nerd out with these vocabulary terms as you begin your

journey towards gelling-agent mastery.
Dispersion: The first vital step in creating a fluid gel is to

disperse the hydrocolloid particles—they need to be as far

away from each other as possible. Improperly dispersed
hydrocolloid particles will begin to absorb water and swell,
and you’ll have a lumpy gel.

Hydration: Also vital. Hydrocolloids need to be fully hydrated in

water, meaning each hydrocolloid molecule is surrounded by
water molecules.

Hydrocolloids: Polysaccharides (complex sugars) and proteins

that interact with—and organize—water to thicken and gel it
and to stabilize foams and emulsions.

Shear-thinning: A fluid is described as shear-thinning when its

viscosity—that is, the measure of its resistance to flow—
decreases with an increasing amount of shear stress. The
harder you agitate it, such as by stirring, blending, etc., the
lower its viscosity. Shear-thinning substances are also known
as thixotropic.

Sequestrants: Substances that bind, or “sequester,” certain metal

ions, preventing them from causing unwanted effects.

Sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium citrate, two
sequestrants frequently used in cooking, bind with calcium
ions more effectively than hydrocolloids. When a hydrocolloid
doesn’t hydrate properly in a recipe, add sequestrants to help
the gel form.

Syneresis: This term refers to the spontaneous separation of

solid and liquid in a gel. Commonly referred to as “weeping,”

syneresis tends to happen in gels that have been hanging
around a little too long. Syneresis is, if we may break from the
technical jargon for a moment, no bueno.

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Thermoreversibility/thermoirreversibility: Gels are said to be

thermoreversible if they can be remelted after setting.

Thermoirreversible gels will not melt once they have set.
Kelcogel F produces thermoirreversible gels, while Kelcogel
LT100 and agar both yield heat-resistant but ultimately
thermoreversible gels.

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Special Agents of Thickening

Traditional Thickener Starches

Starch molecules are the most common hydrocolloids in

kitchens. Although there are differences among types of
starch, they all thicken by forming a chaotic, entangled mesh
that makes it hard for water molecules to move around. But
when you apply shearing force to a starch-thickened sauce by
stirring it, it becomes less viscous. In technical terms, that’s
called “shear-thinning” behavior.

With gentle stirring, the dense mesh of starch molecules is given a

bit of structure. As they line up in the direction of flow, water

molecules are a more free to move. We perceive this as a less
viscous sauce.

With aggressive shearing, the mesh of molecules is far more

organized and water can move easily between the opening
gaps. But there is still a lot of “stuff” in the mix to get in the
way of flow. This is why starch-thickened sauces tend to feel
a bit sticky in the mouth.

When stirring stops, the starch molecules quickly rearrange

themselves back into a dense mesh and the liquid returns to

its thickened state.

Modernist Fluid Gums

Some modernist gums, like gellan gum, will thicken with

incredible efficiency and dramatic shear-thinning properties
because of their ability to form fluid gels. These hydrocolloids
thicken at much lower concentrations because they form a
much less random gelled-structure when no stirring is applied
(effectively making the liquid a solid). Because fluid gels work
at incredibly low concentrations, there is less "stuff" being
added to negatively impact the flavor release or mouthfeel.

In a state of gentle flow, the weakly gelled gum begins to break up

and return to being a liquid that flows. We perceive this as

thinning.

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With heavier stirring, the fluid gel is entirely disrupted and the

viscosity becomes very thin compared to a starch-thickening

liquid that started with a similar viscosity.

When shear is removed, the still-present calcium ions help the gum

knit itself back into a weak gel, making the liquid nearly solid
again, and restoring the gel’s original viscosity.

Thickening Agents Illustrated

Click to download the PDF for a lesson on the differences

between modern and traditional thickeners.

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