A "bubble" or "bottle" of edible water is plain water that has been solidified into a spherical shape. It consists of water, sodium alginate and calcium lactate. If you prefer something tastier, you can make a water cake, a dessert that belongs to the Japanese tradition. The water cake itself is tasteless, but you can flavor it with vanilla sugar or decorate it with a sweet syrup.
Ingrediants
Edible Water Bubbles
- 1 g of sodium alginate
- 5 g of edible calcium lactate
- 240 ml + 950 ml of water
Yield: variable
Japanese Water Cake
- 180 ml of water
- Agar agar powder
Gasket
- 1 / 2-1 teaspoon (2.5-5 g) of kinako (toasted soy flour)
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) of kuromitsu (Japanese sugar syrup)
For 2-6 people
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Prepare Edible Water Bubbles
Step 1. Dissolve 1 gram of sodium alginate in 240 ml of water
Use a digital kitchen scale to weigh 1 gram of sodium alginate. Pour it into a bowl, then add 240ml of water. Blend the two ingredients using a hand blender until the sodium alginate has dissolved completely.
- You can find sodium alginate online, it is a natural ingredient that is extracted from a variety of brown seaweed.
- If you don't have a hand blender, you can use a traditional blender or electric whisk.
- Don't worry if air bubbles form inside the mixture, they will disappear as you prepare the other ingredients.
Step 2. Mix 5 grams of calcium lactate with 950 ml of water
Pour the water into a large bowl, different from the one you used to process the sodium alginate. Add 5 grams of calcium lactate, then mix the two ingredients using a spoon until the calcium lactate has dissolved completely.
Make sure the calcium lactate is edible. It is a type of salt that is used in the preparation of cheeses and you can buy it online
Step 3. Add the water in which you dissolved the sodium alginate, one tablespoon at a time
Take a spoon and transfer part of the water in which you dissolved the sodium alginate into the second bowl, the one in which you mixed the water and the calcium lactate. Hold the spoon above the surface of the calcium lactate and water mixture, then carefully pour out the contents. Repeat until the bowl is full.
Don't fill the bowl to the brim, you need to be able to mix
Step 4. Stir the mixture for 3 minutes
Combine the ingredients in slow, gentle movements using a shallow spoon. Keep stirring for 3 minutes. The movement will activate the ingredients and cause the alginate to condense in the form of "bubbles".
Step 5. Transfer the bubbles to a bowl filled with water using a slotted spoon
Fill a large bowl with water (in this case the amount of water does not count, the important thing is that the bowl is full). Transfer the sodium alginate bubbles into the water one at a time using a slotted spoon. This step is to stop the chemical reaction in progress.
Step 6. Collect the water bubbles with the slotted spoon
Place them on a plate or bowl of your choice. At this point you can eat, drink or suck them. You can also give them to children to entertain them with sensory games.
The water bubbles have a very faint, almost imperceptible taste
Method 2 of 2: Making the Japanese Water Cake
Step 1. Measure the agar agar
For this recipe you need to have a set of measuring spoons (easily available online). Measure the agar agar and pour it into a pot, the required dose is one and a half teaspoons of 1/8.
For an ideal result, it is best to use Japanese-style agar agar, called "cool agar", instead of flaked agar
Step 2. Add a pinch of vanilla sugar if desired
The Japanese water cake is thought to be tasteless, it will be the toppings made with kinako and kuromitsu that make it tasty. If you want a sweeter, albeit less traditional, cake, you can add a pinch of vanilla sugar.
Step 3. Add 180ml of water
Pour it into the pot a little at a time and mix the agar agar with the spatula until it dissolves completely.
The traditional recipe mentions mineral water, but you can alternatively use filtered tap water
Step 4. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then let it cook for 1 minute
Place the pot on the stove, light it over medium heat and wait for the mixture to boil. At that point, let it cook for 1 minute, stirring it periodically, then remove the pot from the heat.
You have to measure times with extreme precision. If the mixture does not cook long enough, the agar agar will not dissolve; while if it cooks for too long, it will condense excessively
Step 5. Pour the mixture into the spherical molds
You can purchase specially designed water cake molds or simple large round silicone molds. If the mold consists of two parts similar to two trays with deep notches, proceed as follows:
- Pour the mixture into the lower half of the mold until it slightly protrudes from the cavities;
- Wait 2 minutes, then add an ingredient of your choice in the center, for example a strawberry or an edible flower;
- Place the upper half of the mold (the one with the holes) on top of the lower one;
- Press the top half until the excess gelatin comes out of the holes.
Step 6. Put the molds in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes
The water cake will be ready in an hour, but you can leave it in the refrigerator for even longer. The ideal is to let it cool overnight.
The number of cakes you can make depends on the number of cavities in the mold
Step 7. Remove the water cakes from the mold when ready to serve
These fun treats tend to melt and lose shape in just 20-30 minutes, so plan well. When you're ready to serve the water cakes, flip the molds over a plate and let them slide out. Serve one water cake per person.
Step 8. Decorate the cakes with kinako and kuromitsu
Add half a tablespoon to a whole tablespoon of toasted soy flour (2.5-5g) and 1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) of Japanese sugar syrup on top of each cake. If you prefer, you can serve the syrup next to the cake instead of pouring it over it.
- You can make sugar syrup at home. Follow the traditional recipe, but use whole (unrefined) brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.
- If you can't find kinako and kuromitsu or if you simply don't like them, you can decorate the water cakes with honey or agave syrup.
Advice
- Edible water bubbles and water cakes are tasteless.
- You can make water cakes tastier by garnishing them with a syrup of your choice.
- Don't worry if the water cake isn't perfectly transparent. Next time use different amounts of water and agar agar.
- You can try adding some food coloring to the water cake if you want to make it even more attractive.
