Cakeizm: Liquid nitrogen concoctions

Cakeizm introduces an unconventional dimension to cooking .

KARACHI:

Erum Basit’s kitchen is littered with syringes and sinister-looking gas cylinders. There are men in lab coats and thick firefighter-type gloves on the side. The whole atmosphere is more akin to an operation theatre than a kitchen that whips up desserts. As a self-taught cook, who supplemented her skills with classes from cooks Shirin Anwar and Sara Riaz, Basit has always been passionate about science and cooking, and with the global surge of molecular gastronomy in the culinary world, she has now found a definition to this passion under her brand, Cakeizm.

“For those who haven’t studied chemistry in depth, this is like magic,” says Basit. “Essentially, this is a blast freezer but what it does is that it maintains the flavour and integrity of each ingredient that is added in. So when you make instant froyo with this, the fruit that you combine into it will remain whole and not stream or bleed like it does with ice cream.”

And indeed, as she pours liquid nitrogen into a bowl of yogurt, the smoke that rises like a mystical fog, does create that illusion of magic. Voila! The yogurt is now froyo! “This is art imitating life,” adds Basit, who creates caviar with fruit juice and chocolate to decorate her cakes by simply injecting drops of the juice or chocolate into liquid nitrogen. “It’s all about playing with flavours and textures of the food,” she asserts. And for fans of the popular television show “Master Chef” on cable networks, molecular gastronomy is an exciting new aspect of culinary arts.

It’s interesting, however, that there’s a larger trend around the globe for organic food with people becoming more health conscious, yet Basit is experimenting with a dangerous chemical like nitrogen. “I agree that the global trend is shifting towards organics,” admits Basit. “However, nitrogen is what we breathe. 78 per cent of the air is nitrogen and all we do is compress it and use it to transform textures. Plus, it evaporates as one mixes it in.” One can clearly observe the wastage that occurs as she pours it into her yogurt mixture. Since the liquid nitrogen is compressed at a temperature of -196 degrees below freezing levels, it is very corrosive, although this is the form in which it is readily available in the market.

While the nitrogen itself is rather cheap, it is the handler, called the ‘dewar’ that is expensive. But Basit issues stern warnings, “The gas should not touch you. Recipes with liquid nitrogen cannot be tried at home.” Basit herself has medical staff as well as trained professionals who help her combine the nitrogen in her food. As a warning, Niaz Khan, a worker, showed his swollen finger, stating, “It’s very cold and dangerous, and we are still getting used to it.”

Nonetheless, Basit is working at getting the intricacies of molecular gastronomy right by learning online from the Spanish cook Ferran Adria, who is also known as the pioneer of this technology. At her recent public demonstration at the annual Weldon Mom’s chocolate festival, her mentors; Chef Anwar and Riaz were in awe of what Basit had whipped up. “This technology was totally new to me and I was fascinated to see the live demo of frozen yogurt and shattered strawberries. The smoke coming out of the extremely cold liquid nitrogen was a very pleasant experience,” said Riaz. Meanwhile, Anwar is just as thrilled, “I believe that this technology is paving its way through Cakeizm in Pakistan and it is something we should be proud of.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2012.