Watermelon Caviar

Yield: 12

INGREDIENTS
250 grams (8.8 oz) yellow watermelon juice
2 grams sodium alginate (0.8%)

CALCIUM BATH
500 grams (18 oz) water
2.5 grams calcium chloride

METHOD
1. Start by preparing the calcium bath. Dissolve the calcium chloride in the water and keep it in the refrigerator while you prepare the melon mix for the caviar.
2. To make the watermelon juice; simply cut the melon in squares, blend it, and pass it through a fine sieve.
3. Mix the sodium alginate with 1/3 of the melon juice, using an immersion blender until the sodium alginate is completely dissolved. If this is your first time doing this, be aware that this may take longer than expected. Once the sodium alginate is dissolved, mix in the rest of the melon juice. Strain to eliminate any air bubbles created by the immersion blender.
4. You are now ready to create the caviar. Remove the calcium bath from the refrigerator. Fill a syringe with the melon juice and alginate mixture and expel it drop by drop into the calcium bath. The syringe needs to be high enough for the drops to sink when they make contact with the bath, but not too high or the drops will break into smaller drops and create “baby” spheres.
5. Leave the caviar “cooking” for about 1 minute in the calcium bath and then carefully remove the pieces using a sieve. Rinse the caviar very gently with water to remove the extra calcium.

Recipe provided by Jamie Keating, Chef/Owner, Jamie Keating Culinary, Inc., LaGrange, GA as presented at the 2014 Art of Catering Food conference in Atlanta, GA.

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