Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/49694
Soy lecithin makes a light, airy foam that's great at conveying fl avor. This foam is frothy and fun—and fl avored with a richly salted caramel. Salted Coconut Caramel FOR THE DRINK: ■ ■ ■ I could make a sphere, but I think I'll save that for a future issue. I could freeze the cocktail with liquid nitrogen, but I think that's better saved for a more in- depth 100-page training manual. Why not another foam? So I said to myself: Self, before you jump into this whole foam thing, remember that you've done foam before in the pages of THE TASTING PANEL, and they're everywhere right now, verging on ubiquitous. Nonetheless, I adopted a devil-may-care attitude, and decided to do a foam anyway, knowing that there's more than one way to froth up a foam. Last time, I used an iSi whipped cream canister, so I decided to go a different route. Agar, egg white, gelatin and lecithin are all great ways to create foams, and each offers a dif- ferent type—some creamy and thick, some light and airy. For this cocktail, I wanted something a bit lighter than gelatin and egg white foams, and since I had soy lecithin sitting right in front of me in my test bar, I decided that was the way to go. Brilliance oftentimes comes from convenience. For the real test drive, I had the distinct honor of spending time at my alma mater, RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Century City, CA. I spent many years playing a small role in developing cocktails for their program, and I was happy to be back in the beau- tiful restaurant. There, I met up with Chef Mohan Ismail, their Director of Culinary, for a little kitchen-to-bar crossover. Chef Mohan was an eager student, having never made foam with soy lecithin himself, and asked a lot of questions along the way about how he could translate this foam technique to his own culinary arts. To complete this bar-to-kitchen collaboration, he even paired this elevated Sour Apple with RockSugar's delicious pork belly buns . . . they are the reason I started eating bacon! ■ 1¼ oz. ROKA Apple ½ oz. lemon juice ½ oz. simple syrup Garnish with salted caramel coconut foam ■ Combine ingredients in a mixing glass, then add ice and shake well. Strain into glass with ice and top with foam. FOR THE FOAM: ■ ■ ■ ■ 4 oz. ROKA Caramel 2 oz. coconut water 2 tsp. kosher salt 2 tsp. soy lecithin ■ Add all ingredients in small mixing bowl or container big enough to fi t a hand-held emersion blender. Plug blender in and place end just below the surface, blending well until you have a nice light, airy foam. If your foam dies, you can re-foam by blending a bit more. Keep in mind, you might need to add a bit more soy lecithin if and when it falls fl at, but it is tasteless and shouldn't affect the fl avor much (within reason, of course). ROKA: A Unique Lineup of Liqueurs When brothers Ryan and Brent Elam discovered the wonders of caramel liqueur while vacationing in Spain, ROKA was born, named after the bar where the delicious quaff was fi rst tasted in everlasting homage to the experience. Since then, the brothers have launched Apple and Chocolate fl avors in addition to Caramel, and ROKA contin- ues to shine with its fl avor-friendliness. We've fallen for their fl avors and think you will too! rokabev.com december 201 1 / the tasting panel / 85