Alrighty then…

The logic of making this bombe Derby-themed is simply too compelling, so that’s how I’m going to go. However if it’s any consolation I now have bombe ideas to last me ’till doomsday (assuming that doesn’t occur this December as the New Agers atop Pic de Bugarach predict). So here’s what I’m thinking: 1.) a flourless bourbon-infused cake base, 2.) a filling of chocolate mousse, 3.) a “surprise” center of white chocolate mint mousse, 4.) a dark chocolate mirror glaze coating. Sounds fun! I’ll start putting up recipes in the morning.

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Won’t chocolate mousse freeze like a rock?

No, reader Colin, no more than an ice cream will, and there are several reasons for that. Firstly because chocolate mousse contains lots of different dairy and cocoa fats, which, while they’ll firm, won’t go entirely solid. But additionally, mousse follows freezing rules that are similar to ice cream.

Consider some of the other key components of a mousse: water and sugar. Mixed together they form a syrup, and syrup does some very interesting things as it gets cold. At the freezing point, some of its water does indeed go crystalline (freeze). But as we know from other discussions on the topic of crystals, they only form with other like molecules. And that means that as some water molecules freeze out of the syrup, the sugar molecules get left behind in the solution.

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What’s a Bombe?

It’s a frozen, round thing. The bombes of yesteryear were all made of layers of ice cream, basically a big half ball on a plate. Some people say they’re called bombes because they look like the type of bomb that Boris Badinov would throw on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Whether that’s true or not I have no idea. Others claim it’s because of the “surprise” middle that most bombes contain.

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So OK, let me think…

I promised plenty of chocolate with this, so I’m thinking that under the dark chocolate glaze will be mousse..probably chocolate, probably frozen or at least darn chilly. I’ll need a cake bottom of some kind. More chocolate or is that gratuitous? Honestly the thing I’m thinking about right now is the surprise center. That’s a necessity in a bombe and it needs to be something interesting. Perhaps some sort of fruit mousse in there…I’m not sure, so I’m throwing it open to the field.

Hm. A crowd-sourced bombe. Sounds like political subversion of some kind. No wonder Joe Pastry is banned in China. I’m a dangerous man!

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Tha Bombe

Well it’s been ages since I’ve done a proper pastry. Seeing as how it’s Derby week I think it’s appropriate. I’ve had a few requests for some specific components that I can work into it. Specifically a shiny chocolate “lacquer” glaze from Japan that isn’t made of tempered chocolate but a far easier gelatin base. Some sort of chocolate bombe would be fun, I’m thinking. Any and all ideas for fillings/layers are welcome.

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Can senses be over-educated?

Reader Chris from Down Under writes:

So Joe… taste and smell go hand in nose. So you say… so explain: the delicious durian! There’s a smell you don’t want to taste…

All I can say, Chris, is that if you doubt the human capacity to “educate one’s taste buds”, witness the durian. I’ve only seen these things in New York City markets but have never had the courage to open one. Just how smelly are they? If you have a strong stomach you can have a look at this nasty video from the good folks at Brainiac. Now THAT’s science!

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Attention Cat Cora Fans

There are big doings in Louisville this week with the approach of the Kentucky Derby. One of them will be a Taste of Derby cooking demo featuring Cat Cora of Iron Chef fame. For those who are in — or are planning to be in — the Louisville area this week, the event will be held at Macy’s in Oxmoor Mall tomorrow evening, May 2nd at 7 PM. Tell her Joe said hello!

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There’s Taste and There’s Taste

Reader Linda writes in with this very interesting comment:

You’ve talked about taste from our body’s perception of it, but what about from the cook/baker’s creative side of it? I have never understood if there is a rule of thumb when to contrast or when to complement flavors in a dish you are creating. When I read restaurant menus I am often totally mystified by some of the combinations – ‘how on earth did they ever think those flavors would go together’ is my usual reaction. Are there in fact guidelines for pairings or groupings of flavors or is it just based on whatever you intuitively feel like throwing together? If the latter, I don’t seem to have that intuition.

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That Happy Satisfied Feeling

My quip about monosodium glutamate last week earned me several emails. Readers have been commenting that if MSG is so darn happy-making, why does it cause people to feel ill, itchy, depressed, nervous or hyperactive, and cause headaches, rashes, ADD, asthma, redness of the face, chest pains, seizures, anaphylactic shock, strokes and brain tumors. The answer, painful as it will be for some out there to hear, is that the overwhelming scientific evidence is that MSG does none of those things.

Now I want all of you who are about to send me articles about “independent studies” that link MSG to irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia to push away from your keyboards and take some deep breaths.

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About the Baguette

Regular contributor (and frequent critic) Jim Chevallier has a new bread book out, this time on the subject of the baguette. It’s packed full of Jim’s usual insight and erudition, and is available for a song (I’d actually say a ditty) here.

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