Foaming at the Mouth--the 6th Mother Sauce?

[oenotainer]

Hey Chefs,

It seems like foams are all the rage these days--last night I took my wife out to dinner and I ordered the skate wing, which was sauced with some sort of foamy sauce incorporating some kind of herb oil and what seemed like egg yolks that have had a lot of air beaten into them--kind of like what egg yolks look like when you're beginning to make hollandaise or something--

What's with the foams? Maybe one of you experts out there could enlighten me with maybe a basic idea of components and method for creating foam sauces?

G

[chefpeter]

yes foams and spumas are all the rage these days. the basic ingredients are a glace, butter and or low fat milk, sometimes additional gelatine is added for stability. The balance of the fat content is essential to hold the foam as too much it wont foam and not enough it will collapse before getting to the customer. Temperature is very important tp create the foam; 55c is required. You will appreciate you cant use red hot plates or food therefore! As to creating the foam you can either use a whisk, hand blender or use a soda syphon and foam as required. Hope this is of some help