Methylcellulose - how much to use

[Focus]

I got whacky today and ordered 4 oz of this stuff purely for experimental purposes. My facilities are quite primative - pretty much some chilled bottled water to mix it up in and a microwave and a bowl to heat it up to "firming temp."

I bought from willpowder.net - the variety that forms a "Very firm gel forms at 38 – 44 degrees C." I can guestimate the amount of time it will need in the microwave to come up to temp. The thing I don't know is how much product to use for a 500 ml bottle of water. I assume more powder, thicker gelled consistency. Anybody have a rule of thumb for me to start with?

For now, I'm just mixing it in water to play around with - I have no other ingredients that I'd want to make "hot jello" with. I just want to play around with the stuff and create the effect of "melting" as it cools.

Focus

[shel]

What is methylcellulose and how does it relate to food? What's it used for?

scb

[Mezzaluna]

Is that what they make "caviar" out of? I've seen it on Iron Chef.

[OahuAmateurChef]

I think the caviar chemical is sodium alginate IIRC.

No idea about using methylcellulose when cooking. It seems to be made by mixing cellulose with drano and chloromethane.

What's crazy about the stuff, from what I'm reading, is that it acts like the opposite of oil/fat, where it melts when cold and gels up when hot.

It also makes you fart!

It's a legal food additive in the EU, check out E461


I probably share the same unspoken feelings on cooking with these kinds of things as shel, but my opinion wasn't asked for, so I'll keep quiet for now.

[cape chef]

Theres a lot of chefs working with hydro-collides and the like. I have yet to take the big leap, although I love to cook sous vide.Anyway a local chef is doing some pretty cool stuff and wanted to share his website with you all.

His name is Noel Jones.

Welcome to the restaurant ON20 - sensuous food, passionately prepared

[Focus]

So, to summarize:
- It gels when warmed and "melts" when cooled
- It gives you gas
- at least some people are now freaked out b/c they think it's toxic
- The crack team of scientists at nac.allergyforum.com let us know that sulfuric acid is "not permitted in Australia;" apparently everywhere else uses it like salt
- We have a shameless - but unhelpful - plug for a resturant (although it did go into my favorites for when I move to New England this fall)
- and I still have no answer to my question

Anyone have anything constructive to add this time?

[cape chef]

Originally Posted by Focus

So, to summarize:
- It gels when warmed and "melts" when cooled
- It gives you gas
- at least some people are now freaked out b/c they think it's toxic
- The crack team of scientists at nac.allergyforum.com let us know that sulfuric acid is "not permitted in Australia;" apparently everywhere else uses it like salt
- We have a shameless - but unhelpful - plug for a resturant (although it did go into my favorites for when I move to New England this fall)
- and I still have no answer to my question

Anyone have anything constructive to add this time?

Good way to garner support.

[OahuAmateurChef]

Focus does have a point. He/she asked a specific question and hasn't really received a helpful answer yet.


Maybe the Koreans can help.

"...Add 1.0 g of Methyl Cellulose to 100 ml of water at about 70°. Stir well, cool while shaking. and allow to stand in a cold place until it becomes a uniformly pasty solution. Use this solution as the test solution..."



I'm sticking with the excuse that I was responding to Shel's question.

Australia? Why bring that up? Do you live there?

[shel]

Originally Posted by OahuAmateurChef

I probably share the same unspoken feelings on cooking with these kinds of things as shel, but my opinion wasn't asked for, so I'll keep quiet for now.

Actually, I just asked a question and wasn't intending to express any feelings about using the stuff. I never heard of methylcellulos ....

However, knowing my preference for simple, natural foods and preparations, it's understandable that you might think that I was expressing some negative feelings about the product ...

shel

[siduri]

Originally Posted by Focus

- The crack team of scientists at nac.allergyforum.com let us know that sulfuric acid is "not permitted in Australia;" apparently everywhere else uses it like salt

Is this a druggy site? first "meth" then "crack", then "acid". What's going on?
anyway, something called methylcellulose hardly sounds edible or safe. Maybe i'm just old fashioned.

[siduri]

more seriously, where do you get the idea that "everywhere else" people eat sulphuric acid. Not here, for sure.

[Focus]

Originally Posted by siduri

Is this a druggy site? first "meth" then "crack", then "acid". What's going on?
anyway, something called methylcellulose hardly sounds edible or safe. Maybe i'm just old fashioned.

It was a bit of a jab at the source material - as was the reference to sulfuric acid. If that site was all you had to go on, you'd think this stuff was some kind of poison and all you'd know about sulfuric acid was that it was banned as a food additive in Australia. I see my attempt at dry humor (and my frustration at not getting an answer) was lost.

It is edible (although it's not digested). It is safe - at least in quantities you'd get in the occasional experimental food preparation. It's not "simple, natural, or old fashioned" but that's exactly the point of using it - to create a remarkably different eating experience.

Thanks much to OahuAmateurChef for finding a starting point for my mad science...

[OregonYeti]

Originally Posted by siduri

Is this a druggy site? first "meth" then "crack", then "acid". What's going on?
anyway, something called methylcellulose hardly sounds edible or safe. Maybe i'm just old fashioned.

HAH nice, gave me a good laugh

I'd like to try smoking some methylcellulose. Where can I get some?

[siduri]

Originally Posted by Focus

It was a bit of a jab at the source material - as was the reference to sulfuric acid. If that site was all you had to go on, you'd think this stuff was some kind of poison and all you'd know about sulfuric acid was that it was banned as a food additive in Australia. I see my attempt at dry humor (and my frustration at not getting an answer) was lost.

It is edible (although it's not digested). It is safe - at least in quantities you'd get in the occasional experimental food preparation. It's not "simple, natural, or old fashioned" but that's exactly the point of using it - to create a remarkably different eating experience.

Thanks much to OahuAmateurChef for finding a starting point for my mad science...

I didn;t see any site so i don;t know any more than i read here. Maybe my own humor was being lost.
Anyway, it seems to me (as an old fashioned person) that food is supposed to be digestible. And additives, it appears, are only considered "safe" until shown to be dangerous. But additives aren't people (who have the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty) and how many food additives (or other stuff) do you know that have been thought safe until later they were found to be cancerogenous or whatever?
You may be too young to remember when children's shoe stores had xray machines right in the store- you would stand with the new shoes on with your feet under the x-ray device and look in at the screen on top and see if the shoes fit. You could actually see the bones. Imagine. It was thought safe! I loved it, it was fun. It was part of the 50s' belief in the total and utter goodness of technology.
I don;t know chemistry enough to remember the long list of ingredients that have been banned over the years after being used profusely in the production of food.

[Focus]

It's apparently already in a lot of the food you already eat - ice cream being one. It's also a bit of a rage among "molecular gastronomists" for the weird effect of becoming firm when heated and "melting" when it cools. It also helps make warm foams. I'm no professional, but I do enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and think it would be cool to do some kind of gimick for a dinner guest.

It's not digestable in the same way that cellulose from the plants we eat is not digestable - so it's not something that's totally foreign to the body. In fact, I'm pretty sure it just passes right through. Sure, there could be some ill effects 50 yeears from now, but I'm going to roll the bones and guess that some occasional experimentation isn't going to kill me too soon.

Focus