Response surface method – Molecular gastronomy

Improvement of our experiments can be maximized by employing response surface methodology (RSM). Surface response designs consist optimize our process using computerized algorithms and offer a friendly results presentation. Pisco located south of Lima (capital and largest city of Peru) is characterized by the sowing of grapes and from them the production of Pisco (denomination of origin). Pisco has a unique quality and flavor due to the geographical conditions of the place where the grapes are grown and the conditions of the production process. Spherification - Making pisco mix caviar Basic esterification consists of adding and mixing alginate to a solution (in this case pisco macerate with tonic water) to later add this mix by drops in a calcium chloride bath and obtain spheres of your preparation. The production process of pisco mix spheres will have the following factors:

• Pisco concentration (%): 10, 24, 40 and 50.

• Mass of alginate (g): 0.2; 0.4 and 0.6.

• Calcium chloride concentration (g/L): 10, 50 and 100.

• Pisco flavor: strawberry or passion fruit.

Figure 1. Pisco mix spheres.

Table 1. Factors and levels of the response surface design for pisco mix spheres production.

Preparation was carried out as follows: A determined amount of alginate was mixed with pisco and tonic water (pisco mix), with 10%, 25%, 40%, and 50 pisco concentration (Table 1). Then, with the help of a syringe, the pisco mix solution was introduced by drops into a calcium chloride solution. In order to observe the formed spheres more clearly, red (strawberry macerate) and yellow (passion fruit macerate) coloring was added to the pisco mix. The macerates used in these examples can be found on Instagram as kusikuy_macerados. The strawberry macerate presents a sweet flavor and is produced with selected strawberry and eucalyptus fruits that are later immersed with Pisco quebranta a determined time. The passion fruit macerate (maracuyá) consists of a mixture of passion fruit and ginger (kion) giving it a perfect balance between sweet and sour taste (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Strawberry with eucalyptus (left) and passion fruit with ginger (right) pisco from the Kusikuy brand (@kusikuy_macerados).

In the present study, the shape of the sphere (encapsulation) obtained from Pisco mix will be evaluated. The combination of factors and levels produced 24 different treatments or combinations (Table 2). Tests will be performed according to the characteristics described in the table.

Table 2. Response surface design generated for the evaluation of pisco mix spheres production.

In the present study the shape of the sphere obtained from the pisco mix will be evaluated. Let's optimize! ©Daniel Obregón, 2021