Where to begin

I'm a chef an accidental one. When I wake up I think of what I want to make. When I am driving home I think what I could have done better. Too many owners that did not give a shit or to many employees more worried about which waitress they are going out with. I was introduced to some new techniques and ingredients recently that have changed my outlook. Instead of what will I grill today I wonder what I will freeze or sous vide. As I started exploring and trying new things I found that there is not a lot on information on getting started. The blogs I have read have got me thinking out of my comfort zone. I hope my experiences and creations do the same for other people

Hydrocolloid Recipe Collection

Hydrocolloids

A hydrocolloid can simply be defined as a substance that forms a gel in contact with water. Such
substances include both polysaccharides and proteins which are capable of one or more of the
following: thickening and gelling aqueous solutions, stabilizing foams, emulsions and dispersions and preventing crystallization of saturated water or sugar solutions.
In the recent years there has been a tremendous interest in molecular gastronomy. Part of this interest has been directed towards the “new” hydrocolloids. The term “new” includes hydrocolloids such as xanthan which is a result of relatively recent research, but also hydrocolloids such as agar which has been unknown in western cooking, but used in Asia for decades. One fortunate consequence of the increased interest in molecular gastronomy and hydrocolloids is that hydrocolloids that were previously only available to the food industry have become available in small quantities at a reasonable price. A less fortunate consequence however is that many have come to regard molecular gastronomy as synonymous with the use of hydrocolloids to prepare foams and spheres. I should therefore emphasize that molecular gastronomy is not limited to the use of hydrocolloids and that it is not the intention of this collection of recipes to define molecular gastronomy.