Cocktail foams, airs and bubbles - How to make them
Cocktail Foam, Cocktail airs and Cocktail bubbles. Are they just the same thing? and if not then what the hell are they and how do you make them!
It's that fluffy thing atop your cocktail. Sometimes made up of small compact and velvety bubbles, sometimes made up of large, light and airy bubbles. Which is what it basically is. Bubbles trapped inside a liquid making it more airy.
Below are 4 different techniques for creating 4 different styles of cocktail foams. ranging from basic to more advanced, dense fluffy foams to airy light foams. Each one perfect for one cocktail or another. Each imparting flavour, texture and character to your cocktail.
Egg White Cocktail Foam
Egg white cocktail foams are the most popular style of cocktail foam. They are usually white, dense and make the perfect pillow for balancing garnishes.
To achieve an egg white cocktail foam is simple. All you have to do is add the white from one egg into your cocktail and shake. The egg will emulsify creating a dense foam which once you strain out your cocktail, will sit on top making the perfect head of velvety bubbles.
The beauty of this style of foam is that unlike the other foam on this list, the addition of egg white also adds a texture to the cocktail itself. It's not just about the foam, its the creamy light mouth-feel you get from drinking a good whisky sour.
Egg white cocktail foam is going to give you the perfect foam but only after you work for it. You really have to shake that cocktail! It goes without saying, Egg white is most likely a very different viscosity to whichever other ingredients you’re using. So to combine the two, you need to put some force into that shake.
You really want to emulsify the mix and produce more aeration because that’s how those bubbles in the foam is made. The best way to do this without over diluting your drink is to dry shake first, Which just means to shake without ice. That way you can get the mix frothy before adding ice and shaking again.
If you really struggle with getting a good foam atop your cocktail. A good tip is to add something to your shaker whilst dry shaking. Such as the spring from a strainer. Something to help bang around in the shaker and aerate the mix more, in such the same way a whisk would.
Don’t want to add egg white?
You can substitute egg white for Ms better Miraculous Foamer bitters. A vegan alternative to adding egg white.
Cream-whipper Cocktail Foam
For a cream-whipper foam you will need 3 Things. The first being egg whites. This will create the texture of the foam. It's much like the above method however instead of hand shaking to emulsify the egg whites we will be using N2O cartridges to do so.
The second is lemon or lime juice to help balance the flavour of the foam. and the third is our flavouring. Which could be a juice such as orange juice or even a liqueur like Cointreau. optionally, you can add a syrup to sweeten the foam.
Add all ingredients cold to a cream-whipper, Charge with a N2O cartridge, Shake well and charge again. Refrigerate for an hour or so to chill, then use to top your cocktail.
Equipment needed
Pomegranate Cocktail Foam Recipe
Add 2 Egg whites, 40ML Lemon Juice 30ML Simple syrup and 150ML of pomegranate juice to your cream whipper
Charge with N2O cartridge, Shake well and charge again
Shake once more then refrigerate for one hour then use
Mimosa Cocktail Foam Recipe
Add 3 egg whites, 30ML of Lemon juice, 30ML of Simple syrup, 60ML of Orange juice and 150ML of Champagne to a cream-whipper
Charge with N2O cartridge, Shake well and charge again
Shake once more then refrigerate for one hour and its ready to use.
Cocktail Air's
Air is a type of cocktail foam where the bubbles are larger. The foams mentioned above are made up of small dense bubbles, This section and the one below are on the other end of the scale, larger bubbles that create a lighter foam.
Equipment needed
You will need a few things for this technique, the first is your flavouring, this might be orange juice, or coconut water, maybe some dried flavouring like mint or ground coriander. Use the flavour guide to find complimenting flavours that you could use.
The second is lecithin powder which will help make and hold the structure of the bubbles, finally you will need an immersion blender.
How to make Cocktail Air
Create 500ML of your flavour base in liquid foam. This could be a fruit juice, or a blended mix of something.
Pour into a bowl and sprinkle between 1 and 3 grams of soy lecithin on top of the mix
Cover half the bowl with cling film so when you start blending you don’t make a mess. Then use an immersion blender and blend the mix till bubbles collect at the top of the mix.
Scoop the bubbles with a julep strainer or spoon with holes in (So you don’t scoop any of the liquid, just the bubbles) and top your cocktail. You can also use air to top a garnish
The lecithin powder will help keep the structure of your flavoured air intact.
I realise the above instructions are not an exact step by step but with so many different flavours you could make, it's difficult for me to give you an exact guide that would work for every flavour of air you want. The above steps work as a guide for you to experiment and see what works for the air you want. Below are 2 simple recipes you can use as a starter for you to get experimental.
Tangerine Air Recipe
Pour 150ML Of tangerine juice to a bowl
Sprinkle 2 grams of soy lecithin over the mix
Cover half the bowl with cling film and use an immersion blender to blend the mix until bubbles appear on the top
Coconut & Cinnamon Air Recipe
Pour 150ML of Coconut water into a bowl and add 1 pinch of cinnamon
Sprinkle 1.5 grams of soy lecithin over the mix
Cover half the bowl with cling film, with an immersion blender blend the mix until bubbles appear on the top
Cocktail Bubble's
Much like airs with this technique we create a lighter, airier foam. To do it, you will need a fish tank pump. Yes, you read that correctly, a fish tank pump.
Using a flavouring, such as pomegranate juice, egg white powder, Xanthan Gum which you can buy online and a fish tank pump, also which you can buy online, you can create the perfect flavoured bubbles to top your cocktail.
A plus side to this technique is that you can keep the fish tank pump running all the time so you always have bubbles ready to be served.
Equipment needed
Fish tank pump
Egg white powder
Xanthan Gum
How To Make Flavoured Bubbles
In a blender, mix between 250ML and 500Ml of liquid flavouring, (Such as coconut water, Orange juice, Cranberry juice, you get it…)
Add to the mix between 1 to 1.5 grams of egg white powder and between 1 to 2 grams of Xanthan Gum. Then blend the mix
Pour the blended mix into a bowl. Using a PVC hose (Which should come with your fish tank pump) Attach one end to a fish tank pump, and put the other end in the bottom of the liquid mix.
Turn on the pump and you should start to see bubbles gather. Use a julep strainer or spoon with holes in to collect the bubbles and top your cocktail.
Cranberry Bubbles Recipe
Easy to do and perfect for topping cosmopolitans.
Blend 400ML of Cranberry juice with 1.5 grams of egg white powder and 1 gram of Xanthan Gum
Pour mix into a bowl and use your fish tank pump in the mix
After a few minutes you should have bubbles aplenty! Simple scoop of and add to your cocktail
Salt & Lime Bubbles Recipe
Salt is the perfect way to bring out the flavours of a margarita. Adding a salt rim though, doesn’t do that job. You could add a pinch of salt into your drink or if you want to be more consistent, add a few drops of saline solution.
However, if you really want to up your margarita game. Try topping it with these salt & lime bubbles. This is how I made the air for the Smartblend Margarita.
In a blender, add 400ML of water, 25ML of sugar syrup, 2 pinches of sea salt, 25ML of Fresh Lime juice, 2 grams of egg white powder and 1.3 grams of Xanthan gum
Blend, then pour into a bowl and use your fish tank pump in the mix to create bubbles
After a few minutes bubbles should be rising, simply scoop off and add to your margarita
Example of culinary bubbles and air in a cocktail
Above is a cocktail I made for Halloween named ‘Just a Bunch of Hocus Pocus’
It allows you to see the use of cocktail airs and foams in a drink. In this case, it’s a simple salt air. Get the full recipe below if you want to recreate it yourself.
Cocktail Foam Tips
Foam Design Tips
When foam is achieved via egg white. You have a dense enough surface to get creative. Using things like bitters or powders you can not just improve the way the foam looks, but the aroma as well.
Think of your foam as a canvas or a bed, strong enough to hold most garnishes you may want to add, fruit peels, coffee beans, herbs, you name it (Within reason)
A favourite of mine is to add a few drops of a dark aromatic bitters, and using a toothpick I’ll draw a line through them to create a nice pattern or little love hearts. Or to impress even more, dye the bitters using food colouring and use that as your edible paint to create fancy patterns.
Keep in mind egg white foam has no aroma or flavour, so adding a zest or spray of aroma over the top of your foam will help improve the over all cocktail.
Top flavouring foam tips
With the cream-whipper foam, bubbles and airs. We have the chance to flavour them however we want. The obvious thing is to use the same flavour base as our drink, for example, if you have a grapefruit Paloma, you may add a grapefruit flavoured foam.
But I would recommend you getting creative with your foams. Create a contrasting or complimentary flavoured foam to add real character. For example, instead of topping your Paloma with grapefruit foam, you could top it with apple foam.
Top sweet drinks with dry foams and hard-hitting cocktails with sweet foams. It creates real character and depth within the drink.
Cocktail foam, airs and bubble pros and cons
Egg white foam
Pros
Easy to do, accessible, adds mouth-feel and texture to the cocktail, dense enough to balance garnishes and get creative with designs.
Cons
Doesn’t taste of anything
Cream whipper foams
Pros
Can flavour them however you like, perfect for sweeter drinks
Cons
Can tend to be overpoweringly thick
Bubbles
Pros
Flavour them however you like, interesting texture, looks amazing
Cons
Can be difficult to get the ratio right and keep the bubbles from disappearing
Airs
Pros
Super light, interesting, flavour them however you like, compliments drinks very well
Cons
You need a fish tank pump
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