Uncategorized

by Lars. As part of our seaweed project, we have conducted rather extensive rounds of various stocks from Danish seaweeds. After some early exploration we settled into a dashi style method of preparation, finding this provided the best balance and flavor but avoiding unpleasant aftertastes. We ran the gamut of Scandinavian types, concentrating on Danish varieties from our excellent producer Rasmus, of Marifood. The søl stood out with a clean aromatic taste and we set about boosting the umami. Good success was had with chicken in various incarnations (sauted, roasted, salted, smoked etc.) with best results from brined, smoked, dehydrated and grated. Bakskul bones and bacon were even larger successes. We are continuing the tests; the perfect stock is out there. We made our stocks sous vide, but the recipe will work fine in a pot with a kitchen thermometer. Søl Stock 1 liter soft water (Danish tap water is … Read more

by Lars. We are collaborating with Nordgen, the amazing bank of genetic material, to evaluate the gastronomic potential of bygone varieties of Scandinavian produce. We will publish our sensory evaluations as they are completed. This promises to be an extremely interesting project; many modern species are produced on other merits besides flavor, and we expect intriguing findings.

  by Lars. We were extremely curious about trying a seaweed ice cream. While there is some precedence of using seaweeds in dessert applications, primarily in Asian cuisine,  it features far more predominantly as a savory ingredient. After some tests, we settled on Palmaria Palmata (Dulse, or Søl) as the most likely candidate, for the often flowery aromatics and slight liquorish hints in can impart. We chose a cold infusion into milk, we were not looking for robust, deep sea flavors, but rather the gentler fragrant notes that makes this seaweed one of our favorites. One liter of milk with 30g Søl, cold infused for eight hours. We chose a simple, light ice cream base that would not need to be cooked, possibly altering the gentle flavors we were looking for. Søl Ice Cream600g milk, cold infused with Søl, strained100g cream80g trimoline35g sugar24g thick and easy Dissolve the sugar and … Read more

by Lars. This was an early evaluation of turnip varieties we received form NordGen- sort of a bonus as this was actually part of another project that those fine boys were working on. We boiled, roasted, pickled, fried, dried, confie and juiced the turnips. Unfortunately, there were no great standouts. That is how this process works sometimes. We are going to give them a try next season, so that we can taste the cultivars at a very young age.

by Lars. In the process of making our Søl ice cream, it occurred to us that we might be able to produce a savory element utilizing a similar inception. We cold infused a liter of milk with the same 30g of Søl overnight and set out to make fresh cheese. From a nutritional standpoint, this is advantageous as many of the beneficial vitamins, proteins and polyunsaturated fatty acids are water-soluble, and because of the low cooking temperature, should remain intact.This test was a success. The taste was mild and pleasant, with the slight acidity of the fresh cheese providing a counterpoint to the rounder seaweed flavors. The floral notes were enhanced and the damp “fishy” pungency that some find unpleasant was subdued. Fresh cheese after some eager sampling Søl Fresh Cheese 1250g organic milk, cold infused with Søl for eight hours, strained60g cream25g buttermilk5g rennet Heat the infused milk to … Read more