There is plenty of debate about the usefulness of kitchen appliances. We grillers in particular are often caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, we love the simplicity and originality of using fire and gas for cooking, but on the other hand, kitchen gadgets can be a real blessing - for example at championships, large parties or professional BBQ catering. As is so often the case in life, for most of us it's all about finding the right balance.
Anyone who regularly makes room on their menu for a perfectly grilled steak will be more likely to be enthusiastic about a high-performance grill à la Beefer than the occasional steak connoisseur. Sous-vide cooking is also a niche thing and is met with both enthusiastic approval and strong rejection. The espuma bottle, also known as a cream dispenser, also belongs in this category. Soda machines for sparkling drinking water were produced under the Austrian brand "iSi" as early as the early 19th century. In the 1960s, the company added the production of N2O capsules to its range, thus ensuring the triumph of cream dispensers - in the catering industry and in private households. The principle is child's play: whatever is to be foamed goes into the bottle. Then the spray head or capsule holder with the gas capsule inserted is screwed on and the device is shaken vigorously. Then you turn the device upside down and press the lever - and the food comes out of the spout. Because with a so-called cream dispenser, not only sweet cream is perfectly frothed today, soups and sauces are also given the perfect finishing touch in "espuma quality". In general, anything that is liquid and finely pureed can be turned into cold or warm espumas in this way. Espuma is the Spanish term for foam and became popular through molecular cuisine, whose pioneer is considered to be the Spanish top chef Ferran Adrià. He is said to have come up with the idea of molecularizing food when he saw a fruit foam in order to reinterpret its taste. Today, in many kitchens around the world, whatever food has to offer is frothed - and Giuseppe Messina has adopted this technique for our favorite culinary discipline and shows in his recipes for FIRE&FOOD 02/2023 what possibilities these frothers offer for grilling and barbecues. He only uses iSi products, which is partly due to the fact that all parts of these devices - including the containers - are made of stainless steel and not aluminum.
