My Nomu reverse spheres with some ice cream.

Reverse Spherification Chocolate Spheres

Spherification involves adding Sodium Alginate to the liquid you would like to spherify and then placing it in a Calcium bath, when the chemicals react they will form a skin and presto!- you have a sphere.   However, a big problem with normal spherification is that it doesn’t work well with dairy or alcohol.

This is where reverse spherification, hence being called reverse spherification chocolate spheres.  By simply adding Calcium your liquid to and placing it in a Sodium Alginate bath you can get a very similar reaction and a light skin will form.

Something to keep in mind is that with normal spherification, the skin being formed is made up of the liquid you have inside your sphere. With reverse spherification, your liquid is inside a skin made of the Sodium Alginate solution. It is a strange concept but critical to remember.

My Nomu reverse spheres with some ice cream.
My Nomu reverse spheres with some ice cream. These were incredibly delicate and of the 20 or so I tried making these were the only survivors… which I promptly ate.

Originally I thought that there would be enough Calcium in the milk to react with the Sodium Alginate. I was severely mistaken so ended up adding Calcium Lactate to the chocolate milk mix.

The measurements would be the same as for normal spherification as far as I can tell.

Awesome wedding Favours - Nomu Host Chocolate with marshmellows :D
Awesome wedding Favours – Nomu Hot Chocolate with marshmallows 😀

 

It’s worth noting that I made the spheres by freezing the liquid in an ice cube tray first or else it’s a nightmare to try and get proper round spheres.