Some food trends become deeply rooted, while others are fleeting, silly, or just plain fun. I would categorize pearl-shaped foods that pop in your mouth as simply fun. These tiny sphere-shaped foods are popping up everywhere, delighting taste buds with their playful texture and unique twist on familiar dishes.
There seems to be a bubbly trend happening with bubble-shaped foods – reminiscent of the popular bubble hem in fashion and the trend of using soft, rounded edges in decor. Here are some examples of pearl-shaped foods, both old and new.
From nature’s bounty, we have classic pearl-shaped bubble foods that have stood the test of time, such as caviar and fish eggs. Different types of fish eggs offer varying pops and flavor profiles, perfect for topping blinis, toast points, and potato pancakes, or incorporating into eggs, shellfish, and pasta dishes.
Not all caviar comes with a hefty price tag. Companies like Tsar Nicoulai offer affordable options like gold pearl trout roe for about $14 an ounce, with a bright orange hue, firm shell, and distinctive pop. Their Estate Malossol Caviar, priced at around $100 an ounce, boasts a softer texture, brownish-black color, and a buttery, earthy flavor.
Have you considered trying finger limes? This lesser-known natural product resembles a skinny lime on the outside, but inside, you’ll find delightful crunchy pearls of lime juice. These pearls add a unique touch to dishes like oysters and scallop ceviche. Finger limes come in various skin and pearl colors, offering a visually appealing and flavorful experience.
Boba and boba tea have been popular since the 1980s, originating from Taiwan and now enjoyed worldwide. Boba pearls are typically made from tapioca starch, water, and sweeteners like brown sugar, resulting in chewy and bouncy balls often served in sweet cold tea. Popping boba is a fun variation that bursts with flavor when bitten into. Boba tea is usually creamy and sweet, shaken to create a frothy texture, and enjoyed with a fat straw to savor the chewy pearls.
Spherification is a culinary technique that has gained traction in recent years, transforming liquids into squishy orbs by creating a gelled membrane around them. Vinegar pearls, like those from De Nigris or Messino, offer unique flavors like truffle, lemon, and pomegranate. Tartuflanghe specializes in truffle pearls, anchovy pearls, and pesto pearls. Prova’s offerings include vanilla, coffee, and other flavored pearls.
Whether you’re exploring classic caviar, trendy boba tea, or innovative spherified pearls, these pop-able foods add a playful and flavorful element to your culinary experience.
Pastry chefs use balsamic, lemon, and pomegranate pearls to enhance their desserts and dishes. These pearls are versatile and can be sprinkled on crostini, bruschetta, salads, cheeses, oysters, grilled fish, yogurt, tarts, and cocktails. The process of creating these pearls, known as spherification or reverse spherification, involves using sodium alginate and calcium to form small spherical orbs. This technique, first developed in the 1940s, gained popularity through chefs like Ferran Adria and Wylie Dufresne.
Chefs have expanded spherification beyond liquids by incorporating it into various dishes such as spherified olives and mozzarella pearls. BelGiosioso produces tiny mozzarella pearls that are perfect for pasta salads and antipasti platters, as well as in baked pasta dishes like baked ziti. There are also sweet options like translucent hard-candy rabbits filled with candy pearls from Pure Sugar.
Katie Workman, a food writer for The Associated Press, provides insights into the world of spherification and its culinary applications. For more food stories from the AP, visit https://apnews.com/hub/recipes.
