If you are wondering what this title is all about I will not be able to fill in the blanks for another 2 months

Over the last 12 months I have been creating a concept for my own TV show in which I aim to educate people about a new way to look at food. I am pleased to say that after my recent trip to New York I now have an amazing developer on board who has a proven track record in the American Television industry and has been nominated for an Emmy Award as an Executive producer. We are now going to work together to bring this dream to reality.

Both the name of the series and the exact concept of the show will be announced once negotiations have come to a conclusion and a network has been confirmed.

What I can tell you is that it will be pretty much be a “Fly on the wall” account of what happens in my New York Lab everyday.

Stay tuned for more details……………………………………………….

I am very sorry for the inconsistant and very turbulent few weeks on Madridlab.net.

All I can say is this is down to a poor selection of hosting companies. My host has been under constant attack from hackers and this has given all of us clients nothing but headaches for the past month or so. I have just signed up with a more secure host which guarantees no down time! So you can expect nothing but new stories and info to be posted here!

The transfer process will take some days but definitely well worth the effort!

Thanks For your patience,

Adam Melonas

I was visiting Trieste yesterday while driving to Croatia and I stopped in on a supplier on the border near Slovenia that stocks a lot of specialty products from Spain and Italy.

They had row after row of products from my friend Quico Sosa (http://www.sosa.cat/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=34&lang=en). If you are familiar with the products from Sosa you would know that they have a large range of freeze dried products, essences and also many types of food additives. With the current situation in Italy being as absurd as it is they can only sell the products that do not come with a European union approved additive number (All products that also have a code starting with “E”) as this makes them a non-restaurant approved item with these new “Laws”. So there are now countless products on their shelves which will have to remain there until someone in the “Government” over turns this ridiculous legislation.

I hope we can all look back on this and laugh one day, like the fat politician in the US who tried to have salt banned in restaurants because he couldn’t practice self control so he thought he would legislate it to make it easier……………………..

Since I wrote the story regarding fishing and harvesting with a conscience I have had an amazing response on my email, other sites and some people have even felt the need to call me! I also posted the same story on Egullet.org which people have responded both positive and negatively. The good point is that we are continuing to discuss the topic, the more awareness = more people thinking before they order one of these items.

I am also putting my money where my mouth is! I have since taken a consultancy role in Croatia where I will not be using anything which is not local or sustainable in the region. It is a small step but hopefully we can start something and begin to educate the others not to use irresponsible products. I will keep you posted on the progress of the restaurant and my mission!

See the below link to a very interesting article published on a sustainable blue fin tuna named Kindai, as well controversial but definitely a step in the right direction!

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2010/02/22/with_bluefin_endangered_sushi_chefs_look_to_other_fish_in_the_sea/

Also see the below link to the comments chain in Egullet.org

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/131972-sustainable-ingredients-when-will-we-learn/page__pid__1731233__st__0&#entry1731233

I was reminded today about a technique that I did about 6 months and I never wrote about……………………

The technique that I am talking about actually came after I was watching “The Bee Movie”, I wanted to make Honey Jelly candies that were chewy on the outside but a texturized fluid on the inside.

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On my recent consulting trip to Croatia I was lucky enough to be able to visit Bibich Winery which have some exceptional wines!

First I must admit something very bad on my behalf……………………..

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You may remember quite some time back I received the very famous miracle berries from Africa…………….

Well if you don’t here’s a recap:

Miracle berries are a berry grown in Africa which contain a protein called Miraculin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miraculin), Miraculin acts as a protective film which coats your tongue and stops the penetration of Acidic and Bitter elements. I tested the effects on about 160 different products ranging from Bitter, Sour, Spicy, Sweet, Artificial sweeteners, Umami etc. There were some surprising results such as it actually made artificial sweetener about twice as sweet and regular sugar half as sweet. The power was taken out of the Umami effect.

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One of the more symbolic food investigations I undertook in 2009 was the search for the perfect representation of both Australia and Spain, As I am an Australian living and working in Spain,

My tests took me all around the many options available from both countries but I settled with the most symbolic ingredient from each of the countries…………. Kangaroo from Australia and Jamon Iberico from Spain!

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Well it’s Brussel sprouts season again and let’s just say i’m happy about this!

You might remember the story I wrote last year about them but just in case you didn’t get to see it let me do a recap with some added goodness.

Last year when cooking brussel sprouts for my dinner I found a way of cooking them that was amazing! It is the most simple and time efficient method of cooking them but the proof is in the pudding and let’s just say I have converted a record amount of people who tell me they hate them.

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With a second story about things that I have dug out of my fridge in 2 days you are going to think that I must be just hoarding everything in vacuum bags for a rainy day! As I will be leaving my lab soon, I have started wrapping up all the outstanding tests which I need to log a result.

I admit I do love to observe the changes food undergoes as it is preserving in sugar. It takes on a translucent appearance and it’s light refraction and transparency makes it look like plastic. Plus of course there is the flavour which becomes so much more rich and intense. And the 3rd and somewhere most interesting thing with fruits preserved in Sugar syrup is there ability to perfectly caramelize when pan fried.

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As you may be aware I have the contract to design and produce “Swedish Tapas” for Ikea. During the coarse of this project I have learnt a lot about Fabrication, we have contracted a fabrication company in the South of Spain to produce for us.

One of the more interesting things I have come across has been a product by Kerry coating systems in France. It is bread crumbs from bread which has been cooked then milled to the same dimensions as flour. It feels like flour and sticks like flour but it coats 10x better as when hydrated it expands slightly to fill in any remaining micro holes.

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A product we use a lot of and also eat a lot of here in Spain is the Sea Urchin.

For me it has the most Umami flavor of any product available. It is on the same level as a very ripe cheese and gives that spike of flavor needed in some dishes.

The only part used is the roe and it is extracted by cutting the bottom with scissors and carefully removing the roe from the side with a small spoon.

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I thought I really understood the world of risotto until my recent trip to Milan! After listening to the Italians speak about risotto and how many cultural elements there are to risotto that they all seem to know, I now know I am just a beginner in this topic!

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On my recent trip to Milano I discovered a very interesting product while cooking in the kitchen of Carlo Cracco. It is a product which I am now amazed about but it seems everyone knew about it except me, as when I have told people since they have all said that they knew about it, apparently it is even available for purchase in Pharmacies and health food stores. Great secret!

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The picture pretty much says everything which I could of hoped to say!

There are many fish which I love to use, but if I had to call some my favorites they would include……….. Sardines, fresh Anchovies and of course the Red Mullet. I group them together as I believe they are the most earthy flavoured of all the fish, and have a distinct almost dirty flavour. The livers of a red mullet if treated correctly have a delicious umami impact and are definitely worth the effort. There is pretty much a version of Red Mullet in every country with some muchbetter than others! We used to use the Chinese version when I was living in Shanghai which was a surprisingly amazing product, but by far the king of all the Red Mullet family is the one which comes from the Mediterranean! The temperature of the water and that which it feeds on makes the flesh far more dense and the fish far more healthy in almost every case.

I received some today and I was speechless when I saw them! They were as stiff as a board from the rigor mortis and had a perfect slime coating as you can see from the photo.