How to Make Orange Caviar: the Quick Method to Have Fruity, Juicy Caviar for Your Desserts!

Orange Caviar is a truly original preparation, perfect to use as a decoration for desserts of all kinds, for savory recipes or to be enjoyed on its own, as if it was a delicious fruit candy. The secret behind this method is the technique of spherification, a molecular cuisine process that allows you to create spheres using a basic food, in our case orange juice, seed oil and gelatin, which you can easily replace with agar agar.

What is Spherification?

Spherification is a modern cooking technique used to transform liquids into spheres that resemble caviar. This process involves mixing a liquid with sodium alginate, a gelling agent derived from seaweed. Then, the mixture is dropped into a solution of calcium chloride, which causes a gel-like membrane to form around the liquid, creating small, delicate spheres. These spheres burst in the mouth, releasing the liquid inside, and are often used to add unique textures and flavors to dishes. In our case, the three things you'll need to make this orange caviar are orange juice, vegetable oil and agar agar.

How to Make Orange Caviar

The preparation may seem complex, but it simply requires a little manual skill: the orange juice, mixed with the agar agar, will be boiled in a saucepan, then poured into the cold seed oil with the held of an icing syringe. Upon contact with the oil, small spheres will instantly form, which will then be rinsed and used as you prefer.  Let's see more in detail how to make orange caviar.

First you'll need to prepare the oil: you'll pour it into a tall glass and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This will help the spheres to form and hold their shape, avoiding that they merge together, later on. In the meantime, you'll need to squeeze enough orange juices to obtain 180ml of juice; one small part of this juice will be mixed with the agar agar. The rest of the juice will be put in a saucepan and warmed up; once the mixture with the agar agar will be poured into it, the liquid will be brought to a boil. The warm mixture will be transferred to the icing syringe: this will be used to release tiny droplets of the mixture into the cold air. There, the magic will happen: small spheres will begin forming. That's your orange caviar.

How Long Will Orange Caviar Keep in The Fridge?

Remember that, before using it, you'll need to drain the tiny spheres and then rinse them under cold water. The orange caviar will be ready to use, then, as you prefer. It's best to consume the caviar as soon as it is made, when its texture and flavor are still bursting and juicy, at their best. However, if stored properly in the refrigerator, the caviar will last for up to 2-3 days.

Remember, however, that the gel-like membrane around each sphere may continue to solidify, and the spheres might become hard and tougher to chew, losing their characteristic bursting quality. To prevent this from happening, or to slow this process down, you can store the remaining caviar spheres in a small container with a bit of the same liquid that you used to create them, to maintain the consistency.