The Explorations of a Gastrochemist

...because science can be delicious.

  • Beginner’s Guide
  • Wurst Adventure
  • Charcuterie
  • Preservation
  • Science
  • Molecular Gastronomy
  • All Projects

Recent Projects

  • Duck Prosciutto
  • Lamb Salami
  • Lamb Culatello
  • American Breakfast Sausage
  • Ficazza
  • Coppa Calabrese
  • Appenzeller Mostbröckli
  • Saucisse d’Ajoie
  • The Official St. Galler Bratwurst IGP
  • Strolghino

Welcome! The Explorations of a Gastrochemist was created as a place to record my experiments with science and food. I dabble in charcuterie, cheese making, molecular gastronomy, and more. I believe that science can drive our food making process to create exciting and surprisingly delightful products.

—AOG

 


 

the_gastrochemist

...science | charcuterie | fermentation

My knockoff version of the famous Swiss lard de Be My knockoff version of the famous Swiss lard de Begnins came out even better than I had hoped. Brined in a 5% brine for a few days, then convection roasted at 425 F for 10 minutes, 400 for 10 minutes, and 375 for 10 minutes. Brings me back to picnic day trips on the banks of Lac Léman. Full recipe in previous post. #jambon #jamboncuit #lard #larddebegnins #diy #homemade #suisse #switzerland #schweiz #charcuterie #wurst #bauernschinken #jambondecampagne #ham #homecured #curedmeat #meatcuring #🇨🇭
Lard épices. Missing my Swiss things lately so pu Lard épices. Missing my Swiss things lately so pulled out this recipe that I wrote up a few years ago. I took some inspiration from traditional recipes from Vaud and Valais to create the brine. It’ll cure in the brine for a few days before being cooked in the oven at ~150 C with convection until it hits 65 C internal temp. #jambon #jamboncuit #diy #homemade #suisse #switzerland #schweiz #charcuterie #wurst #bauernschinken #jambondecampagne #ham #homecured #curedmeat #meatcuring #🇨🇭
Just a pretty coppa ready to be opened. #coppa #ca Just a pretty coppa ready to be opened. #coppa #capocollo #gabagool #diy #homemade #salumi #charcuterie #curedmeat #meatcuring
Sunday morning chamber views 😍 #charcuterie #sa Sunday morning chamber views 😍 #charcuterie #salumi #salami #prosciutto #coppa #speck #diy #homemade #curedmeats #meatcuring #curingchamber
I finally wrote up the first of my “No Chamber” DIY charcuterie posts. I’ve been asked a lot lately how people can break into charcuterie at home without investing in a curing chamber. One way this can be done is by using UMAI dry bags in the regular fridge. I’ve been playing around with/perfecting this method for a while now, and used it exclusively when I lived in Switzerland and didn’t have my curing chamber.

I’ve written up a beginner’s guide to “No Chamber” DIY Charcuterie, and posted the first recipe, a simple duck prosciutto. Check out the link in my bio for more information on this if you’ve been wanting to begin making charcuterie at home but haven’t been sure how to get started.

Shown here is my recent Swiss inspired glühwein duck prosciutto project, made fully in the regular fridge. Sliced thin and served with a few of my other recent projects, lacto-fermented pickles, red onions, and homemade whole grain mustard.

#duckprosciutto #charcuterie #salumi #duck #anatra #prosciuttodanatra #umai #drycured #drycuring #curedmeat #meatcuring #diy
Blackberry wine in secondary fermentation and look Blackberry wine in secondary fermentation and looking pretty 🤩… #diy #homemade #fruitwine #blackberrywine #homemade #fattoincasa #fattoamano #hechoamano #hechoencasa #fermentation #wine
I’ve been working on some simple, small scale pr I’ve been working on some simple, small scale projects that you can do without a curing chamber… this is the process of making my Baja salami… from pork shoulder to UMAI bag. Hoping to write these up for the website soon. #charcuterie #salumi #diy #drycured #meatcuring #curedmeat #umai #salami #salame #chiles #nopales #mezcal #tamarindo #berkshire #berkshirepork
The process of making my most recent glühwein duc The process of making my most recent glühwein duck prosciutto. Dry cured with a nice holiday mix of spices for about a month, soaked in red wine over night, and dried in the regular fridge using an UMAI bag for about 2 months. #duckprosciutto #charcuterie #salumi #duck #anatra #prosciuttodanatra #glühwein #umai #drycured #drycuring #curedmeat #meatcuring #diy
Ocean to table, dorado and pacific bonito freshly Ocean to table, dorado and pacific bonito freshly caught on a trip out of the local fisherman’s beach. We like to call it the “glamping” version of fishing, but still a lot of fun. We’ve been using the fish in all sorts of dishes, from ceviche, sashimi, and poke bowls to sautéed with lemon and capers. #dorado #mahimahi #pacificbonito #diy #homemade #fish #pescado #pesce #pescar #fishing #bcs #mexico #méxico #🇲🇽
Another yard to table project, with @snacklesnap a Another yard to table project, with @snacklesnap and @kennysexypants. This time, making a membrillo de guayaba from these fragrant and delicious guayaba. Guayabas washed, cut in half, covered with water and cooked until very soft, mashed, strained, blended, and put back on the stove with sugar and a little lemon juice to cook down before being poured into the container to cool. Still working on the texture, but the flavor is 🔥. #membrillo #diy #homemade #membrillohechoencasa #membrillocasero #guayaba #mexico #🇲🇽 #dulce #dulcedeguayaba #guava #fruit #yardtotable
Another yard to table project. Lemons from the yar Another yard to table project. Lemons from the yard, zested, and added to vodka to steep at room temperature. Pretty simple. This will steep for about a month or so, before adding in simple syrup, doing a quick strain, and bottling. I’ve previously written up how to make instant limoncello using a cream whipper utilizing nitrogen cavitation (check the website in my bio if you’re interested), but this method is the traditional slow method. #diy #homemade #limoncello #lemon #limon #limón #limoncellofattoincasa #fattoincasa #fattoamano
It’s that time of year. 🍕 #pizza #woodfired # It’s that time of year. 🍕 #pizza #woodfired #woodfiredpizza #hornodeleña #fornoalegna #diy #homemade #pizzaoven
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