Rumors aside (the recent Michelin star), the experience turns a floodlight on Minimal, gelato shop in Taichung, Taiwan island, a spin-off of the Sur restaurant, awarded among the 49 new gastronomic establishments in the nation.
Does this place prefigure a new being for the gelato? We have written several times about concepts and new ways of consumption on TuttoGelato magazine, also featuring the Giapo duo in Auckland, New Zealand. At the Minimal, the gelato becomes a dish and “the taste and visual touch” (as the guide reports) is given by a complex layering of flavors and textures.
“There is a natural and direct link between temperature and ice; each temperature creates different ice crystal structures, flavors expressions, tastes, and shapes. We selected, captured and organized these different characteristics as the main axis of the temperature menu, to explore the various sensations caused by specific temperatures,” they explain on website.
The experience is the result of a tastes’ journey, created in the kitchen according to precise freezing time coordinates. And we read about the idea of -40°C, a temperature at which a greater water percentage condenses, thus making the frozen object harder. Glycerin, a traditional ingredient with a flavor similar to that of hawthorn (with strong acidity and sweet aftertaste) is mixed with tea, to obtain a sorbet with a spongy structure (which dissolves quickly). Placed in an environment at -40°C, the the ice crystals structure stabilizes and a sort of harder shell is obtained, which gives a consistency similar to a marshmallow. And so it is served like a stick on bamboo sticks.
Down to 5°C, we have the ice crystals granularity. They blend wild ginger flowers and chrysanthemums into tea, add wild ginger flower vinegar, and slowly freeze it to form larger ice crystal particles to make the mince. All combined with a sake foam, lychee and Earl Grey tea, served with a sauce based on pear juice and ginger, and pear pulp to complete the gelato. At -5°C there is also a preparation with melon and bergamot: fresh marigold leaves, green nuggets marinated in Vermouth and bergamot sauce are incorporated into the purees of three types of melon. The gelato is served in a bowl: on the bottom a white cheese mousse and maple syrup.
For the creation at 0°C, at Minimal they choose loquat and pear, also using flowers and leaves (and preserving them throughout the season). “Let’s boil the loquat flowers and the pear together to extract their aroma; we combine stewed loquat jelly and frozen loquat pulp”, as they also underline on their Instagram profile. At 90°C they offer a hot tea in a cup, with fresh mint, rosemary and chamomile, with grass jelly (image above).
At -196°C Minimal conceives two preparations with liquid nitrogen. They combine pickled red plums with cloves, cardamom and other spices, to make a thick and fragrant sorbet; then immerses it in liquid nitrogen and freeze it in small pieces. Walnuts, caramel and maple syrup are mixed into an oil-rich sauce to create ice cubes with a rice-like consistency. Two completely different structures and aromas, combined with Ashitaba and peach aroma.
Flavors at Minimal
You need just over 30 euros for the seasonal seven-course menu (for about two and a half hours); from 5 to 15 euros for a cup or cone; to take away, the gelato is also paired with tea (in a glass).
Among the flavors present on their shop online, there is a selection of six products with alcohol. Such as sake combined with the aroma of wild ginger flowers and Honwa sugar molasses; a typical local cereal distillate is mixed with litchi and green plums, for a sweet and sour aroma; the gin and pine needle duo, refreshing and smooth; in the case of whisky, toasted barley and brown rice are soaked in fresh milk to extract the toasted aroma and vanilla pods are added.
Another section is that of teas, each with different fermentation degree and production method. They combine the herbaceous tones of mountain angelica with Biluochun; the white Dongding Oolong is processed with barley and sweet potato peel; the fermented and aged Pu Erh becomes frozen together with camphor wood and herbal jelly; Longan flowers and Cassia seeds are added to the honey-flavored black tea.
Sources Michelin.com
