Methylcellulose A4M ✦

Méthylcellulose A4M

What it is

Methylcellulose is wood pulp treated with alkali and methyl chloride, and A4M is a specification rather than a brand: A for plain methylcellulose, 4M for the four thousand millipascal-seconds a 2 % solution reads on the viscometer. It behaves backwards — cold, it is only a thickener; heat is what makes it gel, and the bind lets go again as the pan cools.

In the kitchen

Disperse it in a third of the liquid heated to 80 °C so it cannot clump, whisk in the rest ice-cold, then rest it overnight in the fridge: it hydrates cold, not hot. At 1 to 2 % it holds a vegetable terrine or a fish sausage together in a hot pan, and the moment the plate cools the bind is gone — serve it hot or not at all.

Goes with

Button mushroom Potato Spinach Pork Egg Onion Parmesan

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