Food

BEAUTIFUL NEW TASTES IN METAL

We’ve rounded up some new metal food and drink beauties to admire and, perhaps to indulge. Get ready to taste some bling.

Metal has been adding beauty to food since ancient Egyptians introduced the world to the art of edible gold, devised to win the favour of Gods. Europe began to get their gastronomic gild on in the mid 16th century, as bread, oysters, quails and carps decorated with gold were served at banquets and weddings.

Photo: Suzy Homefaker. Gold Edible Fondant Cupcake Decorations.

Pure gold and silver are chemically inert and pass through the digestive system without being absorbed into the body. Most edible gold and silver comes in the form of leaf, flakes, or dust.

Gold flakes have been added to liquors since the Renaissance, such as Danziger Goldwasser, originally from Gdańsk, Poland, which has been produced since at least 1598. Goldstrike from Amsterdam, and the Swiss Goldschläger, have been more popular in recent times.

Photo: Courtesy of XXIV Karat.

But now, there’s a new golden bubbly worth more than its weight in …. well …. gold. XXIV Karat is a gold-flecked Grande Cuvée sparkling wine, infused with elegant, edible 24-karat gold leaf.It's the first, the first California sparkling wine with real 24 karat gold in it.

Unlike it’s gold-shot predecessor beverages, you don’t have to shake this one to see your gold flakes fly. Here, the golden bits dance with the rising bubbles to keep you amused while you contemplate your next sip.

This wine isn’t just about the bling. It’s been winning gold too, with awards given to its distinct taste of pear, pineapple and green apple mellowed with toasty coconut.

Developed by two Arizona State University grad students, XXIV Karat Wines inspires everyone to “Live Life All In”.

Photo: Courtesy of Belvedere. Silver Martini.

London Cocktail Week is showtime for mixologists and their patron. Earlier this month, this year’s edition showcased a gorgeous silver martini, crafted from Belvedere Vodka and silver leaf. We were shaken AND stirred by the total experience. It came garnished with a crinkled twist of pure silver instead of a boring ole olive or onion.

Noël Coward suggested that the ideal Martini should be made by "filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy.” Had he known about the silver martini option, no doubt it would have further tickled his fancy.

SILVER MARTINI

60ml/ 2 oz Belvedere Vodka
2 Inch piece fresh vanilla split down the middle
30ml/ 1 oz Simple syrup (Note: the original recipe calls for this, but we prefer ours dry, so we leave it out altogether)
1 Sheet edible silver foil

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a silver twist.

Photo: Courtesy of the Food Network UK. World’s Most Expensive Cupcake

You might want to guard this cupcake, not just to keep your snack-happy friends from scarfing it down the minute you turn your back, but because it’s worth over $1000! The darling of this year’s National Cupcake Week in London, hosted by Food Network UK, was flavored with Chateau Yquem and Hawaiian AA tea, with a center of Charbonnel et Walker chocolate and a champagne jam.

It was displayed under glass, behind a velvet rope. It even came with its own bouncer.

Photo: Reena Pastakia. Golden Chocolate and Almond Burfi.

While we couldn’t snag the recipe for the golden cupcake starlet, we found this gold-adorned sweetmeat recipe for burfi that you can whip up as a stellar finish to a homemade Indian feast.

This chocolate and almond burfi recipe, created by Reena Pastakia, is significantly less sweet and more luscious than the shop bought variety. It uses less sugar and uses cream instead of ghee.

Photo: Courtesy of Connoisseur Gold. Edible 23ct Gold Leaf.

GOLDEN CHOCOLATE & ALMOND BURFI

Ingredients

25 grams ground almonds
170 grams milk powder
150 millilitres thick single cream
30 grams granulated sugar
butter for greasing a baking tray
50 grams 70% chocolate
75 grams double cream
Edible gold leaf

Photo: Courtesy of Watergild. Gold leaf.

Instructions

Combine ground almonds, milk powder and cream in a mixing bowl. Cover let stand for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile place the sugar in a small saucepan and add 250 millilitres cold water. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring regularly. Reduce the heat to low and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the vanilla pod.
Keep heating the sugar solution, stirring regularly, until it forms a thick sugar syrup. (112 degrees centigrade). Leave the syrup to cool.
Remove the vanilla pod from the syrup* and then add the cold syrup to almond cream mixture and stir well.
Grease a baking tray. Pour the mixture onto tray and press down hard. Refrigerate to set for at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile place the chocolate and double cream in a double boiler. Stir constantly until a thick, glossy ganache has formed. Remove from heat.
Pour the ganache over the contents of the tray. Use a plastic spatula to spread the ganache evenly over the top.
Return the tray to the fridge to set for at least one hour.
Cut the burfi into diamond shapes and decorate with the edible gold.
We recommend that you eat this the same day they are made, since we don’t love refrigerating chocolate.
Serves 8 - 10

Photo: Courtesy of Fiona Man.

Gilding the ice-cream bar lily this past summer, the Magnum Pleasure Store in Toronto offered gold flakes as a topping choice. And, to gild it further, their special “Golden Touch” came with a bottle of gold nail polish.

Blogger Fiona Man reported her boyfriend’s custom bar concoction included “Vanilla Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate covered with rock sea salt, chili flakes, chopped hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, toffee bits, gold flakes and drizzled with white chocolate.” We can’t wait to replicate.

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon.

Looking for an after dinner smoke? Now you can savor your uber-primo blend in proper style, hand-rolled in Shine 24K Gold Rolling Papers.

This luxury paper is mixed with gold to create a perfectly consistent burn that stays lit longer and leaves golden ashes. Whether it’s real or imagined, this super dope wrap is bound to boost your buzz, regardless of what you’re smoking.

Rapper Mark Cloudy Goodger said the product is a '”bomb conversation starter [sic].”

Read about Beautiful Metal all this week, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact, including Shiny New Delicate & Heavy Metal, and Radical Design with Liquid Metal.