Hey, Mom! Pass the Transglutaminase.
Posted by Joe on Friday, March 9th, 2007
A little over five years ago, a close friend of mine introduced me to a Louisiana-based culinary innovation called the turducken. For those not in the know, the turducken is born when an evil genius debones one duck, one chicken, and one turkey. Said evil genius then proceeds to layer the birds: Turkey, duck, chicken, interspersing layers of stuffing, and reconstructing them so that the finished product somewhat resembles the original turkey.
Last week, I was treated to a food technology demonstration at the French Culinary Institute : The two chefs put together their own version of a turducken, prepared using a technique called low temperature cooking (or if you have a vacuum bag, sous vide). During this presentation the chefs showed off industrial products - one in specific that I’m focusing on - that restaurants, food manufacturers and other large scale operations who aren’t me can seem to get their hands on. These hydrocolloids (fancy name for food chemicals), as our presenters at the FCI explained, are basically all the polysyllabic words on the back of food packaging.
With that in mind, the one specific ingredient that stood out that I now need to get my hands on, was transglutaminase, sometimes referred to as “meat glue”. One of the challengers on Iron Chef (the NASCAR of culinary TV) made noodles out of shrimp using this stuff. And I could make carpaccio ravioli, if I could only get my hands on it. What transglutaminase does, chemically, is bond proteins together, like this:
Protein bonding.
In my searches for transglutaminase, I have found that “Ajinomoto Co of Japan was the first to develop and market transglutaminase for food applications under the trade name Activa™ TG.” And that, “Ajinomoto is a global food company that had the knowledge, experience and ability to create and market a consistent and high quality product that others try to imitate.” What I didn’t find is where I can easily obtain a bag of Activa™ TG or any other transglutaminase product that will allow me to combine meats without the hassle of butcher’s twine, and more effectively at that. Apparently the food science sector doesn’t want us “normals” to have access to naturally existing enzymes that can do things to dead animals that would make bestiality loving necrophiliacs blush.
If anybody out there can point me in the direction of a store that carries kitchen chemistry sets, I would be eternally grateful.
Categories: 
Discussion: 
Transglutaminase happens to be one of those things that I have found with a few emails/phone calls.
There are two versions of it - one is made from a “fermantation process”, while the other is made from Guinea pig liver.
The liver one I can get faster than the fermented one.
Keep in mind shit is hella expensive in either form.
Holla!
Comment written by franz on 4:11 pm on the 9th of March, 2007
Can I use transglutamise to bond someone else’s flesh to mine? Like, if there was ever a zombie outbreak, would it be possible to wear a zombie flesh suit that would mask the scent of my own delicious, living flesh?
Comment written by Chewy on 11:01 pm on the 10th of March, 2007
Chewy, based on my zombie research, I do not think that a zombie flesh suit would work. Whether or not you would be able to glue the zombie skin to yourself, I do not know, however, I firmly believe that even with a zombie flesh suit, zombies would be able to sense that you are not undead. Sorry.
Comment written by Joe on 12:09 pm on the 12th of March, 2007
What if I used to meat glue for a makeshift face transplant? Kinda like that dude I heard about that replaced his missing teeth with pebbles he found in his driveway.
Comment written by Chewy on 3:07 pm on the 12th of March, 2007
If you’re going to make a human mask, my reccommendation would be to use Nicholas Cage. First it would be like that great movie Face Off, and then he would not be able to ruin Ghost Rider for me any more. That dude sucks.
However, I think in order to do that, you’d have to scrape off your skin, so that the protien in his face would be able to bond to your skin.
One last thing, Face Off is not a great movie, the only worthwhile movies Nicholas Cage has ever done were Raising Arizona, because he played a loser, and The Rock, because Sean Connery made it possible to ignore that talentless POS. I would imagine that Cage’s favorite food would be something very dull, like white bread with water for dipping.
Comment written by Joe on 4:59 pm on the 12th of March, 2007
We should hold an Astoria Round Table discussion about random celebrities and what we think their favorite foods are. Like I bet Matt Damon really likes Fun Fruits.
Comment written by Chewy on 8:56 pm on the 12th of March, 2007