powder, dust, soil, and sand

What draws me to hydrocolloids is their ability to effectively alter texture while maintaining flavor. The textures that they can produce range from thickened liquids and gels to dry crisps and meringues. Within this spectrum, there lies a texture that is dry on the plate, yet soft and melting on the palate; it is a powder.
Tapioca Maltodextrin(TM) is a modified food starch derived from the starchy roots of cassava. It can gel in cold solution, but is most noted for its ability to stabilize fatty compounds, a relationship which can be exploited to produce powders. When combined with an approximate 2:1 ratio by weight of TM to fat, the TM will absorb the fat and lock in its flavor. When the powder that is formed comes in contact with the warm, moist environment of the tongue, it will melt and release the flavor.
If this sounds too good to be true, it’s perhaps because it can be–at least in some instances. I’ve found that with some fats, the TM leaves a stickiness that clings to the teeth and interrupts the experience, while others melt away cleaner. I’m not certain if this variation is due to excess moisture in the fat, ratios, or if it is an inherent quality of TM, but it warrants further exploration.
The variety of fats that can be used to flavor powders are only limited by the imagination. Flavored oils, butters (including peanut butter and nutella), chocolate, and rendered animal fats are all fair game. High-fat dairy products can also be used, providing that they don’t possess a high moisture content.
The blending of the two ingredients is almost effortless. For small quantities, it can be as simple as tossing the TM and fat in a bowl with a fork, or pulsing in a food processor for larger amounts. Both methods benefit from a final pass through a sieve to lighten the mixture and break up clumps.
For a crisper, sandy texture, a more balanced ratio of TM to fat is used to produce a paste that can be spread on silpat, dried in a low oven or dehydrator, then grated. A similar product can be made from whipped, dried methylcellulose, although in this case, the flavor comes from a non-fat base.
The melting factor of powders produced from TM and fat may be unique, but there are other, low-tech ways to achieve textural components such as dust, soil, and sand:
Dusts are very fine versions of powders and are traditionally used as ingredients or flavoring agents, but
when treated as a separate component, they can act as a dry sauce. Virtually anything that can be successfully dried and pulverized can serve as dust: vegetables, herbs, citrus zest, dairy products, meat, seafood, nuts, sauces…the list goes on. In some cases, you can find these products, already processed, on store shelves: dried milk, dried buttermilk, dried yogurt, ground shrimp, coconut powder, chili powder, etc. The real fun comes in blending these flavors to create more complex, flavored dusts. Wylie Dufresne uses this concept to produce "pizza pebbles" with dusts  of tomato, garlic, parmesan, and bread,  then binds them together with olive oil.
Soil and sand share the same consistency, but differ in texture; soil being softer and moister than sand. These can be made from many of the already mentioned ingredients with the addition of baked goods such as: flavored breads, cakes, cookies, pastry and crackers.