white chocolate eucalyptus watermelon olive

Eucalyptus is not a conifer. It is an angiosperm (enclosed seeds|pod) and not a gymnosperm (naked seeds|cone). In many other aspects it closely resembles a conifer, most of all in it's fragrant wood and leaves. 

The aroma of eucalyptus is largely comprised of the monoterpene eucalyptol (about 70%, depending on the variety), also known as cineol, which gives it the characteristic fresh, spicy and camphoric scent that is shared by rosemary, sage and bay leaves. 

I like the way that the fattiness of white chocolate rounds out some of the medicinal qualities of eucalyptus. They both have a cooling effect on the palate, and together they combine into a refreshing flavor.

I also like what agar and gelatin do to ganache. In the right amounts, they provide a toothsome delivery with a creamy mouthfeel and a clean finish. It also allows for doing fun things to ganache, like cutting it into cubes.

Watermelon also has a cooling effect with a green-ish flavor. The problem with pairing watermelon with traditional ganache is textural–when the ganache melts, it coats the tongue, making the wet, crisp watermelon feel odd and doesn't allow the flavor to come through. Altering the texture of the ganache gets around that. Briefly infusing the watermelon with lime juice adds acidity and terpenes that enhance the eucalyptus.

Fresh turmeric is a rhizome in the ginger family with a startling orange color. It also contains eucalytol along with other terpenes that contribute to its earthy and mildly floral aroma.

Black olive croquant is a flavor and texture counterpoint.

Eucalyptus is the only plant on my list of conifers that doesn't live in my yard. Without access to organically-grown eucalyptus, I've been leery of cooking with florist-grade because of the use of pesticides in these products.  I picked up a sapling of an apple-scented variety (Eucalyptus bridgesiana) at a garden center last summer and have been nurturing it under flourescent lights. I used the first harvest to make this ganache. 

In looking at the first photo, I realize that the scale of the dish is ambiguous. Scale is important–the size of a portion is directly related to our enjoyment of it. This dish is intended as an amuse– one or two bites of an intriguing combination that arouses the palate for what is to come. If that were to be more of the same, I'm afraid that the effect would be lost.

 

Eucalyptus is a genus of evergreen trees and shrubs that is comprised of about 700 species. It belongs to the family Myrtaceae, whose members include cloves, guava, and allspice. It is a native of Australia, where it is also known as blue gum because of its tendency to leak sap from breaks in the bark. They are not cold hardy but are widely cultivated in the tropics and subtropics. The largest consumers of eucalyptus are koalas.