Molecular Gastronomy Courtesy of Sodium Alginate

Alginate is a natural and skin-safe mold making material that can be easily used to capture detailed molds from the live human body. However, the use of alginate is not restricted to life casting alone.

EnvironMolds offers a food grade sodium alginate that is actually a popular food additive. It does not have a discernible flavor and is entirely safe as well. The powder is regularly used to thicken and emulsify sauces, syrups, jams, salads and pie fillings. It also serves to stabilize yoghurt, ice cream, cheese and other products. It can even bind meat, improve the texture of noodles and give the desired crumb texture in baked goods.

 Apart from this, sodium alginate displays some unique properties that enable chefs to display some extraordinary modernist feats in the kitchen.

For instance, sodium alginate and calcium salts can be used to shape a liquid into spheres. The gelling can make both small and large spheres. All of them will contain liquid that literally bursts in the mouth. The taste will not be altered either.

This spherification procedure can even be reversed to produce thicker spheres that can last longer. In fact, sodium alginate can be used to make gastronomic spheres from literally any edible liquid.

You can find varied kinds of alginate, including the food grade ones on www.artmolds.com. If you are interesting in replicating living figures, the website even offers instructional books, videos and live workshops on how to make molds for body casting.

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What to Wear for a Life Cast?

Photographs, even candid ones, are so passé…..Getting a three-dimensional replica of yourself is what makes things truly exhilarating. Indeed, the realism and detail of a life cast beats all other mediums hollow!

You can actually get a life cast of anything from your face, hand, torso, breasts or pregnant belly to the whole body in all its glory. And the process of getting a life cast made is equally exciting for sure.

However, it calls for a certain level of care and caution as well. Things can get quite messy when posing for a life cast despite the artist using plastic, towels, drop cloths and more. Spills are almost unavoidable. And you don’t want to get the petroleum jelly on your good clothes either.

Therefore, as the mold is taken directly from the body, people are always advised to wear old and washable clothes. Choose something that you wouldn’t mind getting ruined. The clothes should be comfortable as well.

 Moreover, if the body part that is being cast is usually covered, you should also avoid wearing anything tight-fitting over those areas even a few hours before getting the life cast. This is because the body mold is generally made on bare skin and even the slightest indentations can show up clearly in the alginate mold as well as the final cast. Think ring, watch, underwear, socks, waistband, belt and you will get the picture. For face casts, avoid wearing any makeup as well.

All life casting materials and supplies can be easily sourced from Artmolds.com. 

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