In fine dining, every detail matters flavour, texture, colour, timing. Freeze-drying gives you real control over all of it, and you don’t have to sacrifice anything to heat. The Xiros Mikro brings the kind of precision you’d expect in a lab, but it actually fits in a restaurant kitchen. It changes your mise-en-place, makes plating more creative, and lets you build new signature dishes that can handle the chaos of a busy service.
Why Freeze-Drying for Fine Dining?
You get pure flavour, no heat stress. Acids stay sharp, florals pop, umami shines through.
You can play with texture go for a crisp crunch or aim for something so light it just disappears on your tongue.
Your mise-en-place holds up. Forget crisps or powders that wilt after a few minutes. These last for days.
Once you land on a signature, you can lock it in. Save your settings, hit repeat, and get the same wow every time.
It’s smart when it comes to waste, too. Those little scraps and trims? Turn them into garnish, dust, or even jus crystals.
Dehydrators? They’re fine. The Xiros Mikro is in a whole different league.
Meet the Xiros Mikro: Precision in a Small Package
It’s compact and quiet. Set it up in R&D, pastry, or right at the chef’s table.
You get fine-tuned control over shelf temperature and chamber pressure.
It’s completely programmable, so you can save and repeat your best runs, or scale things up when you need to.
Food safety is built in. Surfaces are smooth, cleaning’s a breeze.
Applications That Deliver Instant “Wow”
Flavour Powders & Dusts
Freeze-dry basil, lacto-leek, even citrus curd. Mill them into powders to finish sauces, enrich butter, or add a hit of aroma to a meringue.
Crisps with a Refined Bite
Think yoghurt glass with lemon oil, beurre-noisette shards, sunchoke flakes. Light, clean, and packed with aroma.
Fruit Slices for Pastry & Bar
Go all in on flavour hyper-intense strawberry, yuzu, or blood orange. One slice is enough to make a dessert or cocktail stand out.
“Air Fruits” & Foam Structures
Take mousses, coulis, or meringues and turn them into airy cubes that melt away instantly.
Ferment & Koji, Amplified
Lock in shio-koji powder, miso crumb, or fermented chilli for seasoning that’s stable and precise.
Bouillon Pearls & Jus Crystals
Intense flavour, ready to go crisp at room temp, melting into richness on the plate.
Plating Architecture
Build height and shadow into your plating. Use texture as a tool, and nothing slumps or loses shape.
R&D Mini-Recipes (Ready to Run)
Quick tip: Pre-freeze your mix flat and thin think silpat or a slicer. The less mass you have, the faster and better your results.
1) Yoghurt–Lemon Glass
Base: 400g full-fat yoghurt, 40g icing sugar, zest from one lemon (about 6g), and 1g salt.
How to: Spread it out super thin, about 1–2 mm, on a silpat. Freeze it solid before you start.
Typical Xiros Mikro Profile:
Shelf: −20°C to +15°C over 6–8 hours
Pressure: 0.2–0.4 mbar
Total time: 12–16 hours (depends on thickness)
How to use: Snap into shards, brush with lemon oil. Toss them on desserts or pair with cured mackerel for a pop of contrast.
2) “Air Strawberry”
Base: 500g strawberry purée, 6g pectin NH, 40g sugar, 1g citric acid.
How to: Heat until it just gels, then whip in air. Pipe into 1 cm-high rings and pre-freeze.
Profile:
Shelf: −25°C to +10°C, nice and slow
Pressure: 0.15–0.3 mbar
Total time: 14–18 hours
End result: Light, pillowy strawberry bites that just melt away on your tongue.
3) Umami Dust of Grilled Leek
Base: Grill the outer leek layers until deep brown. Lacto-ferment with 2% salt for 24–48 hours, then rinse and pat dry.
Profile:
Shelf: −30°C to +20°C
Pressure: 0.2–0.5 mbar
Total time: 12–15 hours
Finish: Mill it fine. Sprinkle on jus, roast meats, or over charred veggies.
4) Veal Jus Pearls
Base: 300g concentrated veal jus, 2g agar, 1g kappa-carrageenan.
How to: Set it briefly with agar and kappa, then drip into chilled oil to make pearls. Rinse, pre-freeze.
Profile:
Shelf: −35°C to 0°C in about 8 hours
Pressure: 0.1–0.2 mbar
Total time: 10–14 hours
Serve: Drop them on hot plates these pearls burst into rich jus right as you eat.
Workflow That Saves You at Service
Batch on slow days. Make crisps and powders 2–3 days before you need them; store airtight with silica gel. Keep it thin. 1–3 mm for sheets, 5–10 mm for aerated pieces that’s your sweet spot for timing.
Label and log everything recipe, batch, profile, duration. Consistency is your secret weapon.
Test fast. Tweak sugar, pectin, or fat you’ll see dramatic changes in crunch and melt.
Quality & Food Safety
Stay clean. Pre-freeze everything solid before you start the freeze-dry program.
Water activity (aw) matters. Keep it low for shelf stability, and always store cool and airtight.
Balance fat and sugar. Too much fat ruins the structure. Sugar helps you get that glassy snap.
No cowboy shortcuts just solid, precise work.
Sustainability & Yield
Go zero-waste. Skins, pulp, and trimmings turn into powders, crumbs, and crystals with real value.
Longer shelf life means less spoilage, no last-minute panic.
One intense flavor element can make a dish feel premium.
Bar & Pastry: Two Quick Wins
Citrus Comets (Bar): Freeze-dried yuzu or kaffir lime “stars” that scent foam without watering it down.
Ganache Flakes (Pastry): 70% chocolate ganache, spread super thin and freeze-dried delicate flakes that melt on your tongue.
Implementation Checklist
– Pick 5–7 test ingredients (fruit, herb, umami, dairy, jus).
– Run trials with different thicknesses and shapes (1–3 mm sheets, rings vs. slabs).
– Save three baseline process profiles (light, medium, heavy load).
– Get your packaging and storage sorted (bags, silica gel, clear labels).
– Train your team make sure you can go from batch to plate in 30 minutes.
Wrapping Up
With the Xiros Mikro, you get lab-level control and real kitchen soul bold flavors, wild textures, and a mise-en-place that keeps up with service. Start small, keep good notes, scale up your best ideas. Let your menu speak with crisp, clear details.
Ready to create your next signature? Bring your favorite ingredient. We’ll turn it into pure, crunchy storytelling.
