Brittany, France-based molecular cuisine company Perles de Saveurs specializes in a novel product: flavor pearls encased in a skin that is made via a molecular reaction between calcium and alginate – a brown seaweed extract.
The idea, according to Group Export Manager Romain Villedieu, is that any liquid can be encased within the alginate skin, said Group Export Manager Romain Villedieu, and that inventive chefs, who comprise the company’s main customer base, can use traditional flavors but elevate their presentation.
“It’s good looking, and you have the experience of it bursting in [your] mouth. There’s a popping effect,” he said. “The spher[ical] experience is different. You break it on the plate, and there’s a [visual] experience.”
The company, which is part of GlobeXplore, itself a subsidiary of Groupe Jean Hénaff, produces four products made in this way: flavor beads, pearls, spheres, and oil pearls.
The flavor beads come in a set of marine-inspired flavors, such as a plant-based caviar alternative, as well as a set of forest-inspired flavors, which include oil flavored with morel and truffles.
Villedieu said that one application of the product has been in raw shellfish dishes, with Perles de Saveurs’ vinegar-, soy-, yuzu-, or ponzo-flavored pearls taking the place of more traditional oyster toppings like mignonette or hot sauce.
It also makes flavor pearls flavored with fresh fruits, balsamic, truffle, yuzu, ponzo, and sour mango spheres, often used in ceviches and carpaccios, as well as in pastry and four flavors of oil pearls in extra virgin, summer truffle, chili, and basil flavors.
The product also offers convenience since all the flavors come pre-measured inside the pearls and spheres. That makes it popular with caterers, hotels, airlines, cruises, and others who deliver cuisine to large numbers of diners, according to Villedieu.
“The love to use it, for instance, in business class lounges,” Villedieu said.
At the 2025 Seafood Expo Global, which took place 6 to 8 May in Barcelona, Spain, the Perles de Saveurs served European oysters along with its marine-inspired flavor pearls, as well as others served with ponzo pearls.
