Modern Mulled Mai Chai Wine... Almost

In the interest of not wanting to mislead anyone, this article is not quite a "recipe post" about how to make Modern Mulled Mai Chai Wine… not just yet anyway. It's more of a production log about the current state of the recipe application that I'm creating from the ground up, and what my current thoughts are on step-by-step recipe photos.

When building an application and database like this, I try and include a couple of big core features (that may or may not be used at first) — so that the code can be quickly adapted to different uses… all while not bogging the program down too much. This time, I've decided not to build this one out in a totally isolated sandbox, because I find that live testing at random, can lead to improved user interaction right from the start.

So — how does my recipe for Modern Mulled Mai Chai Wine get wrapped up in all of this? One of the features I wanted to have in the app from the start, is the option to show "step-by-step" photos that coordinate with the recipe instructions. In order to test the app with and without "step-by-step" photos… I first needed to make something quick (with just a few steps) and take photos. This would give me some core content to use as test photos in the app.

Another important option was to somehow include a special links feature for what I'm calling "sponsored ingredients". It is fairly common when viewing recipes online, to see a specific brand or two used as ingredients. That's why this recipe features the P.S. Flavor!™ Mai Chai Spice Blend… it's my analogue "sponsor ingredient".

There are a couple more key features that are going to be programmed in from the start, but now we've got enough backstory to get to the step-by-step photos!

This is actually my second attempt to set up a standard method of shooting these, but I'm still not quite satisfied with the results. Naturally, I've shot all kinds of overhead or "flat lay" photos — but always with an eye for great lighting and with high resolution full-frame and medium format cameras. I'm more convinced now than ever, that DSLR's and great lighting are not really as important with these step-by-step photos — as is having a really small, light weight, evenly lit set up.

Big cameras are heavy and require a lot of light, and may even need to be tethered — creating the need for even more cabling and support. All of this gets in the way of being able to quickly get into the work area and take a photo of the recipe process.

Something much smaller like a m4/3 system with a flip-around screen (that can be triggered with a dedicated remote) seems to be the direction that I'm moving toward. A system like that would be light enough to be mounted with an L-plate on a single boom arm — moving most of the support structure off to the side and out of the main work area.

Modern m4/3rd cameras (and dare I say, even an iPhone) make great use of computational image creation, right inside the camera as you're taking the photo…. allowing for a wider "in focus" plane, all with less physical light.

Sure, you're not going to get the rich detail that you would — when using a large format camera, but in the grand scheme of things, most of these "step" photos are going to be viewed on a phone or tablet device anyway.

I'm still working out all the specifics in my head… but I wanted to get these photos online somewhere so I can quickly look at them when doing comparative research.

The "hero" shot, for my Modern Mulled Mai Chai Wine (naturally) was taken using a medium format camera with all the lights and production elements. Here again, this really makes the case for needing two setups ready to go at the same time when doing recipe development. It's going to allow me and/or the chef or cookbook author to move from set to set quickly without the need to adjust or move anything on either set.

I shot the Mai Chai Wine hero photo twice, once with the P.S. Flavor!™ Mai Chai bottle, and once without. In both cases, I tried picking up color cues from warm golden tones on the bottle and in the orange.

Mulled wine is a traditional, cold weather, Scandinavian drink that usually involves steeping oranges and whole spices in a fruit forward red wine. My modern twist makes use of Cointreau, an orange liqueur produced in France and P.S. Flavor!™'s ground Mai Chai Spice Blend (because not everyone has whole star anise pods, cloves, and cinnamon sticks just laying around the house).


I wanted to move the lighting set up away from the traditional European cold dark or gray wood tones that are commonly seen with the beverage, and show maybe a little more Americana Country warmth… and I think the bottle label and golden cast from the retro bulb and rice lights does that quite nicely, without specifically having to show too many additional non-food elements in the photo.

I'll be back to write a little more about the beverage once the recipe application is up and running (and we'll share the recipe with everyone — which is the whole point of developing the recipe database and application).

The Modern Mulled Mai Chai Wine turned out to be quite delicious — and a slightly crisper version of the traditional recipe. Having the spices pre-ground and balanced— keeps some of the husk and hull part of the traditional "whole spice version" out of the steeping liquid. That's a good thing because sometimes those can impart a bitter quality and taste.

I think having a recipe app on the Digital Food Works site is going to be so much fun, and I can't wait to turn it on and have another format for sharing photos and ideas with everyone in the food and beverage community.



Click Here to check out all of the P.S. Flavor!™ Spice Blends directly on their site.