Molecular Gastronomy . Food ,science or both ?
The application of science to
domestic and restaurant cooking has developed into the new science of molecular
gastronomy- the application of scientific principles to the understanding and
improvement of gastronomic food preparation Molecular gastronomy has been defined as a
field that attempts to link chemistry to culinary science, to explain
transformations that occur during cooking, and to improve culinary methods
through a better understanding of the underlying chemical composition of food.
The term was coined in the late 1980’s by the British physicist Nicholas Kurti
and the French food scientist and former journalist Herve This, who felt that
“empirical knowledge and tradition were as important in cooking as rational
understanding”. Information revealed through the practice of molecular
gastronomy research can be applied by cooks to improve their cooking, as it
explains various reasons why things happen when cooking- for instance, why a
souffle rises. Knowing this information can enable a cook to create optimum
conditions for the rising of a soufflé, based on the science behind the
transformation of the ingredients during cooking.
Nicholas
Kurti was a professor of physics at the Clarendon Laboratory at Oxford
University. An eminent scientist, best known for his work in low temperature
physics, in his latter years he turned much of his attention to organising
workshops and writing articles on food and cooking. Kurti had always had an
enthusiasm for cooking. During the Second World War, he would store his weekly
wartime ration of meat in the laboratory deep freeze until he had accumulated
enough to be able to invite his friends around for dinner. Kurti was famous for
the experiments he demonstrated in lectures, one of the most famous being to
the Royal Institute of Great Britain in 1969. he demonstrated the advantages of
using hypodermic syringes to put rum into mince pies., how a vacuum pump could
be used to make meringues and the benefits of monitoring the inside temperature
of a soufflé using a thermocouple.
‘Is it not quite amazing that today we know more about the temperature distribution in the atmosphere of the planet Venus than in the centre of our soufflé’?”
These meetings were founded by the late Nicholas Kurti following an initial suggestion from Elizabeth Thomas.
Molecular gastronomy’s form has
largely been determined by a series of meetings between chefs, scientists and
food writers held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture in
Erice, Sicily over the course of the last 15- 20 years. These meetings were
founded by the late Nicholas Kurti following an initial suggestion from
Elizabeth Thomas.. The meetings on the
science of cooking were set in motion by Elizabeth, who had also studied at the London Cordon Bleu and ran a
cookery school in Berkeley, California. Her first husband was a physicist, and
she accompanied him to scientific conferences and counted many physicists as
friends.
Elizabeth attended a meeting in Erice.She was
a devoute advocate of low temperature cooking, as was Kurti. It is actually not
a new invention. The English scientist Benjamin Thompson described in the 18th
century how a joint of meat could be left in a drying oven over night and how
he was surprised when, next morning, the meat was found to be fully cooked and
very tender. Kurti repeated the experiment, leaving a 2kg lamb joint in an oven
at 80 degrees Celsius. After 8.5 hours, both the inside and outside temperature
of the lamb were around 75 and the meat was tender and juicy .
Together with the French chemist
Herve This, Nicholas Kurti felt that the gap between food science and cooking
at home and in restaurants was becoming too large. It was necessary to invent a
new discipline. He proposed “molecular gastronomy”, but Kurti, being a
physicist insisted that “and physical” should be added. “Molecular and physical
gastronomy”. After Kurti died, the files on the new discipline have simply
become known as molecular gastronomy.
Definitions of Molecular Gastronomy
Mmolecular gastronomy is an
emerging school of cooking that emphasises the science of cuisine- like
understanding why meat is best slow-cooked at 58° C”.
Molecular gastronomy has also
been defined as a field that ‘attempts to link chemistry to culinary science,
to explain transformations that occur during cooking and to improve culinary
methods through a better understanding of the underlying chemical composition
of food.’
Herve This defines molecular
gastronomy by distinguishing between cooking and gastronomy. “The first is the
preparation of food, whereas the latter is the knowledge of whatever concerns
mans nourishment. In essence, this does not concern food fashions or how to
prepare luxury food- such as tournedos Rossini, canard a l’orange or lobster
orientale- but rather an understanding of food; and for the more restricted,
“molecular gastronomy”, it is the chemistry and physics behind the preparation
of any dish; for example, why a mayonnaise becomes firm or why a soufflé
swells.”
Tthe application of science to
domestic and restaurant cooking has developed into the new science of molecular
gastronomy- the application of scientific principles to the understanding and
improvement of gastronomic food preparation.”
In 2008 Oxford University Press
describes molecular gastronomy as the art and practice of cooking using
scientific methods to create new or unusual dishes: Molecular gastronomy
combines science with the art of cooking.
In general, the field of
molecular gastronomy may be considered as that part of food science that
focuses on home and culinary eating changes and cooking phenomena.
It should be mentioned also that
chefs involved in experimental cuisine are not necessarily aware of the
scientific principles that support the new dishes that they are creating and
that the scientific approach of molecular gastronomy may help to provide
information that chefs can use to better understand the processes during the
creation of foods
Adoption and Repudiation of the Term
“Molecular Gastronomy”
In the late 1990’s and early
2000’s the term started to be used to describe a new style of cooking where
chefs were exploring novel possibilities in the kitchen by embracing science ,
technological advances in equipment and various natural gums and hydrocolloids
produced by the food processing industry. It has since been used to describe
the cooking of many famous chefs such as Pierre Gagniere, Ferran Adria, Heston
Blumenthal, Homaro Cantu and Grant Achatz. Adria is one chef amongst others who
has set up his own laboratory El Taller
in which to explore these possibilities.
Molecular cooking is also emerging
in restaurants like WD-50, The Fat Duck, El Bulli and Alinea, a style of
cooking that uses ingredients developed for industrial food production.
Molecular gastronomy meshes scientific research with cooking. The media have
sent shock waves throughout the globe, describing that the style is futuristic
and flashy
. Descriptions and photos of the
most eye catching dishes, most drastic techniques, and most outlandish new
textures have spread through industry rags, and eventually into magazines and
television, leaving us with a skewed understanding.
In 2005, the Institute for
Advanced Studies on Flavour, Gastronomy and Culinary Arts was formed in Reims , France ,
to promote gastronomy and molecular gastronomy. Universities in many countries,
such as the Netherlands, Argentine and Denmark have set up professorships in
this discipline. He further asserts that despite this knowledge and interest,
mistakes are still being made. In 2002, the media described some chefs as
“molecular gastronomists” which is obviously wrong because chefs create food
and not knowledge. The confusion was caused in part by the scientific programme
which included technological applications and education. Nicholas Kurti and
Herve This agreed that molecular gastronomy was science so they excluded the
educational and technological elements.
Scientists preferred appellation
for this new culinary style is not favoured everywhere and French Laundry chef
Thomas Keller said that molecular gastronomy is a label coined by the media. He
prefers to call it contemporary cuisine. ‘I
think it’s an unfortunate term’, ‘It doesn’t really describe accurately what
people are doing or what their approach is. A lot of people doing cooking of
that type don’t like to be associated with that term’. ‘These chefs are
right’ ‘They do not do molecular
gastronomy because molecular gastronomy is science not cooking. Some can apply
the results of molecular gastronomy; some just change the ingredients, methods
or tools, and its only modernisation of culinary techniques’.
Ferran Adria cites “…The biggest lie out there in terms of cooking” ‘The
world of food has changed a great deal in modern times. Change has come fast
over the last decade. Along with many other developments, a new approach to
cooking has emerged in restaurants around the globe, including our own. We feel
that this approach has been widely misunderstood, both inside and outside our
profession. Certain aspects of it are over emphasised and sensationalised,
while others are being ignored. We believe that this is an important time in
cooking, and wish to clarify the principles
and thoughts that actually guide us’.
Adria further added that ‘the disciplines of food chemistry and food
technology are valuable sources of information and ideas for all cooks. Even
the most straightforward traditional preparation can be strengthened by the
understanding of its ingredients and methods, and chemists have been helping
cooks for hundreds of years. The fashionable term “molecular gastronomy” was
introduced relatively recently, in 1992, to name a particular academic workshop
for scientists and chefs on the basic food chemistry of traditional dishes.
That workshop did not influence our approach, and the term “molecular
gastronomy” does not describe our cooking or indeed any style of cooking’.
Misapplication of term ‘molecular gastronomy’
The term molecular gastronomy has
been used in the culinary arts and in particular by the media and journalists
to describe a cooking style adopted by some chefs that is characterised by its
reliance on principles, techniques and practices superficially associated with
the sciences and with food technology as applied within the industry.
The phrase is often misused by
the media to refer to chefs who apply techniques developed by scientists to
their own style of cooking. Although a confusion of terminology, the link of
molecular gastronomy with the practice of cooking follows the natural progression
of bench research to practical applications that This and Kurti foresaw when
they proposed the new discipline The innovations of Nouvelle Cuisine in the
1970’s found their place in evolution in culinary arts such as techniques like
hot gels, unusual starches- without being dogged by the ungainly and inaccurate
term molecular gastronomy. ‘It is the new
cuisine but we stopped referring to Nouvelle Cuisine as that’.
Confusion with the Term molecular gastronomy
There is a real concern within
the culinary community as to whether the term ‘molecular gastronomy’ should be
redefined or not. Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and
culture and molecular gastronomy does not really cover these elements. ‘Molecular’
in molecular gastronomy has a definition similar to that as it does in
molecular biology. The similarity is intentional because physics and chemistry
are at the centre of this discipline the
term creates artificial barriers. “Molecular
makes it sound very complicated and gastronomy makes it sound elitist”. A differentiation should be
made between cooking and gastronomy. Cooking means preparing dishes and
gastronomy, according to the promoter of the word (Brillat Savarin), means
intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns mans nourishment. When it comes to
the study of chemical and physical transformations involved in cooking, then
the term molecular gastronomy applies. Why not “molecular cooking”?.
Cooking is a craft, an art–not a science.When
food is presented as if it is science or invokes images of it being created in
a laboratory, diners tend to get nervous. ‘I think the problem with the term
“molecular gastronomy” is that it implies teeny-tiny portions of the
unfamiliar, and in America (and many other cultures around the world), we have
been taught to believe that the definition of good dining or a good meal is
that which makes you full. Reminded of the days when chefs identified with
“nouvelle cuisine” began to get annoyed when the label was applied to their
style; and arguments followed about the meaning of the term and how it did or
did not apply to one or another. The philosophical conceits of nouvelle cuisine
were so radical at changing the appearance of haute cuisine and the
socioeconomic context for its adoption were long lasting, that a lot more than
the name would have to change for it to go for good.
Objectives of Molecular Gastronomy
Objectives for molecular
gastronomy as reformed by Herve This which are to explore scientifically: (a)
the artistic component of cooking, (b) the technical component of cooking, i.e.
the science behind recipes (applying the concepts of precisions, referring to
details in a recipe, and definitions referring to main points in a recipe, (c)
the social component of cooking.
A subject which is concerned with the whole process of the preparation of food, from raw ingredients to the actual dish on the plate. Molecular Gastronomy encompasses such diverse issues as:
- How and why we evolved our particular taste
and flavour sense organs and our general food likes and dislikes?
- How do production methods affect the eventual
flavour and texture of food ingredients?
- How are these ingredients changed by different
cooking methods?
- Can we devise new cooking methods that produce
unusual and improved results of texture and flavour?
- How do our brains actually interpret the
signals from all our senses to tell us the “flavour” of food?
- How is our enjoyment of food affected by other
influences such as the environment in which we eat the food, our mood,
etc?
Initially molecular gastronomy
had five aims: (a) to collect and investigate old wives tales about cooking;
(b) to model and examine recipes; (c) to introduce new tools; (d) to invent new
dishes using knowledge from previous three aims; (e) and to use the appeal of
food to market science. Today it is easy to see that this scientific module was
misleading and had failures. The
initial objectives were a major mistake because introducing new tools and
inventing new dishes are technological, not scientific and to use the appeal of
food to promote science is political.Tthe scientific programme became clearer
when reduced to two aims which are to model definitions and to collect and
scrutinise culinary precisions; however, this was soon found insufficient
because the main aim in cooking is to produce food, which is art and not
techniques.
Another objective for the
molecular gastronomy community is ensuring that developments in food
preparation at the gastronomic level filter down into the domestic arena, where
it is compared to the effect of the Grand Prix racing on the motor industry. It
is also believed that developments in top restaurants, such as new cooking
methods, and healthier dishes will filter into the general food industry
Examples of Molecular Gastronomy in Culinary
Arts.
Recipes are the most important
written form of culinary knowledge, and they traditionally consist of a
definition: for example, a soufflé is a foamy product that swells during
cooking, and crumples once someone pokes a knife or fork into it; or a
mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil in an egg yolk, pepper, salt and vinegar. In
general these definitions are usually mixed with methods and materials.
Answering questions can correct a mistake, using knowledge to improve the cooking
process or even invent new dishes. One example of how physics and chemistry can
lead to new ways of cooking is provided by an egg. If an egg is heated, water
evaporates, the proteins denature and polymerise to enclose water and the end
result is a cooked egg. An alternative way to do this is to use alcohol because
it denatures proteins so the same result is achieved by adding liquor to a raw
egg. Similarly the scientific proven way to obtain an airy soufflé is to heat
it from below, so evaporation of water pushes the contents upwards. That is
simple physics but it can help us to make better food.
By sampling molecules and
learning the chemical connections between them, Heston Blumenthal went off on
the creative journey of flavour pairings. White chocolate and caviar, foie gras
and jasmine, asparagus and licorice which all have molecular commonalities that
keep them from clashing and when properly paired can lead to eclectic new
tastes. Food scientists know that red cabbage and mustard contain mustard oil,
but it was Blumenthal who introduced us to Pommery-mustard ice cream in
red-cabbage gazpacho. According to Blumenthal, another amazing discovery was
made in the centre for food science in the Netherlands and involved our sense
of smell and how we all taste foods slightly differently.
Herve This came up with a formal system of
classification for what happens when foods are mixed, baked, fried, sautéed in
lime juice etc; it shows, for example, how the 451 classical French sauces
divide down into 23 distinct types. More importantly the system allows the
creation and pairing of large numbers of novel and potentially tasty dishes by
generating a formula describing the physical microstructure of a previously
nonexistent dish, he then collaborated with Pierre Gagnaire to contribute real
ingredients resulting in a bitter orange, scallop, and smoked tea dish that
delighted Gagnaires .
Examples of new food creations
from the famous El Bulli in Spain which include shiny green olives served on a
spoon, to be eaten in one bite, but it isn’t an olive at all. The gushing
sphere bursts into a mouthful of intense olive juices. Golden eggs encased in
delicate caramel dissolve and release a mouthful of tangerine bloom essence,
which attack the senses. Other foods from El Bulli are plump mussels wrapped in
a seawater jelly, served with tiny cubes of apple and finished with an intense
consommé of potatoes and ham; a dessert beautifully crafted in hummingbird
shape which is draped across a plate, its long beak is formed from caramel, and
the head is filled with sweet liquid sesame. One cracks the head and the
contents spill over fruit sorbets, ice creams and jellies that form its body
and wings. These examples are good practical ones of a successful interplay
between science and gastronomy, where art and science are systematically
blended together.
New dishes have been named after
famous Chemists by the molecular gastronomy workshop. They have been produced
on the basis of results of molecular gastronomy. Examples include Gibbs, which is where an egg white is
whipped with oil and a white emulsion obtained; Vauquelin, a foam resulting from egg white and added orange juice;
and Baume a coagulated egg that has
been left in alcohol for a month .
Molecular Mixology
Chemistry is not a word that is
associated with cocktails.More bartenders are applying the science of molecular
gastronomy in the search for an improved drink, for example mixing alcohol with
liquid nitrogen, chlorides and alginates. The result: a Mojito mist to be
sprayed instead of being sipped, a Hurricane that erupts like a school science
experiment and whiskey marshmallows. The name is a twist on molecular gastronomy, a
term for the application of scientific principles to cooking. Many chefs and
bartenders complained that ‘molecular mixology’ is not a fully accurate
designation for a trend that is less about molecular science and more about
techniques that chefs are discovering in their kitchens.The chemical cocktail
movement grew from a symposium sponsored by Dutch distiller Bols in 2005.
Proponents of Molecular Gastronomy
‘As science has gradually percolated into the world of cooking, cooking
has been drawn into the world of academic and industrial science’. One very
effective force behind this movement was Nicholas Kurti, a physicist and food
lover at the University
of Oxford as previously
mentioned. At the age of 84, in 1992 Kurti nudged civilisation along by
organising the International Workshop on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy at
Erice, Sicily, where professional cooks and scientists worked together for the
first time to advance gastronomy, and the making and appreciation of foods to
the highest quality. .
Harold McGee is a freelance
writer based in California .
His writing about the science of food and cooking since 1979 has been a huge
influence on molecular gastronomy enthusiasts such as Heston Blumenthal. ‘Harold McGee’s book was the single biggest
catalyst of the path that I am following now’, Blumenthal says. McGee is a
living library of food science and basic science books and magazines and
modestly describes his work as gathering the information that’s relevant to
restaurants and home cooks and translating that information into plain English
for those cooks. In addition to the book “On
Food and Cooking” he has also published The
Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science
and Lore .
Several highly regarded chefs,
the most famous being Heston Blumenthal in England and Ferran Adria in Spain,
experiment with industrial and laboratory tools – gelling agents from seaweeds
and bacteria, non sweet sugars, pressurised gases and liquid nitrogen to bring
new forms of pleasure to the table..
In contrast to the Slow Food
movement, molecular gastronomy employs modern scientific processes and Ferran
Adria is largely responsible for the direction the movement has. Adria has a
laboratory in Barcelona called El Taller
that works on new creations and markets bright and new ideas to trendy hotel
chains and food processors. He sells a range of stainless steel cutlery called
‘Faces’ and metal tableware, called ‘Snack’, inspired by Frank Gehry, the
architect of the Guggenheim Art Museum in Bilbao. Adria argued that traditional
cooking did not bring out the full flavours and textures of their natural
ingredients, of which Spain
has in abundance. Adria has set about deconstructing dishes such as tortilla
and presenting the Spanish omelette as individually delicious parts of the sum,
rather than a tasty sum of the parts.
Heston Blumenthal’s career has
taken some remarkable turns. He is the winner of the 2004 Catey Chef Award and
this book taught chef has been awarded three Michelin stars at The Fat Duck Restaurant. Ferran Adria
described Blumenthal as “the future” while introducing him at the Madrid Fusion
Gastro Summit, and two months later he was named winner of the Gourmand World
Cookbook Awards 2003. Currently Blumenthal is involved with Charles Spence of Oxford University
doing work combining menthol and chilli. He is also working on developing
pastilles with liquid centres at Nottingham
University alongside Tony Blake who is
a professor in the School
of Biosciences and has
been interested in food and cooking since he was a child.
Blumenthal has certainly built up
an amazing alliance of like minded people including leading scientists. While
he is willing to share his knowledge and spread the word on molecular
gastronomy he laments the fact that there are still individuals, namely British
journalists, dragging their feet..
Critiques
of Molecular Gastronomy
Molecular
gastronomy seems to be more of a fad, like most trends, rather than a
revolution. From the beginning, some critics have scorned a way of cooking that
relies too heavily on technology and often chooses form over substance.
Joseph Maria Fonalleras, a
prominent writer and columnist said Ferran Adria has gone over the top, ‘ talking about dishes as if he were
discussing mathematics rather than cooking. Those who watch how Ferran Adria
uses a screwdriver to uncoil a thread of sugar to make it into a ring will
split their sides with laughter’.
People will be convinced that the nueva cocina has gone too far. Adria has also
been criticised by Santi Santamaria, a culinary traditionalist, who has three
Michelin stars for his restaurant Can Fabes. Kingstone, Santamaria takes aim at Ardria and his
disciples in his new book The Kitchen
Laid Bare for their use of synthetic additives- gels, thickening agents and
preservatives at the expense of locally produced ingredients. ‘I believe the interference of industry in
haute cuisine has reached new levels, in part because of your work’ writes
Sanatmaria in an open letter to Adria. Adria’s goal is to increase sensuality through taste, sight
and texture as well as originality. Like any skilled artist, his focus is on
originality and the authentic, of whatever type of food is being created. Nutritionists
agree, pointing out that the additives used to create El Bulli’s trademark
foams and airs have all been approved by the European Union, and that there is
no health issue as one would have to consume large amounts to have an adverse
reaction. Adria argues ‘that when Santamaria talks about industrial products, bear in mind that sugar is an industrial product, as is the best wine in
the world; its crazy to suggest that these additives are the biggest health
issue of our time; there are thousands of problems in day to day nutrition,
which are much more important than the fact that a handful of chefs are doing
something a bit different’. By
feeding the hunger for novel, bigger than life flavours, Adria is encouraging a
type of techni-colour food spectrum much beyond nature’s scope. No cooking is
natural, but as trend-setting chefs and food processing keep widening the gap
between raw ingredients and the finished dish, the consumer’s ability and
desire to create tempting food at home continues to atrophy. ‘Slow
foodies, have no fear. No one will be making foams in forty years, but plenty
of people will be enjoying fresh local mushrooms, simply sautéed’.
Fredy Girardet, a retired Swiss
chef who critiques avant garde cooking techniques cites ‘we need to finish with these mish-mashed, sweet tasting avant garde
dishes, where nothing is identifiable, neither texture, nor freshness, nor the
original taste of the product’. He also thinks that this type of culinary
experimentation does not bode well for the future of haute cuisine if young
chefs take this path as their model.
Marco Pierre White has also hit
out at the concept of molecular gastronomy, claiming the style is all about
attracting column inches. Speaking at Caterers Chef Conference he says of the scientific
approach to cooking ‘I just don’t get it,
what does it mean? Does it make food taste any better?’ (Harmer 2008).
The meat and potato enthusiasts
who dominate the dining scene remain sceptical and dining competition is
fierce. Those chefs involved in molecular gastronomy are indeed setting
themselves apart from the community. The question is whether their mixing of
haute cuisine and science will stand the test of time . Innovation should be
embraced but putting your menu so far out on the edge of reasonable tastes
makes it very prone to falling of the precipice completely.
Fundamentally, however, both
sides claim to be in pursuit of a certain purity and even authenticity
Molecular Gastronomy- Art, Science or Both?
Nico Landenis unequivocally
declares his deep conviction that cooking is a science and presentation is an
art. The well known food critic, Luca Vercelloni, says: ‘cooking is very different from art…Recipes are not masterpieces to be
exhibited in galleries…Chefs must be above all skilful executors’, rather than
inspired creators’ (Arouh, 2005).
The synergy between cooking and
science is dependent on sensible integration of the two disciplines. Home cooks
are about to learn what McDonalds and Kraft foods have known for more than
fifty years: placing food over heat is science and not art. The resistance to
food science has grown stronger with the local, organic and slow food movements
of late. Ironically, such gastronomic science has reached its apogee at the
same time as its near opposite, the preservationist Slow Food movement, which
seeks to preserve old traditions and methods of cooking. Each culinary movement
is reacting to the mass food culture: One rejects industrial food in favour of
authenticity; the other uses industrial food processing techniques to create
the rare realm of haute cuisine.
Is molecular gastronomy the same as
“culinology”? Clearly there is knowledge behind the enterprise of culinology
but as well as knowledge there is money and communication. Documents issued by
Universities that teach Culinology indicate that it involves some elements
which allow chefs to cook differently and therefore culinology is cooking and
not molecular gastronomy. The latter must be considered a scientific discipline
because it is about understanding and knowledge (looking for mechanisms and
establishing modes of operation). Thanks
to science, which teaches us that an egg yolk deserves to be the object of
curiosity and admiration, we have no need to be bored in a kitchen. Molecular
gastronomy he adds does not aim solely at attaining pure knowledge, as it seeks
also to give practical knowledge a sound foundation by explaining why
successful recipes work and why some mistakes happen. For example, if one
enquires why lumps occur when flour is placed in a hot liquid, you will be led
to useful conclusions that will allow certain culinary practices to be refined.
One does not have to be a scientist to be a
great chef, the latest food trends in restaurants such as El Bulli is all about
food as theatre rather than food as just food. Adria, states that he has never
ascribed any scientific origin to his creations, they have come about from a
purely culinary quest: observation and curiosity have been part and parcel of
his activity. For example, in 1998 when it was discovered that agar-agar could
withstand high temperatures, hot jellies were created based on nothing but
observation.
Adria, says ‘I think what we have here is a marketing operation and the public
should not be tricked into believing that molecular cuisine is a cooking
style’.’ To cook well, we must learn (its history, techniques, products, tradition
and innovation, culinary processes, etc.). Then, think, discuss, try out,
reflect, choose…And then constantly question anything we assume is true’.’ And
if in the meantime we need to resort to science or history books or any other
creative discipline, at least we shall acquire new information to reinforce our
culinary philosophy’. Bl ‘Tradition
is the base which all cooks who aspire to excellence must know and master, our
open approach builds upon the best that tradition has to offer’. As to the methods they employ, ‘It is all just cooking’. ‘We do not pursue novelty for its own sake,
We may use modern thickeners, sugar substitutes, enzymes, liquid nitrogen and
other non traditional methods but these do not define our cooking’. Blumenthal highlights that
they are a few of the many tools that they are fortunate to have available as
they strive to make delicious and stimulating dishes.
Blumenthal
offers that eating engages all the senses as well as the mind and that
preparing and serving food could possibly be the most complex of the performing
arts
‘science
looks for mechanisms of phenomena, whereas technology is using scientific
results to enhance a technique or a craft. As all recipes are composed of three
parts (the technically useless details, the definitions, and the culinary exact
measurements), molecular gastronomy should study all these parts, but only from
a scientific point of view’.
Gap between Science and Culinary Arts
The manufacturing food industry
has recently welcomed chefs into the business causing more than a few fireworks
in the product development laboratories as creativity clashes against the
disciplined application of scientific principles. Chefs bring a unique
viewpoint to the food industry as they do not see the food through analytical
or scientific eyes. They are creative and artistic individuals. While
scientists can give benefits to cooks, the relationship is also reciprocal-
scientists can gain from the skills, knowledge and innovation of chefs. They
are continuously contributing with new ideas, some of which are very
interesting and motivating from an industrial point of view. Chefs working with
scientists give the chefs opportunities that are rarely possible without this
collaboration, for example, access to processing equipment and analytical
device; further suggesting that it is important for chefs to develop a
scientific way of thinking, i.e. a generic approach to problems rather than an
approach very specific to a particular meaning. Many chefs fail to realise the
complexity of product development for products to be sold in retail stores, as
opposed to food service dishes. Corporate chefs will need to know how to scale
up products they develop for manufacturing and what guidelines will make the
food a success and be cost effective.
The intersection of molecular
gastronomy and the culinary arts is a natural meeting place of the two
cultures: scientific rationalism and the creative arts. Few of the general
public understand the scientific composition of food. However, scientists are
well placed to communicate such knowledge to society. By capitalising upon the
potential for the general public to listen to chefs, a bridge may be developed
to educate people about a healthier and improved manner of eating based on. With
experts from different disciplines such as history, culture, and industrial
design etc, are essential for progress in cooking, in particular collaboration
with the food industry and scientists which have already brought about
fundamental advances. ‘Sharing this
knowledge among cooking professionals has contributed to this evolution’.
Ferran Adria’s collaboration with
scientist and gourmet Pere Castells, resulted in the setting up of The Alicia
Foundation and so managed to exchange ideas and build up work structure. One
specific result of this partnership was the publication of a Scientific and
Gastronomic Lexicon, a tool designed to bridge the gap between cooking and
science.
Future of Molecular Gastronomy
‘What is the future of food once
we start to explore it scientifically’? ‘The
difficultly with the future is that it is hard to predict,. We should avoid
making the same mistakes that French chemist Marcellin Berthelot made about a
century ago; he predicted that the success of organic chemistry would allow us
to abandon traditional food and by the year 2000, eat nutritive tablets
instead. He was obviously wrong as humans are living organisms, with an
extremely sophisticated sensory apparatus that has evolved over millions of
years to detect odour, taste, consistency, temperature and more’
It seems that collaborations with
chefs are vital. The advantages for the chefs are clear: new dishes, new ways
of preparing existing dishes, new techniques. ‘For the chef, new horizons open through the understanding of some
physics, chemistry and the psychology of food’
The American culinary scene,
Sarkar and Cantu unequivocally predict that within ten years, half the
restaurants in the United States will offer that type of cuisine, and chefs
that are not adopting it will be left behind. What they agree on, however, is
that molecular gastronomy will not enter the domestic arena, under any label,
anytime soon. Professor This says that certain facts that come out of his
experiments, such as being able to make a chocolate mousse without using egg
whites or that the temperature of the eggs and the oil does not matter when
making mayonnaise, could save cooks time and/or money and might transfer into
home kitchens, but not on a large scale. Lack of special equipment, such as
emersion circulators, dehydrators and carbonators impede home cooks.
Nowaday’s we are just beginning
to realise the important roles all our senses play in affecting the ways in
which our brains interpret flavour. But we have a great deal to learn before we
fully understand the complexities of how we taste food and perceive and
appreciate flavour and texture. This journey of discovery which is the new
science of molecular gastronomy will be a stimulating and exciting one. In
Chicago, Homaro Cantu’s technological explorations at his laboratory, “Moto”
have attracted the attention of NASA
with whom Cantu now has a contract for space ready food.
New technologies leave their mark
on another sphere, which will play a main role in the future. Flavours and
odours are synthesised in laboratories for example, Swiss perfume giant
Givaudan, is contributing to the elaboration of more than 20 thousand
artificial odours (300 strawberry only), and biologists from the multinational
company organised a trip to the Madagascar forests in search of molecules from
which new aromas could be obtained.
Technologies such as microwave
ovens were developed due to research in food technology at American space
agency (NASA). The immediate task is to
make products stay fresher for longer- “products, which can be kept for months
without losing their nutritional properties and vitamin quality”, claims
Michele Perchonok from NASA. Techniques that are used include pulsing electric
fields, and high frequency sterilisation. A sandwich prepared in this way has
turned out to be edible in seven years. The results can be useful for a mission
to Mars although it seems nobody has tasted the sandwich yet .
Other molecular gastronomists
make the future seem exciting, especially if we can control food production
through better chemistry. The “meaning” of food seems now to be reduced to its
molecules, without adequate attention to the possible emergent properties that
may be produced. Charles Spence cites that the future of gastronomy has great
potential; to date; many of the advances in food design have come from a trial
and error approach.
The future seems to promise many new advances
in the design and preparation of foods that are based on a better understanding
of how the brain works. Any better understanding of how the brain puts together
what it sees, hears, tastes, smells and feels, can help us design novel food
experiences that more effectively stimulate the senses. McGee, (2004) adds that
new emphasis now is on flavours and on some particular molecules which create
flavour.
Prediction
of Molecular Gastronomy for the Domestic Arena
Fewer people actually do cooking-
because of prepared dishes at supermarkets, meal preparation kitchens and
restaurants will become even cheaper- the remaining brave cooks are going a
little science mad. This paradigm shift will not be such a big deal in practice
as for example an oven is very much an advanced science gadget and people use
meat thermometers. Practices will step up a little by replacing liquid
measuring cups with more accurate dry weight scales; vacuum sealer and a Crock
pot that stays at precise temperatures will enable cooks to sous vide meat
(which is cooking in a bag for a short time at high temperatures); cooks can
learn how to use agar-agar and xanthan gum (just better versions of gelatine
and cornflour, really); and a review of some high school chemistry will also be
useful.
Conclusion
Molecular gastronomy is still
relatively new, constantly changing and subject to misinterpretations in the
media and lacking a clear definition. However, in summary molecular can be
summarised as a discipline involving the study of physical and chemical
processes that happen in cooking. It investigates the mechanisms behind the
transformation of ingredients and investigates the artistic, social and
technical aspects of culinary phenomena in general.
Why choose me. ?
I am a food enthusiast and innovator with numerous accolades and awards.As you can guess I am also a molecular gastronomy enthusiast. The blog I composed gives people the option to decide for them selves what exactly molecular gastronomy is or isn't. For me personally I have taken molecular gastronomy to be both a food discipline and a science.
So to back up my opinion I have taken a truly Traditional Irish dish and have reconstructed in a molecular fashion using the new ingredients and techniques available at my disposal.
The dish. " Boiled bacon and Cabbage with parsley sauce.
The reconstruction involves the use of iso whippers, waterbath for precision cooking, hand blender for airs, emulsions created using agar agar , cabbage juice and olive oil. Also potato Gnocchi cooked in an alginate bath. The dish is to demonstrate by embracing new Phenomenons like "Molecular Gastronomy" that we can explore and do almost anything we want with old dishes(by transforming them into new creations)with the aid of the equipment, techniques and ingredients at our disposal.
The opportunity to meet professionals of different gastronomic fields, to savour the delights and traditional cuisine served in different ways. To promote Ireland in a Molecular Gastronomique way . To try and promote the fact that we are not miles apart from the elite when it comes to Gastronomy and Molecular Gastronomy.
And most of all to show that "molecular gastronomy" and new phenomenons alike should be embraced rather than shunned.
"The future of our generations relies solely on what we feed our children"
Why choose me. ?
I am a food enthusiast and innovator with numerous accolades and awards.As you can guess I am also a molecular gastronomy enthusiast. The blog I composed gives people the option to decide for them selves what exactly molecular gastronomy is or isn't. For me personally I have taken molecular gastronomy to be both a food discipline and a science.
So to back up my opinion I have taken a truly Traditional Irish dish and have reconstructed in a molecular fashion using the new ingredients and techniques available at my disposal.
The dish. " Boiled bacon and Cabbage with parsley sauce.
The reconstruction involves the use of iso whippers, waterbath for precision cooking, hand blender for airs, emulsions created using agar agar , cabbage juice and olive oil. Also potato Gnocchi cooked in an alginate bath. The dish is to demonstrate by embracing new Phenomenons like "Molecular Gastronomy" that we can explore and do almost anything we want with old dishes(by transforming them into new creations)with the aid of the equipment, techniques and ingredients at our disposal.
The opportunity to meet professionals of different gastronomic fields, to savour the delights and traditional cuisine served in different ways. To promote Ireland in a Molecular Gastronomique way . To try and promote the fact that we are not miles apart from the elite when it comes to Gastronomy and Molecular Gastronomy.
And most of all to show that "molecular gastronomy" and new phenomenons alike should be embraced rather than shunned.
"The future of our generations relies solely on what we feed our children"