Molecular Gastronomy
As stated by Herve This: "I defined molecular cooking as a culinary trend using ‘new’ tools, ingredients, and methods. Molecular gastronomy is science and science only".
Identification and description
Molecular gastronomy — in which avant-garde cooking techniques and equipment are used to transform flavors and presentations — may be a divisive issue within the culinary community, but there's no doubt that some chefs create molecular cuisine that is not only thought-provoking but also revolutionizes the palate
Two Oxford physicists, Nicholas Kurti and Hervé This, coined the term in 1988. Formally it refers to the scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. Apart from this, molecular gastronomy also incorporates the social and artistic components. It is distinct from the traditional food science, which is focused on food production on an industrial scale, nutrition and food safety. Until the establishment of molecular gastronomy, there was also no scientific discipline studying the chemical processes of cooking at home or in the restaurants – as opposed to food preparation for the mass market. (Mojca Jez, 2015)
Chefs use this specialized equipment and complicated techniques to push the limits of taste, texture, and perception. For instance, a Molecular Gastronomy menu may feature, Flaming sorbet that does not melt. Ice-cream that stretches like bubblegum. Butter made from peas. Instant noodles made by pouring cold liquids into hot soups. Even creating architecturally scaled models out of sugar, with a 3-D printer. Vegetables can be reduced down to little transparent spheres that are an explosion of concentrated flavour with an unexpected texture. (Ultimo, 2015)
As stated by Herve This: "I defined molecular cooking as a culinary trend using ‘new’ tools, ingredients, and methods. Molecular gastronomy is science and science only".
Identification and description
Molecular gastronomy — in which avant-garde cooking techniques and equipment are used to transform flavors and presentations — may be a divisive issue within the culinary community, but there's no doubt that some chefs create molecular cuisine that is not only thought-provoking but also revolutionizes the palate
Two Oxford physicists, Nicholas Kurti and Hervé This, coined the term in 1988. Formally it refers to the scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. Apart from this, molecular gastronomy also incorporates the social and artistic components. It is distinct from the traditional food science, which is focused on food production on an industrial scale, nutrition and food safety. Until the establishment of molecular gastronomy, there was also no scientific discipline studying the chemical processes of cooking at home or in the restaurants – as opposed to food preparation for the mass market. (Mojca Jez, 2015)
Chefs use this specialized equipment and complicated techniques to push the limits of taste, texture, and perception. For instance, a Molecular Gastronomy menu may feature, Flaming sorbet that does not melt. Ice-cream that stretches like bubblegum. Butter made from peas. Instant noodles made by pouring cold liquids into hot soups. Even creating architecturally scaled models out of sugar, with a 3-D printer. Vegetables can be reduced down to little transparent spheres that are an explosion of concentrated flavour with an unexpected texture. (Ultimo, 2015)
Molecular gastronomy techniques, tools and ingredients
Techniques
Tools
Ingredients
Techniques
- Spherification – for producing a caviar-like spheres with new flavors (apple, olive oil …)
- The use of emulsifiers
- Aromatic component – gases trapped in a bag, a serving device, or the food itself
- Whimsical or avant-garde presentation style
- Unusual flavor combinations, such as combining savory and sweet and flavor juxtaposition
- Flash freezing
- Creating new food textures (gels, foams, glass like food)
- Cooking in a microwave for creating dishes that are cold or even frozen on the outside with a hot liquid in the center
- High pressure cooking
- Improved temperature control
- High-power mixing and cutting machines for example ultrasonic agitation to create emulsions
Tools
- Liquid nitrogen, for flash freezing without allowing the formation of large ice crystals. Also used for freezing and shattering
- Anti-griddle (chilled metal top), for cooling and freezing
- Well controlled water baths for low temperature cooking
- Food dehydrator
- Centrifuge
- Syringe, for injecting unexpected fillings
- Ultrasound
- Vacuum machine
- Pressure cookers
- pH meters
- Tabletop distilleries
Ingredients
- Gelling agents like methylcellulose
- Sugar substitutes
- Emulsifiers like soy lecithin and xanthan gum
- Non-stick agents
- Enzymes, for example transglutaminase – a protein binder, also called meat glue
- Carbon dioxide, for adding bubbles and making foams
- Hydrocolloids such as starch, gelatin, pectin and natural gums – used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents and stabilizers, sometimes needed for foams
For better or for worse, molecular gastronomy is here to stay in the culinary world. And despite any popular doubt, scientific cooking has a place in developing healthy, nutritious cuisine. The hard truth is that the gums, powders, extracts, and emulsifiers so ubiquitous in experimental cuisine have been in our food for the better part of a century – as additives in manufactured food products or unwittingly as ingredients in our mom’s kitchen.
All cooking relies on at least a basic understanding of physics and chemistry, and as we try to understand more about cooking, the more we must understand the science behind it. Molecular cooking is nothing more than a lens through which we look at and how we make food.
I was shocked when I first saw the technique that was used by a chef in a TV show. I understand that everything changes as time goes by. Cooking methods are also being changed, but Molecular gastronomy did not look like a cooking as if it was completely a science. However. it was amazing work sensational to me. It changed my thoughts about the way of cooking and its concept. I know that I will need lots of studying and practicing to be able to use the technique like the chef I saw on TV. Even if I could not use the technique after becoming a chef, I would study about Molecular gastronomy and try to find another innovation from it which can motivate others.
All cooking relies on at least a basic understanding of physics and chemistry, and as we try to understand more about cooking, the more we must understand the science behind it. Molecular cooking is nothing more than a lens through which we look at and how we make food.
I was shocked when I first saw the technique that was used by a chef in a TV show. I understand that everything changes as time goes by. Cooking methods are also being changed, but Molecular gastronomy did not look like a cooking as if it was completely a science. However. it was amazing work sensational to me. It changed my thoughts about the way of cooking and its concept. I know that I will need lots of studying and practicing to be able to use the technique like the chef I saw on TV. Even if I could not use the technique after becoming a chef, I would study about Molecular gastronomy and try to find another innovation from it which can motivate others.
Reference
Chiarini, G., 2013, Origin and Concepts of Molecular Cuisine, http://www.world-gourmet-society.com/en/blog/culinary-guru-corner/44-origin-and-concepts-of-molecular-cuisine
Jez, M., 2015, Molecular Gastronomy – The Food Science, http://splice-bio.com/molecular-gastronomy-the-food-science/
Ultimo, 2015, What is Molecular Gastronomy, in 60 seconds, https://ultimocateringandevents.com.au/what-is-molecular-gastronomy/
Photo
https://www.finedininglovers.com/tag/molecular-gastronomy/
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/frankie-solarik-the-bartender-with-a-blowtorch/61454
https://www.pinterest.com/lovkeshsrivasta/molecular-gastronomy/
https://www.touchofmodern.com/sales/molecule-r-58b3526c-856d-47a8-84fd-65cd6f2aaae6/molecular-gastronomy-package