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Gourmet Special Effects, Courtesy of the Chef
Lasers, liquid nitrogen, calcium chloride—these days, you could mistake some gourmet chefs’ test kitchens for a science lab. The new frontier in avant-garde cooking is ‘molecular gastronomy,’ the application of scientific techniques to the culinary arts.
Molecular gastronomy’s founding fathers are Herve This, a French chemist, and Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti. This and Kurti researched the behavior of food molecules, but they couldn’t have anticipated the modern applications: gourmet chefs are using class 4 lasers (the type used for eye surgery) as a caramelizing device, liquid nitrogen as a cooling agent, baking soda and acid for the dish that needs a little extra fizz.
Lest you dismiss molecular gastronomy as a fad of culinary arts food science programs, take note of the A-List gourmet chefs pioneering the art: Wylie Dufresne of WD-50, Manhattan; Homaru Cantu of Moto, Chicago; Jose Andres of Minibar, Washington. These mavericks have pushed molecular gastronomy well beyond the chemistry of souffles to sophisticated searing and glazing techniques.
The most exciting developments, however, are in the cocktail bar. A new generation of avant-garde drinks made a splash recently at Manhattan’s culinary arts showcase program, Taste of the Nation. Gourmet chefs teamed up with bartenders to tweak the molecules of old standards. Particularly adventurous molecular mixes include:
- An ‘aired’ bloody Mary, featuring a fog of celery essence hovering over the cocktail
- A vodka martini with an unusual ‘olive’: a lollipop made from reduced olive brine and “salt crystallized in isomalt”
- A spherical mojito that melts in the mouth
Culinary arts programs have yet to retrofit their kitchens as science labs, but molecular gastronomy is making its mark on culinary education. A spirit of experimentation reigns in the test kitchens of many culinary arts programs. It’s an atmosphere where anything’s possible, as long as there is a mind creative enough to conceive of it.
Sources
Boyer King, Emilie. “Food: His Passion, His Science.” Christian Science Monitor.
Meehan, Peter. “Two Parts Vodka, with a Twist of Science,” The New York Times.
About the Author
Sonja Albrecht works as a writer for an online media company. She has also taught college writing and completed a Ph.D. in English.
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