BY GRACE S. YEK and KURT STRUWE

Faux caviar made with apple juice from El Bulli restaurant in Spain. Photopg 34 © Maurizio Borgese/Hemis/Corbis06.08 • www.ift.org DeconstructingDeconstructing MolecularMolecular gastronogastronommyy

Part food science and part culinary art, molecular gastronomy and its offshoots are revolutionizing food preparation, presentation, and eating and sensory experiences.

hat’s in a name? That which we call a rose by name to the “International Workshop of Molecular “ any other name would smell as sweet.” If only Gastronomy.” It remains a biennial invitation-only W Shakespeare knew, some 400 years later, how gathering of notable chefs and scientists (This, 2006). aptly those words would capture the quandary in which we find ourselves with regard to molecular gastronomy. It Five Goals of Molecular Gastronomy has many names: culinary alchemy, avant-garde cooking, When This presented his Ph.D. dissertation “Molecular scientific cooking, scientific cuisine, progressive cook- and Physical Gastronomy” at the University of Paris ing, experimental cuisine, and molecular cooking … in 1996, he identified five goals of this new science: but is it all the same? Many believe it represents a new “(1) to collect and investigate old wives’ tales about culinary genre that those out there chefs do. Reactions cooking; (2) to model and scrutinize existing recipes; to this new culinary movement range from enthusiasm, (3) to introduce new tools, products, and methods to buoyant with foam sauces and bubbling liquid nitrogen, cooking; (4) to invent new dishes using knowledge to perplexed looks or mutterings of disapproval. With from the previous three aims; and (5) to use the appeal what appears to be free-form dots scattered over the of food to promote science” (This, 2006). Of the culinary map, perhaps it’s time to connect those dots. original five goals, only the first two corresponded to Molecular gastronomy was born in 1988, when two science. The other goals were application and educational scientists, Nicholas Kurti and Herve This, created a new offshoots of the science of molecular gastronomy. scientific discipline to investigate culinary transforma- Today, molecular gastronomy still creates tions, specifically the chemistry and physics behind the uncertainty. The chimerical food creations we witness preparation of food (This, 2006). Gastronomy was defined today—fruit caviar, hot ice cream, and foam sauces—are by Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1825) in the Physiology creative kitchen applications of the science. The many of Taste as, “everything connected with the nourishment names given to capture this kitchen approach, ranging of man.” Alternately, Merriam Webster defines it as “the from molecular gastronomy to culinary alchemy, art or science of good eating.” As clear as the founding fundamentally refer to the same idea: Tapping into sci- fathers of molecular gastronomy were that it was to ence to improve cooking processes and expand culinary be a science, the very definition of gastronomy lies in innovation. Harold McGee (2004), an award-winning a nebulous terrain that is not strictly science but one food writer and eminent contributor to the field, perhaps where the vein of the culinary arts runs squarely across. said it best with the words “the science of deliciousness.” Kurti and This organized the first “International Peter Barham, a polymer physicist at the University of Workshop of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy” Bristol in the U.K. and a prolific contributor in the field, in 1992 in Erice, Italy, and invited both chefs and noted the interdisciplinary nature of the new science of scientists to advance the dialogue of this new sci- molecular gastronomy. It encompasses a wide variety ence. When Kurti died in 1998, This shortened the of topics, which includes understanding the effect of

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ran Adria has popularized the Science Meets Cooking molecular gastronomy movement worldwide with his foams and faux Cooking and science are converging to SCIENCE caviar. Best known for his culinary expand culinary boundaries and create foams, stabilized with gelatin or unique and innovative cuisines. lecithin, Adria does not use the term molecular gastronomy, and physics chemistry says, “There isn’t a molecular food cuisine. There’s a molecular move- ment, the molecular gastronomy, where some scientists cooperate with the world of cooking” (eG COOKING Forums, 2004). Adria’s place in COOKING science + cooking culinary history began in the 1980s when he was promoted to head chef classical fusion of a traditional French restaurant located on the Catalonian coast nouvelle of Spain, north of Barcelona, named El Bulli (Moore, 2008). Today, El Bulli is a three Michelin star restaurant, which Restaurant magazine recently ranked No. 1 SCIENCE in the world for the past three consecutive years (Harding, 2008). Whether chefs made the term cooking methods on the attributes Carte” (Gourmet, 2008), feature molecular gastronomy famous or of food, the investigation of new articles in Popular Science magazine the term made them famous, it’s cooking methods to improve and (2007) focusing on the new science sometimes taboo to use the term create new experiences in food, of food, and coverage in The New to describe their work. Another and the cerebral and sensorial York Times newspaper compar- chef who has played a major role interpretation of foods (Barham, ing chefs to chemists (Chang, in developing the movement is 2008). Thus, it is no wonder that a 2007)—is perhaps no accident but Heston Blumenthal, chef of Fat new crop of avant-garde chefs (i.e., the inevitable intersection of science Duck, in Bray, England. He said, practitioners of the molecular gas- and popular culture, held together “the term creates artificial barriers” tronomy movement) seek not only by the fascination with food. (The Observer, 2008). Known for to delight the guests’ palates, but While molecular gastronomy is its bacon and egg ice cream, the also evoke emotion and stimulate most developed in Europe, it is still Fat Duck earned three Michelin all other senses, making their food considered a new science. With the stars in 2004, and has been named nothing short of a performance. exception of a few Ph.D. programs one of the top three restaurants in It is also interesting to note in Europe, getting a degree or the world by Restaurant magazine that the early history of molecular carving out a career in molecular since 2004 (Harding, 2008). gastronomy coincided with an gastronomy is still hard to do Some of his popular dishes—snail American cultural phenomenon, (Pain, 2007). In the United States, porridge and salmon poached with the Food Network cable television the Research Chefs’ Association licorice—excite the senses, and station. The Food Network, pioneered the field of Culinology®, sometimes, challenge the palate. launched in 1993, popularized which blends equal parts of food Grant Achatz, whom many the idea of food to the masses on technology and the culinary arts. consider a true American pioneer an unrelenting 24/7 basis. The While only an approximation to in this movement, calls the food increasing media spotlight we see molecular gastronomy, it is a field “progressive American” at his on molecular gastronomy in the that offers viable higher educational Alinea restaurant in Chicago, Ill. United States—the recent episodes degrees and career paths. While tapping into science to cre- of “Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie: ate his foods, he distances himself The Science of Deliciousness” Chefs and Restaurants from molecular gastronomy, which (Gourmet, 2008) and “Gourmet’s Sometimes called the “Salvador he notes, feels like a science class. Diary of a Foodie: Avant-garde A la Dali of the kitchen,” chef Fer- Achatz wants his restaurant to

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feel more like the “performing dropping a flavorful base mixed arts” (savorycities, 2007). Known with sodium alginate into a calcium for its innovative approach to chloride solution. Upon contact dining, Alinea’s customers may with the calcium ions, gelation experience a floral or herbal occurs from the outside in. The aroma-filled pillow to complete longer the pearls remain in the cal- the experience of the food on their cium solution, the firmer and less plate. Achatz’s formula for success liquid the centers become. While is undeniable; Alinea was named this is a fairly new application in the “Best Restaurant in America” the kitchen, alginates are well in 2006 by Gourmet magazine. established as an ingredient in food Also leading the American manufacturing. The thickening charge are Wylie Dufresne of and gelling properties of alginate WD-50 in New York, N.Y., have long been used in sauces and and Homaro Cantu of Moto in re-formed products such as restruc- Chicago. These chefs continue tured fish fillets, onion rings, and to inspire and fascinate, as they herb-flavored alginate gels used Spherification helps to create a novel sushi product with a core of “pearls” create from the crossroads of to stuff olives (McHugh, 2003). surrounded by traditional rice and an avocado wrap. The pearls are made from a solution containing flavors, colors, and about 1% sodium alginate. Droplets of this culinary arts and science. Maltodextrin, a product of solution are added to a 1% calcium chloride solution to form the pearls. partial starch hydrolysis, is another Photo courtesy of Zoya Rozet and Gum Technology Applications of Food Science crossover from food science. An While food science is part of ingredient used to transform molecular gastronomy, its main oil to powder in the molecular Soy lecithin, in particular, avoids application has traditionally been kitchen, it is a staple ingredient in concerns of cholesterol when to provide safe and nutritious food processing used to disperse compared to the traditional use of food for the masses in the most dry ingredients, stabilize high-fat egg yolk for emulsifying power. efficient and economical manner ingredients, and a source of car- The emulsifying properties of possible. As the Institute of Food bohydrate in high-energy drinks. lecithin also make it a popular Technologists (IFT) defines it, food Recognizing the potential in ingredient to create airs and foams. science is “the discipline in which bringing food science applications Chefs today are magically biology, physical sciences, and into the kitchen, Inicon, www. transforming liquid oils into engineering are used to study the inicon.net, a European technology powder, sometimes even replicating nature of foods, the causes of their transfer program, was created in the flavor complexity of a whole deterioration, and the principles 2002 to impart knowledge from course. The “secret” ingredient underlying food processing” the science and food industry is tapioca maltodextrin. In the (IFT, 2007). Furthermore, the to the kitchen, and close the avant-garde restaurant kitchen, application of food science—food technical gap between the two. highly flavored oil is blended with technology—is defined as “the tapioca maltodextrin to transform application of food science to the Preparation and Cooking Techniques the oil from liquid to powder. selection, preservation, processing, Foams and airs, forms of foods “Powder oil,” having a high affinity packaging, distribution, and use that are certainly not new, were for water, pleasantly coats the of safe, nutritious, and wholesome made fashionable in fine dining mouth while releasing the potent food” (IFT, 2007). Neither the sci- by chef Adria of El Bulli with his flavors of the oil. Some chefs have ence nor the technology is geared arsenal of hydrocolloids and nitrous used this ingredient to turn peanut toward the study of restaurant oxide. One of his famous creations butter into a granular powder cooking processes or the creation is “warm gelatin,” to which he that reconstitutes in the mouth. of new dishes in the kitchen. adds agar (a seaweed powder) to Methylcellulose is a thermo- Molecular gastronomy has stabilize warm beef gelatin (The reversible gelling agent. When helped bring the tools and technol- New York Times, 2008). Another heated, the methylcellulose ogy that are commonplace in the of Adria’s signature creations are transforms into a gel, and as food industry to the restaurant foams, which are stabilized sauces it cools, it starts to liquefy. A kitchen. Take, for example, the aerated with nitrous oxide. popular use for this “upside-down” technique of spherification, where Lecithin is a staple ingredient ingredient is hot ice cream, a round “pearls” of gel with liquid used to emulsify sauces like new breed of ice cream that gets centers (“caviar”) are created by mayonnaise and vinaigrettes. firmer at higher temperatures. »»

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Heston Blumenthal intends to cookery’” (Adria et al., 2006). complement his recipes with sec- It comprises four key points: tions of science, ranging from ice 1. Three basic principles cream to meat science (Gourmet, guide our cooking: Excellence, 2008). Grant Achatz, when con- openness, and integrity. sidering the history of gastronomy, 2. Our cooking values speaks of the “explosion of new tradition, builds on it, and along techniques for the first time in with tradition is part of the years and years” (Gourmet, 2008). ongoing evolution of our craft. Recognizing the synergy 3. We embrace innovation— between the culinary arts and new ingredients, techniques, food science and technology, appliances, information, and the Research Chefs’ Association ideas—whenever it can make a champions this hybrid approach real contribution to our cooking. to food. The increasing number 4. We believe that cooking can of students in Culinology is perhaps affect people in profound ways, and indicative of the future genera- that a spirit of collaboration and tion of culinary practitioners, a sharing is essential to true progress generation which views the in developing this potential. Chef Kurt Struwe (right) and student Ross Kuchta experiment with pastries on the coexistence of the culinary arts While the article reflects the anti-griddle, which chills food to -30°F, at Southwest Minnesota State University’s Culinology program. and technology as second nature. thoughts and principles of the Photo courtesy of Jonathan Chapman Photography LLC We are witnessing a funda- authors, it is also indirectly a mental shift in how we think blueprint for the future of this of cooking. The distinguished new movement in cooking. Often Grace S. Yek, a member of IFT, is Chef Instructor contributors of this field— loosely referred to as molecular at the Midwest Culinary Institute and Assistant Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal, gastronomy, it has now emerged Professor in Culinology at the University of Thomas Keller, and Harold in the restaurant kitchens of Cincinnati, 2220 Victory Pkwy., Cincinnati, McGee—who recognized the pioneering chefs. Contrary to OH 45206 ([email protected]). Kurt Struwe, a rapid and sometimes misguided what some might believe to be a member of IFT, is Assistant Professor/Executive development of this “new fad, this new approach to food has Chef in Culinology at Southwest Minnesota cookery” collectively authored an the potential to be nothing short State University, 1501 State St., Marshall, MN article on “Statement of the ‘new of a revolution in cooking. FT 56258 ([email protected]). REFERENCES Adria, F., Blumenthal H., Keller, T., 20. Jan. 29, 2008. www.gourmet.com. Accessed April 3, 2008. McGee, H. 2006. Statement on the ‘new Gourmet 2008. The Gourmet Q&A: Popular Science 2007. The Future cookery.’ The Guardian. Dec. 10, 2006. Grant Achatz and Heston Blumenthal. of Food – Molecular Gastronomy Adria, F., Soler, J., and Adria, A. 2005. March 24, 2008. www.gourmet.com. for the Masses. November. “El Bulli: 1998–2002.” Ecco Press. Accessed May 7, 2008. Savorycities 2007. Alinea Restaurant Ajinomoto 2008. Activa TG Harding, C. 2008. The S.Pellegrino in Chicago with Chef Grant Achatz. Transglutaminase. www.activatg.com. World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2008. http://chicago.savorycities.com. Accessed May 6, 2008. Restaurant magazine. April 22. Accessed Feb. 5, 2008. Barham, P. 2008. Molecular Gastronomy. Hesser, A. 2005. Under Pressure. The Observer 2008. Molecular Discovery Channel. www.discoverychan- The New York Times. August 14. Gastronomy is Dead – Heston Speaks nel.co.uk. Accessed April 28, 2008. IFT 2007. What is Food Science Out. http://observer.guardian.co.uk. Accessed May 6, 2008. Brillat-Savarin, J. 1825. The Physiology of and Technology? www.ift.org. Taste. Penguin Classics, reprinted 1994. Accessed April 18, 2008. The New York Times 2008. Adapted McGee, H. 2004. On Food and Cooking: from Bittman, B., Adrià May Be Chang, K. 2007. Food 2.0: Chefs as Relaxing, But His Obsessions Are Still Chemists. The New York Times. Nov. 6. The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Simon & Schuster, New York. Abuzz, Sept. 13, 2006, and Lubow, A., eG Forums 2004. Q&A with Ferran A Laboratory of Taste, Aug. 10, 2003. Adria. EG Forums. December McHugh, D. J. 2003. “A guide to www.nytimes.com. Accessed May 6, 2008. 14. http://forums.egullet.org. the seaweed industry.” FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 441. This, H. 2006. Food for tomorrow? How Accessed April 4, 2008. the scientific discipline of molecular Gourmet 2008. Gourmet’s Diary of a Moore, B. 2008. Ferran Adria. About.com. gastronomy could change the way we Foodie: Science of Deliciousness. Episode www.about.com. Accessed May 6, 2008. eat. EMBO reports. 7(11): 1062-1066. 11. Jan. 23, 2008. www.gourmet.com. Pain, E. 2007. Molecular Gastronomy: Gourmet 2008. Gourmet’s Diary of a Something’s Cooking. Science. Foodie: Avant-Garde A La Carte. Episode November 2. www.sciencemag.org.

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