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 WShakespeare 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 06.08 • www.ift.org 35 pg DECONSTRUCTINGDECONSTRUCTING MOLECULARMOLECULAR GASTRONOGASTRONOMMYY 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 pg 36 06.08 • www.ift.org DECONSTRUCTINGDECONSTRUCTING MOLECULARMOLECULAR GASTRONOGASTRONOMMYY 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.