Molecular Food: chemists' show!

Molecular gastronomy is a scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the transformation of ingredients, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general. [1]

In search of new recipes, pioneer cooks use both equipment and substances that are more common in chemical laboratories other than at kitchens. These are liquid nitrogen, infrared spectrometers, nuclear magnetic resonance analyzers, and vacuum devices.

Cook fills syringes with the smoke from grill during meat roasting, and before dish servicing, waiters release it upon the plate or inject directly into the meat so the guest shall feel both taste and aroma of the fire the meat was roasted on. Or here are the impeccable fried eggs. If you pierce it with fork, the yolk even spreads out, as it should be. But taste it, and you are delighted and surprised: the yolk is sweet and with flavor of carrot juice and maple syrup, and the white has savor of coconut and cardamom. These are the culinary illusions that the guests are coming for.

Molecular gastronomy can do anything – turn liquid into mousse or jelly, and fluff it up with an inert gas until it reaches the weightless foam state. Knowledge-based delicacy and unorthodox technology give the extraordinary taste combinations, e.g. the smoked eel with whipped caramel cream, and absolutely change the idea of traditional products. Therefore, the appearence of absolutely transparent meat dumpling with the filling being visible through its sides, is not accidental. You will realize that it is made of celery only if you taste it.

On the one hand, the molecular food develops unconventional thinking, and makes you look for the unusual in something common. On the other hand, there is a feeling that this is the new kind of luxury made-up for the rich to have something to show off. It’s like, we saw a lot of things but nothing like that.

However, tastes differ: one gets a great pleasure from “ the show of taste”, idolizes foamy dishes and calls them unique. As Wolfram Siebeck, a German restaurant critic, said after tasting the creations of such high gastronomy: “Any nonsense can he justified somehow. We call that progress”.


Fruit caviar [2]


Savory Beet Borscht Ice Cream [3]

Hot Frozen Soufle [4]


Oak Moss [5]

Carrot liquid ravioli [6]

References:

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_gastronomy

[2] http://www.flickr.com/photos/mylastbite/3155408076/

[3] http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicknamemiket/3560891349/

[4] http://www.flickr.com/photos/0aperture/3667264926/

[5] http://www.flickr.com/photos/ulteriorepicure/3112999102/

[6] http://www.flickr.com/photos/joyousx/3305709190/