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..…Today’s Menu at
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"The Molecule Restaurant"
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Snail porridge
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Fake caviar made from sodium alginate and calcium
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Egg-and-bacon icecream also availabe as a pudding
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Pasta made out of Jello
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Sardine-flavored sorbet
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Monkfish liver with tomato seeds and citrus
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Barnacles with tea foam and spaghetti made from vegetables
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Slow-cooked hog with edible intestines
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Burning sherbets
Instant seaweed ice cream, fast-frozen using liquid nitrogen
Puree of mango and Douglas fir.
Or plain, ordinary Parmesan cheese ice cream.
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All our puds are served with calf's brains custard and gooseliver whipped cream
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The Symphony Orchestra cannot play today. While you eat your pasta, listen to molecular music instead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCKxWQCs3f0
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Are you sitting comfortably? .............
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The article on taste shown to the left is long and detailed. .
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Molecular Gastronomy - 1
and Molecular Cooking - there is a difference
Pearls before swine?
Red currants, Champagne and Cointreau in the same glass? Find out below.
GAS tronomy?
Part of what you need to make icecream using liquid nitrogen". Click the pic for more info on using the gas but not for icecream-making in this instance.
Open wide
"To understand the Molecular Gastronomy “movement” its best to start from First Principles. To begin, its useful to re-introduce ourselves with the physiological basis of taste. This means - let us examine the organs that higher vertebrates (specifically we humans) use to taste what we eat.Although we all have mouths and noses, it is easy to take them for granted and to not be aware of their complexity.
"The diagram above shows one view of a mouth and tongue. On the surface of the tongue, as you well know from touching your own, is a whole rugged landscape of bumps and crevasses."
More? Source? Click the pic.
"The diagram above shows one view of a mouth and tongue. On the surface of the tongue, as you well know from touching your own, is a whole rugged landscape of bumps and crevasses."
More? Source? Click the pic.
Meals at “The Molecule”
Welcome to our small restaurant but our portion sizes do not involve splitting the atom! You must start with our cocktail of Champagne “with delightfully iridescent pearls of Cointreau”. The picture is the first one on the left. You have seen the menu for today.
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This page introduces readers to Molecular Gastronomy, Molecular Cuisine and Molecular Cooking. They seem to be combined in the public mind. Separately or in that entity it is a controversial field. [When I refer to all three I will refer to them as the three Ms.] “Molecular”, it seems, is the buzz word for “scientific”. If any or all three Ms have been widely accepted and understood, there would be no call for this article. Molecular Gastronomy, however, gains more attention than the others and so it receives more attention in this article.
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The cocktail offered is from “Molecular Mixology” but that is all we need to say here at the moment – more later. The solid combination of Cointreau infused with strawberry in ‘pearl’ form within Champagne is a waste of two good beverages. Some of the menu examples are from one or other of the three Ms. Others are from Heston Blumenthal’s TV shows in March 09. You will recall some later. As has been seen, any of them might combine unusual, sometimes apparently non-sensical items or methods into dishes and those within the menu are an attention-seeking combination. However, that is not to propose that the examples are fictitious or that such a combination of dishes is possible within any of them. It is to introduce the "molecular" topic for discussion.
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The menu examples can be found by clattering at a keyboard or following a meandering mouse. Random internet quotations are all right to a point and within the bill-board purpose as in the menu above. With such items as egg and bacon ice cream, one might be forgiven for not being sure when to eat it. The 24 hour menu shows it in the first course and last course slots to be on the safe side.
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From this point, quotations are taken in context as opposed to being used to gain attention. The source of all definitions and quotations will be given at the end of the article. Suffice it to say that those who contribute anonymously within the text are at least known within the arena. They are unlikely to be known by those who only may have heard of perhaps one of the three Ms.
Some definitions of Molecular Gastronomy
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1. “The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation.”
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2. “The art and science of choosing, preparing and eating good food.”
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3. “The scientific study of deliciousness.” This is from Harold McGee who disassociated himself from the technique.
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4. “Combining the 'know how' of cooks with the 'know why' of scientists.”
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5. “Molecular Gastronomy is science, i.e. producing new knowledge using the hypothetico-deductive method, and calculations. This cannot be done in kitchens, and chefs cannot generally make it; it is not forbidden, but indeed it has nothing to do with food preparation. Indeed, to make it clearer, Molecular Gastronomy is making scientific experiments, including making Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, or solving differential equations.” That was Herve This, the co-originator.
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6. “Molecular Gastronomy is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of small scale food preparation. The term was invented by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti in a 1969 presentation to the Royal Institution called "The Physicist in the kitchen", and popularized by his collaborator the French scientist Hervé This.”
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http://www.edinformatics.com/culinaryarts/culinary_science.htm
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7. “The term was first used by Oxford physicist, Nicholas Kurti, in 1992 to describe a workshop in Erice, Sicily; the woman who initiated the workshop was Elizabeth Cadry Thomas, … . “The term doesn't have much intrinsic meaning, and should be used in connection with the workshop, not to identify a supposed style or method of cooking in restaurants. It's my experience that the average restaurant-goer is put off by the term, not attracted by it . .”
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http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/05/what-does-molec.html
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8. “Molecular gastronomy was recently chosen as word of the month (not quite sure exactly which month this was). They give the following definition: the art and practice of cooking food using scientific methods to create new or unusual dishes. This is not the best definition I’ve seen, to be honest. Why should one limit it to new or unusual dishes? When taken to extremes this only results in gimmickry. …. I suggest that we use it to describe more than foams, alginate spheres and liquid nitrogen ice cream.”
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http://blog.khymos.org/
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Comparing 6 and 7, it is easy to see why Herve This is described later as being annoyed with other writers who get things wrong. The dates of invention are miles apart.
A definition of Molecular Cuisine
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“Molecular Cuisine - Do Try This at Home
Liquid nitrogen ice cream, sodium alginate pearls, goose liver whipped cream these are the results of molecular cuisine, which also teaches how to produce 6.34 gallons of mayonnaise with only one egg yolk. Indeed, the term molecular cuisine is meaningless except to a small elite who are familiar with the chemistry, synthetic products and latest technology necessary to create this avant-garde cuisine.” More generally speaking, it's a cuisine free from the usual recipes, an approach without roots or references. However, this "way of cooking" claims an artistic dimension and a position among the conceptual arts.”
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http://www.thefoodpaper.com/features/texturas.html
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What is the nutritional worth of that quantity of mayonnaise made with one egg yolk? What is its gastronomic worth? With the introductory advice Do Try This at Home it is a wonder that the Health and Safety specialists have not intervened. Liquid nitrogen is a very dangerous substance well left to the small elite. Do not use it at home unless qualified to do so.
Molecular Cooking
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“For years, a new culinary trend called 'molecular cooking' has been touted as the most exciting development in haute cuisine. It is now the newest fashion for chefs to offer their customers fake caviar made from sodium alginate and calcium, burning sherbets, spaghetti made from vegetables, and instant ice cream, fast-frozen using liquid nitrogen.”
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That was Herve This, the co-originator of Molecular Gastronomy in part of his plea to ensure that it is not confused with Molecular Gastronomy. I asked why it was limited to haute cuisine. He replied .. “Indeed, in France,we introduced such ideas in schools since 2001 (elementary schools).”
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The Three Ms – interchangeable ingredients within the molecular dish? The public is confused.
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“”Other names …. have included "New Cuisine", "Progressive Cuisine", "Nueva Cocina", "Culinary Constructivism", "Modern Cuisine", "Avant-Garde Cuisine", "Experimental Cuisine", “Techno-Emotional Cuisine”, “Molecular Cuisine” and “Molecular Cooking”, though no singular name has ever been applied in consensus and the term molecular gastronomy continues to be used, in many cases, as a blanket term to refer to any and all of these things - particularly in the media.”
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_cooking#Other_interpretations_of_the_term
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“A Little On Molecular Cooking (AKA Molecular Gastronomy)
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From Hervé This to Ferran Adrià …. science in the kitchen is all the rage. Though molecular cooking finds its roots in molecular gastronomy, the two phrases have become synonymous with one and other.”
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http://www.foodiebuddha.com/2009/03/02/a-little-on-molecular-cooking-aka-molecular-gastronomy/
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Molecular Cuisine and Molecular Cooking are from the same kitchen drawer and it is easier still to see them as the same thing.
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“Harold McGee, who has helped cooks and chefs understand food and cooking at the molecular level for decades now …… wants people to be more precise when they use the term “molecular gastronomy,” or at least to acknowledge the origins of the term. …., he explains why: These terms, he says, are “hardening into bad pop cultural history that tags very different chefs and their ideas with the impressive but empty terms 'molecular gastronomy' and "molecular cuisine.'" …..”
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http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/05/what-does-molec.html
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And probably, Molecular Cooking is also an empty term.
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To return to Definition 6 of Molecular Gastronomy – it was by Harold McGee and it is reasonable to assert that if it holds much for gastronomy it would be more accepted than it is.
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Definition 7 of Molecular Gastronomy included “The term … doesn't have much intrinsic meaning, and should . [not] be used …to identify a supposed style or method of cooking in restaurants. It's my experience that the average restaurant-goer is put off by the term, not attracted by it . .”
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That was said by Michael Ruhlman and it is reasonable to assert that if the Molecular version holds much for gastronomy it would be more accepted than it is. Experts on TV who use clouds of liquid nitrogen to make instant ice cream and indulge in scientific or pseudo-scientific culinary processes new to the general public may operate within Molecular Cooking but the public does not draw the distinction between that and Molecular Gastronomy or Molecular Cooking if it has been heard of. I have respect for Herve This as a chemist dedicated to improving gastronomic horizons but although I share in the endeavour, we do not sail in the same sea.
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When asked what he understood about Molecular Gastronomy, a restaurant owner’s ten-minute tirade reduces to the notion that it is Nouvelle Cuisine with scientific knobs on. The association of ideas might stem from some at the time who thought that the portions were tiny [or molecular] and that Nouvelle Cuisine was “not much on the plate as it was all on the bill”.
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A practical example of Molecular Gastronomy?
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In Philadelphia, “… chef Jonathan McDonald uses tweezers to carefully arrange peppery nasturtium leaves over a cucumber and blood orange salad. A puffy marshmallow adorns one end of the rectangular plate. But this is no ordinary marshmallow. It's a lime caramel coconut marshmallow McDonald created using two hydrocholloids — xanthan gum and Versawhip, a whipping agent invented by Kerry Bio-Science — he measured to the tenth of a gram on a digital scale.”
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And no ordinary dish once you go beyond the salad. Make room for tweezers in your kitchen drawer. Put hydrocholloids on your shopping list. Take marshmallows to two decimal places.
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The Philadelphia food critic who wrote about MacDonald, interviewed another local chef who said “ “You can either do or talk about doing. And sometimes you just need to do. I like to be transparent and let the food speak for itself, as opposed to selling the technique before I sell the flavor. In some ways, there is no such thing as “molecular gastronomy.” Rather, there is only good cooking and bad cooking.” These modern techniques and structural ingredients are simply additional tools in the culinary toolbox.”
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Like your new tweezers in the kitchen drawer.
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But has the food spoken for itself? Would the marshmallow feel somewhat restrained surrounded by such ingredients? Should the salad shout “Hey, I’m the star attraction here!”? Would the marshmallow retort with “You only received a mention – there was far more about me!”
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Is Molecular Gastronomy [and its relatives] just a new technique using chemicals and test-tubes instead of food and saucepans?
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Is it either good or bad cooking carried out scientifically? Is it just another of two dozen or so “concept cuisines” like “nouvelle cuisine” which arrive and depart?
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Herve This is prominent as he created the term Molecular Gastronomy with the late Nicolas Kurti. The Professor is adamant that it is not confused with Molecular Cooking. He and I have held a lengthy discussion of Molecular Gastronomy on the internet. Like Harold McGee, he wants people to be more precise when they use the term. McGee wants people to know of his disassociation.
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Heston Blumenthal and Molecular Gastronomy
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Heston Blumenthal is prominent within the same small arena occupied by the three Ms. In the public mind, again, it is all the same. Some believe, as we will see, that he is an exponent of one of them but he disassociated himself from Molecular Gastronomy. It is tedious to refer to what he does as his version of the three Ms. I have coined the term Blumenthalism. That is easier to do than find a concise definition of it or what he does. As with anything connected with the three Ms, it is not easy to find a useful and meaningful definition.
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“Heston Blumenthal, 38, is presently at the forefront of this radical style of cooking (molecular gastronomy). His triple Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck serves dishes like sardine-flavored sorbet, pasta made out of Jello, snail porridge, or a puree of mango and Douglas fir.”
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However -1. Let’s look at a
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“Statement on the 'new cookery'
"Below is [part of] the international agenda for great cooking written by Ferran Adria of El Bulli, Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck, … and writer Harold McGee.” That was publicised in 2006, The crucial phrases for our purposes are:
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“The world of food has changed a great deal in modern times. Change has come especially fast over the last decade. Along with many other developments, a new approach to cooking has emerged in restaurants around the globe, including our own. We feel that this approach has been widely misunderstood, both outside and inside our profession. Certain aspects of it are overemphasized and sensationalized, while others are ignored.” [Part of the Introduction]
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“We embrace innovation - new ingredients, techniques, appliances, information, and ideas - whenever it can make a real contribution to our cooking. We do not pursue novelty for its own sake. We may use modern thickeners, sugar substitutes, enzymes, liquid nitrogen, sous-vide, dehydration, and other nontraditional means, but these do not define our cooking.” [Item 3]
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[This is separate quotation from elsewhere. - “Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F).”]
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“The fashionable term "molecular gastronomy" was introduced relatively recently, in 1992, to name a particular academic workshop for scientists and chefs on the basic food chemistry of traditional dishes. That workshop did not influence our approach, and the term "molecular gastronomy" does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking.” [Item 3]
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End of quotation from the Statement.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/dec/10/foodanddrink.obsfoodmonthly Item 3
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However -2 If surfing the web reveals statements and information to help us unravel the three Ms, there are few electronic beaches which offer anything coherent or conclusive. It is easy to conclude that proponents of any of the three Ms might come in on a mini-tidal-wave on the one beach devoted to them. Were you to look for a restaurant serving anything three M-ish at a reasonable, tasting price you would be best advised to head for the beach.
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Since that statement was written, Heston Blumenthal has been on UK TV Channel 4 in March 2009 serving frog blancmange etc. An excited viewer posted this comment on the TV website: “Wow, Heston is absolutely amazing, i loved the … absinthe/dildo jelly. ...”
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I did not see any of the programmes but later found them on the internet. Repeats only run for a month or so but there is an excerpt facility within the Channel 4 website.
There is a picture below of Heston Blumenthal’s “Frog Pond” where the white concoction is frog blancmange. The solid items are fried frog legs. The pond is a hollowed log lined with water lily. The Radio Times on 24 March 2009 said that, Heston Blumenthal’s menu would include “..calf’s brain custard, slow cooked hog with edible intestines, an ejaculating cake featuring white chocolate mousse, space dust and dry ice.” The description concluded with the question “..is he heading for a fall?”. Mixing meat and fruit seems to be a feature within the three Ms. This chef serves them in a testicle. Any desire on my part for gastronomic entertainment stops short of this type of food and I can only conclude that Blumenthalism is best defined as crude gimmickry.
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Assuming that you have read Blumenthalism to the sound of bloomin’ thal – ism with a bit more emphasis on the thal, I hereby coin a another term to describe it – “Blue Mentalism” with a bit more emphasis on the Men. Of course, the emphasis is on the man and I do not decry his efforts to widen the potential of food to entertain. The proponents of Molecular Gastronomy are now glad, we imagine, that he left the flock before becoming its black sheep. Customers of his restaurant “where the tasting menu costs £130” and who “reported feeling unwell” may not have been too concerned which style of cooking was used before the restaurant was closed.
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http://www.instantnews.net/the-fat-duck-shuts-over-poisoning-scare.aspx
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Blue Mentalism is gastronomy too far. I am developing the theme of Extreme Gastronomy and will include this chef in it. I applaud his initiative relating to reviving Tudor cookery and showing us how much we have advanced in our gastronomy. Crude sensationalism is not the way it may best be done. He has been labelled the founder of Blue Mentalism. I also label him the founder of a group of gastrati as those using the molecular movement to publicise their use of scientific methods relating to cooking in such a way as to bring it into further disrepute.
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Ferran Adria
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He also disassociated himself from Molecular Gastronomy, remember. However, someone else thinks he is still influenced by Molecular Gastronomy.
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“At El Bulli, the restaurant of Ferran Adria … another molecular gastronomist, dishes consist of monkfish liver with tomato seeds and citrus or barnacles with tea foam, or a parmesan cheese ice cream. During the six months his restaurant is closed, Adrià works on new recipes in a laboratory near the Barcelona market.”
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Brown bread ice cream has been around for decades but nobody hailed it as the best invention since sliced bread. Curiously, nobody today has claimed it as the obvious partner for Parmesan cheese ice cream. Savour them with tongue in cheek.
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A quick trip to San Sebastian
“At restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena experiment with their chefs on a daily basis. Upstairs from the restaurant you will find a small food laboratory with pH meters, sonicators and liquid nitrogen.”
There is a picture below. The internet caption reads “Egg and Truffle Flower in Goose Fat with Choriza of Dates”. The flower has been made with pH meters etc. You are probably contemplating whether your kitchen is big enough for Molecular Gastronomy. As long as you are not asked to wield the gear, and the flower is a reasonable price, like me, probably you would agree to taste it.
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In conclusion
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We have looked at various views of Molecular Gastronomy with only Definition 5 from Herve This in response to my request for greater clarification of what he said in an internet article. The clarification was a [goose-] fat lot of good. We need to explore his ideas within “ .. cannot be done in kitchens, and chefs cannot generally make it; it is not forbidden, but indeed it has nothing to do with food preparation.” He contradicts himself as we see later.
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Nicholas Kurti and Herve This
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“ … in 1988, Kurti and I decided that we should create a new scientific discipline to investigate culinary transformations. ….. When Kurti died in 1998, I shortened 'molecular and physical gastronomy' to 'molecular gastronomy'—as it should have been from the beginning … “
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Herve This was in at the start and has more recently made statements on Molecular Gastronomy. He wrote an article which was reproduced on the internet [he said later that it was for chemists]. I read it in February 2009 looking for a clear, up-to-date definition of Molecular Gastronomy. It was difficult to determine and I started an email discussion of various aspects of his article. I then bought his book. There is a lot of very interesting reading in it but as to a definition, all I could find is that “Molecular Gastronomy deals with culinary transformations and the sensory phenomena associated with eating.”.” [Page 3.]
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Although readers of the book can distil from it whatever purposes Molecular Gastronomy has to offer, they can be forgiven for not seeing the logs for the trees if they have not read it.
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His article gave more information. “Initially, …. molecular gastronomy had five aims: to collect and investigate old wives' tales about cooking; to model and scrutinize existing recipes; to introduce new tools, products and methods to cooking; to invent new dishes using knowledge from the previous three aims; and to use the appeal of food to promote science.”
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Herve This elaborated on its artistic aspects and said “… if we want to study the art component of culinary practice, we have to analyze the aesthetics of food.” He then progressed to epic poetry. It is unclear how it relates to Molecular Gastronomy.
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Professor This was clearly annoyed with food writers etc who incorporate the other Ms under the heading of Molecular Gastronomy. It is easy to understand how he feels about such writers who distort press releases etc . However, I suggested it is a lot to do with what they are told. If it goes over their heads it will do the same for their readers.
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At the beginning of his article he wants no part of Molecular Cooking with its burning sherbets, fake caviar, and instant ice cream fast frozen using liquid nitrogen. I asked about the instant aspect. He replied virtually defending this example of Molecular Cooking in that “The question is not rapidity but quality.” It is more to do with smaller ice crystals. You and I know that five-star restaurant ice cream is far superior to the supermarket commodity. Could we detect the difference if it were made instantly [amid the clouds of gas]?
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Herve This further argued for Molecular Cooking and instant ice cream. “ . . there is a lot of fun in making it in the dinner room: smoke, etc. This can contribute to make cooking lively and spectacular. Why not? ” Make up your mind, Herve.
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He may consider before lunch that Molecular Gastronomy does not include any kind of cooking [“food preparation”]. After lunch, it does. Remember those three chefs earlier who said that "molecular gastronomy" does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking.” That may be nearer to a definition of something.
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I found the exercise to be a roundabout on which the clarity sought was always six spins ahead but only sometimes reached. He said that Molecular Gastronomy “has nothing to do with food preparation.” but it aims “to invent new dishes”. [I asked what it is for, then, but there was no reply.]
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He concluded his article with:
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“And what does molecular gastronomy hold for chefs? For them, the scientific exploration of cooking is even more important. Science is the basis for technology and … innovations, so this field will help them to create exciting new dishes and inventions. …. However, for chefs, and hopefully for non-chefs as well, the main aim is to surprise and delight their guests or their family with exciting, tasty and healthy food.”
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The chefs have enough experience to look after themselves even though Molecular Gastronomy at one point steers clear of food preparation and at another, helps chefs create exciting new dishes and inventions [but not knowledge]. Most chefs, however, would react adversely to being told that “Molecular Gastronomy is science, i.e. producing new knowledge using the hypothetico-deductive method, and calculations. This cannot be done in kitchens, and chefs cannot generally make it..” After all, they create more new dishes than Molecular Gastronomy.
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Chefs have been informed by Herve This that they “produce food not knowledge”. I presented him with plenty of argument to the contrary.
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The non-chefs who will surprise and delight their family with exciting, tasty and healthy food need to be wary and scientifically educated. As has been implied, at least one item used heralds a new Dangerous GAStronomy. Some food writers/critics ensure that sonic this, clouds of gas and differential that are all perceived as part of Molecular Gastronomy. No matter as “indeed it has nothing to do with food preparation”. It is more than adding tweezers to your kitchen drawer.
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Within the molecular movement, Professor This is making the most valid contribution. His heart is in the right place and he is not a candidate for the gastrati. As an example of his other output, I refer to his explanation of why a teaspoon in the neck of a bottle of Champagne does not prevent the bubbles escaping. It can be found as detailed below.
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A Generic Name?
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As they are much of a molecular muchness, madness, even, you might wonder why there is no single name for these offerings and methods. There are too many of them: remember that list - “ "New Cuisine", "Progressive Cuisine", "Nueva Cocina", "Culinary Constructivism", "Modern Cuisine", "Avant-Garde Cuisine", "Experimental Cuisine", “Techno-Emotional Cuisine”, “Molecular Cuisine” and “Molecular Cooking” “. I can go no further than “The Molecular Muddle” or “Molecularism”, plus “Blue Mentalism” for a specific version but it does no justice to the others if justice is warranted. Whatever it is called, is more than adding tweezers to your kitchen drawer.
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The discussion between Herve This and I can be found on the “Molecular Gastronomy 2” page on the website home page. His Champagne contribution is to be found via the “Gastronomy for All” page. Click the “”Beverage Gastronomy ” link and on arrival click “Alcoholic Drinks”.
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Following two related pictures, you can see more information and sources in context included in material you have seen above.
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This page introduces readers to Molecular Gastronomy, Molecular Cuisine and Molecular Cooking. They seem to be combined in the public mind. Separately or in that entity it is a controversial field. [When I refer to all three I will refer to them as the three Ms.] “Molecular”, it seems, is the buzz word for “scientific”. If any or all three Ms have been widely accepted and understood, there would be no call for this article. Molecular Gastronomy, however, gains more attention than the others and so it receives more attention in this article.
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The cocktail offered is from “Molecular Mixology” but that is all we need to say here at the moment – more later. The solid combination of Cointreau infused with strawberry in ‘pearl’ form within Champagne is a waste of two good beverages. Some of the menu examples are from one or other of the three Ms. Others are from Heston Blumenthal’s TV shows in March 09. You will recall some later. As has been seen, any of them might combine unusual, sometimes apparently non-sensical items or methods into dishes and those within the menu are an attention-seeking combination. However, that is not to propose that the examples are fictitious or that such a combination of dishes is possible within any of them. It is to introduce the "molecular" topic for discussion.
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The menu examples can be found by clattering at a keyboard or following a meandering mouse. Random internet quotations are all right to a point and within the bill-board purpose as in the menu above. With such items as egg and bacon ice cream, one might be forgiven for not being sure when to eat it. The 24 hour menu shows it in the first course and last course slots to be on the safe side.
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From this point, quotations are taken in context as opposed to being used to gain attention. The source of all definitions and quotations will be given at the end of the article. Suffice it to say that those who contribute anonymously within the text are at least known within the arena. They are unlikely to be known by those who only may have heard of perhaps one of the three Ms.
Some definitions of Molecular Gastronomy
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1. “The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation.”
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2. “The art and science of choosing, preparing and eating good food.”
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3. “The scientific study of deliciousness.” This is from Harold McGee who disassociated himself from the technique.
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4. “Combining the 'know how' of cooks with the 'know why' of scientists.”
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5. “Molecular Gastronomy is science, i.e. producing new knowledge using the hypothetico-deductive method, and calculations. This cannot be done in kitchens, and chefs cannot generally make it; it is not forbidden, but indeed it has nothing to do with food preparation. Indeed, to make it clearer, Molecular Gastronomy is making scientific experiments, including making Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, or solving differential equations.” That was Herve This, the co-originator.
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6. “Molecular Gastronomy is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of small scale food preparation. The term was invented by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti in a 1969 presentation to the Royal Institution called "The Physicist in the kitchen", and popularized by his collaborator the French scientist Hervé This.”
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http://www.edinformatics.com/culinaryarts/culinary_science.htm
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7. “The term was first used by Oxford physicist, Nicholas Kurti, in 1992 to describe a workshop in Erice, Sicily; the woman who initiated the workshop was Elizabeth Cadry Thomas, … . “The term doesn't have much intrinsic meaning, and should be used in connection with the workshop, not to identify a supposed style or method of cooking in restaurants. It's my experience that the average restaurant-goer is put off by the term, not attracted by it . .”
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http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/05/what-does-molec.html
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8. “Molecular gastronomy was recently chosen as word of the month (not quite sure exactly which month this was). They give the following definition: the art and practice of cooking food using scientific methods to create new or unusual dishes. This is not the best definition I’ve seen, to be honest. Why should one limit it to new or unusual dishes? When taken to extremes this only results in gimmickry. …. I suggest that we use it to describe more than foams, alginate spheres and liquid nitrogen ice cream.”
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http://blog.khymos.org/
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Comparing 6 and 7, it is easy to see why Herve This is described later as being annoyed with other writers who get things wrong. The dates of invention are miles apart.
A definition of Molecular Cuisine
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“Molecular Cuisine - Do Try This at Home
Liquid nitrogen ice cream, sodium alginate pearls, goose liver whipped cream these are the results of molecular cuisine, which also teaches how to produce 6.34 gallons of mayonnaise with only one egg yolk. Indeed, the term molecular cuisine is meaningless except to a small elite who are familiar with the chemistry, synthetic products and latest technology necessary to create this avant-garde cuisine.” More generally speaking, it's a cuisine free from the usual recipes, an approach without roots or references. However, this "way of cooking" claims an artistic dimension and a position among the conceptual arts.”
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http://www.thefoodpaper.com/features/texturas.html
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What is the nutritional worth of that quantity of mayonnaise made with one egg yolk? What is its gastronomic worth? With the introductory advice Do Try This at Home it is a wonder that the Health and Safety specialists have not intervened. Liquid nitrogen is a very dangerous substance well left to the small elite. Do not use it at home unless qualified to do so.
Molecular Cooking
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“For years, a new culinary trend called 'molecular cooking' has been touted as the most exciting development in haute cuisine. It is now the newest fashion for chefs to offer their customers fake caviar made from sodium alginate and calcium, burning sherbets, spaghetti made from vegetables, and instant ice cream, fast-frozen using liquid nitrogen.”
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That was Herve This, the co-originator of Molecular Gastronomy in part of his plea to ensure that it is not confused with Molecular Gastronomy. I asked why it was limited to haute cuisine. He replied .. “Indeed, in France,we introduced such ideas in schools since 2001 (elementary schools).”
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The Three Ms – interchangeable ingredients within the molecular dish? The public is confused.
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“”Other names …. have included "New Cuisine", "Progressive Cuisine", "Nueva Cocina", "Culinary Constructivism", "Modern Cuisine", "Avant-Garde Cuisine", "Experimental Cuisine", “Techno-Emotional Cuisine”, “Molecular Cuisine” and “Molecular Cooking”, though no singular name has ever been applied in consensus and the term molecular gastronomy continues to be used, in many cases, as a blanket term to refer to any and all of these things - particularly in the media.”
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_cooking#Other_interpretations_of_the_term
.Here is an example of how two of the terms are combined in the public mind:
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“A Little On Molecular Cooking (AKA Molecular Gastronomy)
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From Hervé This to Ferran Adrià …. science in the kitchen is all the rage. Though molecular cooking finds its roots in molecular gastronomy, the two phrases have become synonymous with one and other.”
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http://www.foodiebuddha.com/2009/03/02/a-little-on-molecular-cooking-aka-molecular-gastronomy/
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Molecular Cuisine and Molecular Cooking are from the same kitchen drawer and it is easier still to see them as the same thing.
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“Harold McGee, who has helped cooks and chefs understand food and cooking at the molecular level for decades now …… wants people to be more precise when they use the term “molecular gastronomy,” or at least to acknowledge the origins of the term. …., he explains why: These terms, he says, are “hardening into bad pop cultural history that tags very different chefs and their ideas with the impressive but empty terms 'molecular gastronomy' and "molecular cuisine.'" …..”
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http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/05/what-does-molec.html
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And probably, Molecular Cooking is also an empty term.
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To return to Definition 6 of Molecular Gastronomy – it was by Harold McGee and it is reasonable to assert that if it holds much for gastronomy it would be more accepted than it is.
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Definition 7 of Molecular Gastronomy included “The term … doesn't have much intrinsic meaning, and should . [not] be used …to identify a supposed style or method of cooking in restaurants. It's my experience that the average restaurant-goer is put off by the term, not attracted by it . .”
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That was said by Michael Ruhlman and it is reasonable to assert that if the Molecular version holds much for gastronomy it would be more accepted than it is. Experts on TV who use clouds of liquid nitrogen to make instant ice cream and indulge in scientific or pseudo-scientific culinary processes new to the general public may operate within Molecular Cooking but the public does not draw the distinction between that and Molecular Gastronomy or Molecular Cooking if it has been heard of. I have respect for Herve This as a chemist dedicated to improving gastronomic horizons but although I share in the endeavour, we do not sail in the same sea.
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When asked what he understood about Molecular Gastronomy, a restaurant owner’s ten-minute tirade reduces to the notion that it is Nouvelle Cuisine with scientific knobs on. The association of ideas might stem from some at the time who thought that the portions were tiny [or molecular] and that Nouvelle Cuisine was “not much on the plate as it was all on the bill”.
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A practical example of Molecular Gastronomy?
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In Philadelphia, “… chef Jonathan McDonald uses tweezers to carefully arrange peppery nasturtium leaves over a cucumber and blood orange salad. A puffy marshmallow adorns one end of the rectangular plate. But this is no ordinary marshmallow. It's a lime caramel coconut marshmallow McDonald created using two hydrocholloids — xanthan gum and Versawhip, a whipping agent invented by Kerry Bio-Science — he measured to the tenth of a gram on a digital scale.”
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And no ordinary dish once you go beyond the salad. Make room for tweezers in your kitchen drawer. Put hydrocholloids on your shopping list. Take marshmallows to two decimal places.
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The Philadelphia food critic who wrote about MacDonald, interviewed another local chef who said “ “You can either do or talk about doing. And sometimes you just need to do. I like to be transparent and let the food speak for itself, as opposed to selling the technique before I sell the flavor. In some ways, there is no such thing as “molecular gastronomy.” Rather, there is only good cooking and bad cooking.” These modern techniques and structural ingredients are simply additional tools in the culinary toolbox.”
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Like your new tweezers in the kitchen drawer.
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But has the food spoken for itself? Would the marshmallow feel somewhat restrained surrounded by such ingredients? Should the salad shout “Hey, I’m the star attraction here!”? Would the marshmallow retort with “You only received a mention – there was far more about me!”
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Is Molecular Gastronomy [and its relatives] just a new technique using chemicals and test-tubes instead of food and saucepans?
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Is it either good or bad cooking carried out scientifically? Is it just another of two dozen or so “concept cuisines” like “nouvelle cuisine” which arrive and depart?
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Herve This is prominent as he created the term Molecular Gastronomy with the late Nicolas Kurti. The Professor is adamant that it is not confused with Molecular Cooking. He and I have held a lengthy discussion of Molecular Gastronomy on the internet. Like Harold McGee, he wants people to be more precise when they use the term. McGee wants people to know of his disassociation.
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Heston Blumenthal and Molecular Gastronomy
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Heston Blumenthal is prominent within the same small arena occupied by the three Ms. In the public mind, again, it is all the same. Some believe, as we will see, that he is an exponent of one of them but he disassociated himself from Molecular Gastronomy. It is tedious to refer to what he does as his version of the three Ms. I have coined the term Blumenthalism. That is easier to do than find a concise definition of it or what he does. As with anything connected with the three Ms, it is not easy to find a useful and meaningful definition.
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“Heston Blumenthal, 38, is presently at the forefront of this radical style of cooking (molecular gastronomy). His triple Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck serves dishes like sardine-flavored sorbet, pasta made out of Jello, snail porridge, or a puree of mango and Douglas fir.”
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However -1. Let’s look at a
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“Statement on the 'new cookery'
"Below is [part of] the international agenda for great cooking written by Ferran Adria of El Bulli, Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck, … and writer Harold McGee.” That was publicised in 2006, The crucial phrases for our purposes are:
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“The world of food has changed a great deal in modern times. Change has come especially fast over the last decade. Along with many other developments, a new approach to cooking has emerged in restaurants around the globe, including our own. We feel that this approach has been widely misunderstood, both outside and inside our profession. Certain aspects of it are overemphasized and sensationalized, while others are ignored.” [Part of the Introduction]
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“We embrace innovation - new ingredients, techniques, appliances, information, and ideas - whenever it can make a real contribution to our cooking. We do not pursue novelty for its own sake. We may use modern thickeners, sugar substitutes, enzymes, liquid nitrogen, sous-vide, dehydration, and other nontraditional means, but these do not define our cooking.” [Item 3]
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[This is separate quotation from elsewhere. - “Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F).”]
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“The fashionable term "molecular gastronomy" was introduced relatively recently, in 1992, to name a particular academic workshop for scientists and chefs on the basic food chemistry of traditional dishes. That workshop did not influence our approach, and the term "molecular gastronomy" does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking.” [Item 3]
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End of quotation from the Statement.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/dec/10/foodanddrink.obsfoodmonthly Item 3
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However -2 If surfing the web reveals statements and information to help us unravel the three Ms, there are few electronic beaches which offer anything coherent or conclusive. It is easy to conclude that proponents of any of the three Ms might come in on a mini-tidal-wave on the one beach devoted to them. Were you to look for a restaurant serving anything three M-ish at a reasonable, tasting price you would be best advised to head for the beach.
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Since that statement was written, Heston Blumenthal has been on UK TV Channel 4 in March 2009 serving frog blancmange etc. An excited viewer posted this comment on the TV website: “Wow, Heston is absolutely amazing, i loved the … absinthe/dildo jelly. ...”
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I did not see any of the programmes but later found them on the internet. Repeats only run for a month or so but there is an excerpt facility within the Channel 4 website.
There is a picture below of Heston Blumenthal’s “Frog Pond” where the white concoction is frog blancmange. The solid items are fried frog legs. The pond is a hollowed log lined with water lily. The Radio Times on 24 March 2009 said that, Heston Blumenthal’s menu would include “..calf’s brain custard, slow cooked hog with edible intestines, an ejaculating cake featuring white chocolate mousse, space dust and dry ice.” The description concluded with the question “..is he heading for a fall?”. Mixing meat and fruit seems to be a feature within the three Ms. This chef serves them in a testicle. Any desire on my part for gastronomic entertainment stops short of this type of food and I can only conclude that Blumenthalism is best defined as crude gimmickry.
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Assuming that you have read Blumenthalism to the sound of bloomin’ thal – ism with a bit more emphasis on the thal, I hereby coin a another term to describe it – “Blue Mentalism” with a bit more emphasis on the Men. Of course, the emphasis is on the man and I do not decry his efforts to widen the potential of food to entertain. The proponents of Molecular Gastronomy are now glad, we imagine, that he left the flock before becoming its black sheep. Customers of his restaurant “where the tasting menu costs £130” and who “reported feeling unwell” may not have been too concerned which style of cooking was used before the restaurant was closed.
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http://www.instantnews.net/the-fat-duck-shuts-over-poisoning-scare.aspx
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Blue Mentalism is gastronomy too far. I am developing the theme of Extreme Gastronomy and will include this chef in it. I applaud his initiative relating to reviving Tudor cookery and showing us how much we have advanced in our gastronomy. Crude sensationalism is not the way it may best be done. He has been labelled the founder of Blue Mentalism. I also label him the founder of a group of gastrati as those using the molecular movement to publicise their use of scientific methods relating to cooking in such a way as to bring it into further disrepute.
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Ferran Adria
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He also disassociated himself from Molecular Gastronomy, remember. However, someone else thinks he is still influenced by Molecular Gastronomy.
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“At El Bulli, the restaurant of Ferran Adria … another molecular gastronomist, dishes consist of monkfish liver with tomato seeds and citrus or barnacles with tea foam, or a parmesan cheese ice cream. During the six months his restaurant is closed, Adrià works on new recipes in a laboratory near the Barcelona market.”
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Brown bread ice cream has been around for decades but nobody hailed it as the best invention since sliced bread. Curiously, nobody today has claimed it as the obvious partner for Parmesan cheese ice cream. Savour them with tongue in cheek.
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A quick trip to San Sebastian
“At restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena experiment with their chefs on a daily basis. Upstairs from the restaurant you will find a small food laboratory with pH meters, sonicators and liquid nitrogen.”
There is a picture below. The internet caption reads “Egg and Truffle Flower in Goose Fat with Choriza of Dates”. The flower has been made with pH meters etc. You are probably contemplating whether your kitchen is big enough for Molecular Gastronomy. As long as you are not asked to wield the gear, and the flower is a reasonable price, like me, probably you would agree to taste it.
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In conclusion
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We have looked at various views of Molecular Gastronomy with only Definition 5 from Herve This in response to my request for greater clarification of what he said in an internet article. The clarification was a [goose-] fat lot of good. We need to explore his ideas within “ .. cannot be done in kitchens, and chefs cannot generally make it; it is not forbidden, but indeed it has nothing to do with food preparation.” He contradicts himself as we see later.
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Nicholas Kurti and Herve This
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“ … in 1988, Kurti and I decided that we should create a new scientific discipline to investigate culinary transformations. ….. When Kurti died in 1998, I shortened 'molecular and physical gastronomy' to 'molecular gastronomy'—as it should have been from the beginning … “
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Herve This was in at the start and has more recently made statements on Molecular Gastronomy. He wrote an article which was reproduced on the internet [he said later that it was for chemists]. I read it in February 2009 looking for a clear, up-to-date definition of Molecular Gastronomy. It was difficult to determine and I started an email discussion of various aspects of his article. I then bought his book. There is a lot of very interesting reading in it but as to a definition, all I could find is that “Molecular Gastronomy deals with culinary transformations and the sensory phenomena associated with eating.”.” [Page 3.]
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Although readers of the book can distil from it whatever purposes Molecular Gastronomy has to offer, they can be forgiven for not seeing the logs for the trees if they have not read it.
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His article gave more information. “Initially, …. molecular gastronomy had five aims: to collect and investigate old wives' tales about cooking; to model and scrutinize existing recipes; to introduce new tools, products and methods to cooking; to invent new dishes using knowledge from the previous three aims; and to use the appeal of food to promote science.”
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Herve This elaborated on its artistic aspects and said “… if we want to study the art component of culinary practice, we have to analyze the aesthetics of food.” He then progressed to epic poetry. It is unclear how it relates to Molecular Gastronomy.
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Professor This was clearly annoyed with food writers etc who incorporate the other Ms under the heading of Molecular Gastronomy. It is easy to understand how he feels about such writers who distort press releases etc . However, I suggested it is a lot to do with what they are told. If it goes over their heads it will do the same for their readers.
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At the beginning of his article he wants no part of Molecular Cooking with its burning sherbets, fake caviar, and instant ice cream fast frozen using liquid nitrogen. I asked about the instant aspect. He replied virtually defending this example of Molecular Cooking in that “The question is not rapidity but quality.” It is more to do with smaller ice crystals. You and I know that five-star restaurant ice cream is far superior to the supermarket commodity. Could we detect the difference if it were made instantly [amid the clouds of gas]?
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Herve This further argued for Molecular Cooking and instant ice cream. “ . . there is a lot of fun in making it in the dinner room: smoke, etc. This can contribute to make cooking lively and spectacular. Why not? ” Make up your mind, Herve.
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He may consider before lunch that Molecular Gastronomy does not include any kind of cooking [“food preparation”]. After lunch, it does. Remember those three chefs earlier who said that "molecular gastronomy" does not describe our cooking, or indeed any style of cooking.” That may be nearer to a definition of something.
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I found the exercise to be a roundabout on which the clarity sought was always six spins ahead but only sometimes reached. He said that Molecular Gastronomy “has nothing to do with food preparation.” but it aims “to invent new dishes”. [I asked what it is for, then, but there was no reply.]
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He concluded his article with:
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“And what does molecular gastronomy hold for chefs? For them, the scientific exploration of cooking is even more important. Science is the basis for technology and … innovations, so this field will help them to create exciting new dishes and inventions. …. However, for chefs, and hopefully for non-chefs as well, the main aim is to surprise and delight their guests or their family with exciting, tasty and healthy food.”
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The chefs have enough experience to look after themselves even though Molecular Gastronomy at one point steers clear of food preparation and at another, helps chefs create exciting new dishes and inventions [but not knowledge]. Most chefs, however, would react adversely to being told that “Molecular Gastronomy is science, i.e. producing new knowledge using the hypothetico-deductive method, and calculations. This cannot be done in kitchens, and chefs cannot generally make it..” After all, they create more new dishes than Molecular Gastronomy.
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Chefs have been informed by Herve This that they “produce food not knowledge”. I presented him with plenty of argument to the contrary.
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The non-chefs who will surprise and delight their family with exciting, tasty and healthy food need to be wary and scientifically educated. As has been implied, at least one item used heralds a new Dangerous GAStronomy. Some food writers/critics ensure that sonic this, clouds of gas and differential that are all perceived as part of Molecular Gastronomy. No matter as “indeed it has nothing to do with food preparation”. It is more than adding tweezers to your kitchen drawer.
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Within the molecular movement, Professor This is making the most valid contribution. His heart is in the right place and he is not a candidate for the gastrati. As an example of his other output, I refer to his explanation of why a teaspoon in the neck of a bottle of Champagne does not prevent the bubbles escaping. It can be found as detailed below.
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A Generic Name?
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As they are much of a molecular muchness, madness, even, you might wonder why there is no single name for these offerings and methods. There are too many of them: remember that list - “ "New Cuisine", "Progressive Cuisine", "Nueva Cocina", "Culinary Constructivism", "Modern Cuisine", "Avant-Garde Cuisine", "Experimental Cuisine", “Techno-Emotional Cuisine”, “Molecular Cuisine” and “Molecular Cooking” “. I can go no further than “The Molecular Muddle” or “Molecularism”, plus “Blue Mentalism” for a specific version but it does no justice to the others if justice is warranted. Whatever it is called, is more than adding tweezers to your kitchen drawer.
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The discussion between Herve This and I can be found on the “Molecular Gastronomy 2” page on the website home page. His Champagne contribution is to be found via the “Gastronomy for All” page. Click the “”Beverage Gastronomy ” link and on arrival click “Alcoholic Drinks”.
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Following two related pictures, you can see more information and sources in context included in material you have seen above.
The Blue Lagoon of Blue Mentalism
Frog-legs in their own blancmange
Egg and Truffle Flower
Yes - we might taste this. Click the pic for its source.
Preliminary definitions
Some definitions of molecular gastronomy:
The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation. (Peter Barham)
The art and science of choosing, preparing and eating good food. (Thorvald Pedersen)
The scientific study of deliciousness. (Harold McGee)
Combining the 'know how' of cooks with the 'know why' of scientists
Herve This gives:
Investigate the social phenomena linked to culinary activity
Investigate the chemical and physical aspects of the artistic component
Investigate the technical component by a) modeling definitions and b) collecting and testing culinary precisions, as well as the reasons for their appearance
http://khymos.org/definitions.php
The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation. (Peter Barham)
The art and science of choosing, preparing and eating good food. (Thorvald Pedersen)
The scientific study of deliciousness. (Harold McGee)
Combining the 'know how' of cooks with the 'know why' of scientists
Herve This gives:
Investigate the social phenomena linked to culinary activity
Investigate the chemical and physical aspects of the artistic component
Investigate the technical component by a) modeling definitions and b) collecting and testing culinary precisions, as well as the reasons for their appearance
http://khymos.org/definitions.php
MG by any other name
From an ordinary blog
If you click "Foam over Function" later you can read more about the writer.
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Snackbar chef Jonathan McDonald uses tweezers to carefully arrange peppery nasturtium leaves over a cucumber and blood orange salad. A puffy marshmallow adorns one end of the rectangular plate.
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But this is no ordinary marshmallow. It's a lime caramel coconut marshmallow McDonald created using two hydrocholloids — xanthan gum and Versawhip, a whipping agent invented by Kerry Bio-Science — he measured to the tenth of a gram on a digital scale.
In my latest City Paper article, Foam Over Function, I explore why Philadelphia doesn’t “get” molecular gastronomy (some chefs I spoke with prefer the term “modern” or “forward” cooking).
In writing the article, I managed to score an interview with Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago. According to Achatz, he was “the first one in the U.S. to start cooking in this style” when he was at Trio in Evanston, Illinois. …
The truth is that Philadelphia chefs are already using the techniques and structural ingredients associated with forward cooking in “regular-looking” dishes right under our noses. They’re just not advertising it.
One person I spoke with at a certain Philadelphia restaurant (which will remain nameless) admitted that they use one particular modern cooking technique, but the person said they "don’t want to be known for that.”According to Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen, “You can either do or talk about doing. And sometimes you just need to do. I like to be transparent and let the food speak for itself, as opposed to selling the technique before I sell the flavor.”
In some ways, there is no such thing as “molecular gastronomy.” Rather, there is only good cooking and bad cooking.
These modern techniques and structural ingredients are simply additional tools in the culinary toolbox.
Some may disagree, of course. But the one thing on which everyone seems to agree is that, regardless of technique, the food has to taste good. Perhaps that's all that really matters in the end.
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http://philafoodie.blogspot.com/2008/01/agar-phobia.html
If you click "Foam over Function" later you can read more about the writer.
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Snackbar chef Jonathan McDonald uses tweezers to carefully arrange peppery nasturtium leaves over a cucumber and blood orange salad. A puffy marshmallow adorns one end of the rectangular plate.
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But this is no ordinary marshmallow. It's a lime caramel coconut marshmallow McDonald created using two hydrocholloids — xanthan gum and Versawhip, a whipping agent invented by Kerry Bio-Science — he measured to the tenth of a gram on a digital scale.
Now read from a Philadelphia food critic's blog
.In my latest City Paper article, Foam Over Function, I explore why Philadelphia doesn’t “get” molecular gastronomy (some chefs I spoke with prefer the term “modern” or “forward” cooking).
In writing the article, I managed to score an interview with Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago. According to Achatz, he was “the first one in the U.S. to start cooking in this style” when he was at Trio in Evanston, Illinois. …
The truth is that Philadelphia chefs are already using the techniques and structural ingredients associated with forward cooking in “regular-looking” dishes right under our noses. They’re just not advertising it.
One person I spoke with at a certain Philadelphia restaurant (which will remain nameless) admitted that they use one particular modern cooking technique, but the person said they "don’t want to be known for that.”According to Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen, “You can either do or talk about doing. And sometimes you just need to do. I like to be transparent and let the food speak for itself, as opposed to selling the technique before I sell the flavor.”
In some ways, there is no such thing as “molecular gastronomy.” Rather, there is only good cooking and bad cooking.
These modern techniques and structural ingredients are simply additional tools in the culinary toolbox.
Some may disagree, of course. But the one thing on which everyone seems to agree is that, regardless of technique, the food has to taste good. Perhaps that's all that really matters in the end.
.
http://philafoodie.blogspot.com/2008/01/agar-phobia.html
Culinology and Molecular Gastronomy
With changes in how we cook and eat the fields of culinary arts and culinary science appear now to be merging into one. Many famous restaurants now have cooking laboratories on their premises, while universities and colleges around the country [USA] are beginning to offer degrees in culinology ( a degree program that blends food science and technology with culinary art).
Interest in food science has grown in recent years because of the increasing awareness of the vital role of food in the health, well-being, and economic status of individuals and nations and people's curiosity and desire to try new and innovative food dishes.
Food science is the study of the chemical composition of food and food ingredients; their physical, biological and biochemical properties and and the interaction of food constituents with each other and their environment.
What is Molecular Gastronomy?
Molecular Gastronomy is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of small scale food preparation. The term was invented by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti in a 1969 presentation to the Royal Institution called "The Physicist in the kitchen", and popularized by his collaborator the French scientist Hervé This.
Heston Blumenthal, 38, is presently at the forefront of this radical style of cooking (molecular gastronomy). His triple Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck serves dishes like sardine-flavored sorbet, pasta made out of Jello, snail porridge, or a puree of mango and Douglas fir.
At El Bulli, the restaurant of Ferran Adria in Spain another molecular gastronomist dishes consist of monkfish liver with tomato seeds and citrus or barnacles with tea foam, or a parmesan cheese ice cream. During the six months his restaurant is closed, Adrià works on new recipes in a laboratory near the Barcelona market.
At restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena experiment with their chefs on a daily basis. Upstairs from the restaurant you will find a small food laboratory with pH meters, sonicators and liquid nitrogen.
http://www.cookingwithcolor.com/molecular_gastronomy.htm
Interest in food science has grown in recent years because of the increasing awareness of the vital role of food in the health, well-being, and economic status of individuals and nations and people's curiosity and desire to try new and innovative food dishes.
Food science is the study of the chemical composition of food and food ingredients; their physical, biological and biochemical properties and and the interaction of food constituents with each other and their environment.
What is Molecular Gastronomy?
Molecular Gastronomy is the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of small scale food preparation. The term was invented by the Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti in a 1969 presentation to the Royal Institution called "The Physicist in the kitchen", and popularized by his collaborator the French scientist Hervé This.
Heston Blumenthal, 38, is presently at the forefront of this radical style of cooking (molecular gastronomy). His triple Michelin starred restaurant The Fat Duck serves dishes like sardine-flavored sorbet, pasta made out of Jello, snail porridge, or a puree of mango and Douglas fir.
At El Bulli, the restaurant of Ferran Adria in Spain another molecular gastronomist dishes consist of monkfish liver with tomato seeds and citrus or barnacles with tea foam, or a parmesan cheese ice cream. During the six months his restaurant is closed, Adrià works on new recipes in a laboratory near the Barcelona market.
At restaurant Arzak in San Sebastian, Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena experiment with their chefs on a daily basis. Upstairs from the restaurant you will find a small food laboratory with pH meters, sonicators and liquid nitrogen.
http://www.cookingwithcolor.com/molecular_gastronomy.htm
Michael Ruhlman
The … indicate that text has been omitted from the website linked to at the end. Colour changes stress phrases (red) or add comment (green) but these do not appear in the original text.
This is by Michael Ruhlman
I write about many subjects in magazines and newspapers, but mostly in books and mostly about food, chefs, and cooking ...
Harold McGee, who has helped cooks and chefs understand food and cooking at the molecular level for decades now …… wants people to be more precise when they use the term “molecular gastronomy,” or at least to acknowledge the origins of the term. …., he explains why: These terms, he says, are “hardening into bad pop cultural history that tags very different chefs and their ideas with the impressive but empty terms 'molecular gastronomy' and "molecular cuisine.'" …..
The term was first used by Oxford physicist, Nicholas Kurti, in 1992 to describe a workshop in Erice, Sicily; the woman who initiated the workshop was Elizabeth Cadry Thomas, a cooking instructor in northern California (both, sadly, deceased). …..
….. he elaborated: “The term doesn't have much intrinsic meaning, and should be used in connection with the workshop, not to identify a supposed style or method of cooking in restaurants. It's my experience that the average restaurant-goer is put off by the term, not attracted by it.” It will be the task of Gastronomy in the round to evaluate this assertion.
That’s it. He’s identified why I’ve never liked the term. It doesn’t mean anything when applied to restaurant cooking ….
http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/05/what-does-molec.html
This is by Michael Ruhlman
I write about many subjects in magazines and newspapers, but mostly in books and mostly about food, chefs, and cooking ...
Harold McGee, who has helped cooks and chefs understand food and cooking at the molecular level for decades now …… wants people to be more precise when they use the term “molecular gastronomy,” or at least to acknowledge the origins of the term. …., he explains why: These terms, he says, are “hardening into bad pop cultural history that tags very different chefs and their ideas with the impressive but empty terms 'molecular gastronomy' and "molecular cuisine.'" …..
The term was first used by Oxford physicist, Nicholas Kurti, in 1992 to describe a workshop in Erice, Sicily; the woman who initiated the workshop was Elizabeth Cadry Thomas, a cooking instructor in northern California (both, sadly, deceased). …..
….. he elaborated: “The term doesn't have much intrinsic meaning, and should be used in connection with the workshop, not to identify a supposed style or method of cooking in restaurants. It's my experience that the average restaurant-goer is put off by the term, not attracted by it.” It will be the task of Gastronomy in the round to evaluate this assertion.
That’s it. He’s identified why I’ve never liked the term. It doesn’t mean anything when applied to restaurant cooking ….
http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2008/05/what-does-molec.html
Martin Lersch
The … indicate that text has been omitted from the website linked to at the end. Colour changes stress phrases (red) or add comment (green) but these do not appear in the original text.
Who am I?
My name is Martin Lersch, I live in Oslo, Norway and have a PhD in organometallic chemistry. I have been studying platinum complexes which perhaps one day will be used to convert natural gas to value added products such as methanol. My involvement with molecular gastronomy has been a spare time activity besides my research. Currently I’m working as a research scientist in a privately owned industrial company.
Molecular gastronomy was recently chosen as word of the month (not quite sure exactly which month this was). They give the following definition:
the art and practice of cooking food using scientific methods to create new or unusual dishes
This is not the best definition I’ve seen, to be honest. Why should one limit it to new or unusual dishes? When taken to extremes this only results in gimmickry. ….Personally I feel that molecular gastronomy should strive to improve both home cooking and restaurant cooking. That’s also what I tried to convey with my 10-part series with tips for practical molecular gastronomy.
The Webster’s New Millennium dictionary has this definition:
the application or study of scientific principles and practices in cooking and food preparation
This definition includes both the fundamental scientific aspects and the applications of these. But to me it’s too close to “food science”.
Where is the enthusiasm?
Where is the delicous meal with tempting aromas and textures?
As you might know several definitions have been launched over the last couple of years. My favorite definition is still Harold McGee’s (although he does no longer use the definition himself): “Molecular gastronomy is the scientific study of deliciousness”.
In my opinion it joins the two worlds which for too long have been separated - the world of science and the world of gastronomy and everything delicious.
It was a German …. blog on molecular gastronomy that made me aware of the Oxford dictionary definition, …(it) also reminded me of the hype cycle,
…. It features the following 5 phases shown below and … these terms can also be applied to the rise and fall (and hopefully also resurrection) of molecular gastronomy:
1. Technology Trigger
2. Peak of Inflated Expectations
3. Trough of Disillusionment
4. Slope of Enlightenment
5. Plateau of Productivity
Phase one started as the term was first used in the 80s, and I guess it all peaked sometime between 2004 and 2006 with chefs all over wanting to cook with liquid nitrogen and other fancy stuff. Then, with the statement on new cookery by Adria, Blumenthal, Keller and McGee and Heston’s declaration that “molecular gastronomy is dead” we had clearly reached the trough of disillusionment. Today however we’re past that point.
Benedikt Köhler writes that we’re now on our way to the slope of enlightenment, and personally I think we might’ve reached the fifth phase already, the plateau of productivity. Molecular gastronomy is a term that will live on for years to come, only to disappear as the results and ways of thinking become so common that they’re simply referred to as “cooking” and the result as “really good food” (to quote Michael Ruhlman).
As you might have noticed I’ve decided to stick with one term - molecular gastronomy - for both the scientific, technological and practical parts of “science enabled cooking” (a term Harold McGee uses in The Fat Duck Cookbook - I think that’s a good term). Just like the word “chemistry” is used to describe fundamental research and technological applications I can’t see why the applications of molecular gastronomy (i.e. the food) should be given a different name than the fundamental scientific studies.
Some (including Hervé This) have proposed terms such as molecular cuisine or molecular cooking to cover all the practical aspects in order to reserve molecular gastronomy for the “pure science”. Herve This has been written to and his reply will feature in this Gastronomy website.There was a debate last year in August on the molecular gastronomy mailing list and Hervé This participated and defended his viewpoint (as he also does in a recent blog post). …..The conclusion was that we disagree.
I don’t think we should ditch molecular gastronomy, just because it was hyped. But I suggest that we use it to describe more than foams, alginate spheres and liquid nitrogen ice cream. This proposal has my full support although the term 'MG disciple' does not apply to me.
To seee the original text go to
http://blog.khymos.org/2009/01/26/has-molecular-gastronomy-reached-the-plateau-of-productivity/#more-527
Who am I?
My name is Martin Lersch, I live in Oslo, Norway and have a PhD in organometallic chemistry. I have been studying platinum complexes which perhaps one day will be used to convert natural gas to value added products such as methanol. My involvement with molecular gastronomy has been a spare time activity besides my research. Currently I’m working as a research scientist in a privately owned industrial company.
Molecular gastronomy was recently chosen as word of the month (not quite sure exactly which month this was). They give the following definition:
the art and practice of cooking food using scientific methods to create new or unusual dishes
This is not the best definition I’ve seen, to be honest. Why should one limit it to new or unusual dishes? When taken to extremes this only results in gimmickry. ….Personally I feel that molecular gastronomy should strive to improve both home cooking and restaurant cooking. That’s also what I tried to convey with my 10-part series with tips for practical molecular gastronomy.
The Webster’s New Millennium dictionary has this definition:
the application or study of scientific principles and practices in cooking and food preparation
This definition includes both the fundamental scientific aspects and the applications of these. But to me it’s too close to “food science”.
Where is the enthusiasm?
Where is the delicous meal with tempting aromas and textures?
As you might know several definitions have been launched over the last couple of years. My favorite definition is still Harold McGee’s (although he does no longer use the definition himself): “Molecular gastronomy is the scientific study of deliciousness”.
In my opinion it joins the two worlds which for too long have been separated - the world of science and the world of gastronomy and everything delicious.
It was a German …. blog on molecular gastronomy that made me aware of the Oxford dictionary definition, …(it) also reminded me of the hype cycle,
…. It features the following 5 phases shown below and … these terms can also be applied to the rise and fall (and hopefully also resurrection) of molecular gastronomy:
1. Technology Trigger
2. Peak of Inflated Expectations
3. Trough of Disillusionment
4. Slope of Enlightenment
5. Plateau of Productivity
Phase one started as the term was first used in the 80s, and I guess it all peaked sometime between 2004 and 2006 with chefs all over wanting to cook with liquid nitrogen and other fancy stuff. Then, with the statement on new cookery by Adria, Blumenthal, Keller and McGee and Heston’s declaration that “molecular gastronomy is dead” we had clearly reached the trough of disillusionment. Today however we’re past that point.
Benedikt Köhler writes that we’re now on our way to the slope of enlightenment, and personally I think we might’ve reached the fifth phase already, the plateau of productivity. Molecular gastronomy is a term that will live on for years to come, only to disappear as the results and ways of thinking become so common that they’re simply referred to as “cooking” and the result as “really good food” (to quote Michael Ruhlman).
As you might have noticed I’ve decided to stick with one term - molecular gastronomy - for both the scientific, technological and practical parts of “science enabled cooking” (a term Harold McGee uses in The Fat Duck Cookbook - I think that’s a good term). Just like the word “chemistry” is used to describe fundamental research and technological applications I can’t see why the applications of molecular gastronomy (i.e. the food) should be given a different name than the fundamental scientific studies.
Some (including Hervé This) have proposed terms such as molecular cuisine or molecular cooking to cover all the practical aspects in order to reserve molecular gastronomy for the “pure science”. Herve This has been written to and his reply will feature in this Gastronomy website.There was a debate last year in August on the molecular gastronomy mailing list and Hervé This participated and defended his viewpoint (as he also does in a recent blog post). …..The conclusion was that we disagree.
I don’t think we should ditch molecular gastronomy, just because it was hyped. But I suggest that we use it to describe more than foams, alginate spheres and liquid nitrogen ice cream. This proposal has my full support although the term 'MG disciple' does not apply to me.
To seee the original text go to
http://blog.khymos.org/2009/01/26/has-molecular-gastronomy-reached-the-plateau-of-productivity/#more-527
"Molecular Mixology"
These pictures are from the Adam Haynes website at
http://www.notcot.com/archives/2008/07/cointreau_pearl.php#more
His interest is as the title states and the making of cocktails. What he says is in white on black text. You will need to use Control, shift and + if reading it is to be achieved easily.
The text under the pictures has been pasted to make things easier. If you follow any links, you need to go through hoops such as giving your age. When you arrive, it is often difficult to find the end of the link. Not very user-friendly.
My reaction without tasting these pearls in Champagne is that two good drinks are ruined when together, but I am willing to try the cocktail. Inevitably, that could be difficult regarding finding somewhere which serves it nearby in rural England.
http://www.notcot.com/archives/2008/07/cointreau_pearl.php#more
His interest is as the title states and the making of cocktails. What he says is in white on black text. You will need to use Control, shift and + if reading it is to be achieved easily.
The text under the pictures has been pasted to make things easier. If you follow any links, you need to go through hoops such as giving your age. When you arrive, it is often difficult to find the end of the link. Not very user-friendly.
My reaction without tasting these pearls in Champagne is that two good drinks are ruined when together, but I am willing to try the cocktail. Inevitably, that could be difficult regarding finding somewhere which serves it nearby in rural England.
Cointreau pearls
Molecular Gastronomy is one of those things that mixes design, science, and food/drinks so nicely, i’ve been fascinated with the concept for ages… and as i learned more, Molecular Mixology has become even more of a fascination! So when i got a press release about Xavier Herit’s new take on the Cointreau Pearls, it launched me off on a research mission across the web, finding out more about the creation of Cointreau Pearls across the world, the special kit they produced just for bartenders, videos of it in action, and lots more images on the next page to catch you up on my finds! Above you are seeing a close up of Xavier’s Cointreau Pearls in which he infused strawberry, and he serves them alongside Margaritas, and also floating in glasses of champagne.
Here they are floating in Champagne
Taking inspiration from the work of Adrià Ferran, the legendary chef of the famous restaurant El Bulli and a master of molecular gastronomy, the research teams at Cointreau, always at the cutting edge of innovation in the bartending world, sought to develop a simple technical process for turning Cointreau into solid spheres. In order to do so, they contacted Fernando Castellon, an expert mixologist renowned among bartending professionals. After several months of research and hundreds of trials to fine-tune the best formula for turning Cointreau from a liquid to a solid state, Cointreau’s team managed to obtain perfect, delightfully iridescent pearls of Cointreau which burst into life in one’s mouth in a symphony of delicious flavours.
More on the meaning of MG
Wiki gives plenty to digest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_gastronomy
Earlier, you read Peter Barham's definition:
The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation.
If MG is to convince people that it is worth pursuing, why distinguish between domestic and gastronomic cooking? Does that presume that domestic cookery is not gastronomic?
Professors and company were discussing MG in Copenhagen in 2007:
http://ecce6.kt.dtu.dk/cm/content/abstract/4109/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_gastronomy
Earlier, you read Peter Barham's definition:
The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation.
If MG is to convince people that it is worth pursuing, why distinguish between domestic and gastronomic cooking? Does that presume that domestic cookery is not gastronomic?
Professors and company were discussing MG in Copenhagen in 2007:
http://ecce6.kt.dtu.dk/cm/content/abstract/4109/