Edible Vancouver Island Mar/Apr 2023

C U L I N A R Y S C I E N C E

The science behind physical and chemical culinary transformations Molecular Gastronomy

WORDS LIISA SALO

W hen you hear the term “molecular gastronomy,” what comes to mind? Chefs acting like mad sci entists in a laboratory-style kitchen with liquid nitrogen, centrifuges and liquids bubbling in beakers? Or do you envision a high-end restaurant serving elaborate, tiny portions of food-as-art with brightly coloured spheres of gel surrounded by trails of smoke? These associations with molecular gastronomy are familiar stereotypes, but the techniques and tools used with this approach to cooking have some very practical applications that have become part of the repertoire in many modern restau rants from fine dining establishments to pubs. And while not everyone embraces the term “molecular gas tronomy”—one critic, British chef Heston Blumenthal, said that “Molecular makes it sound complicated and gastronomy makes it sound elitist”—the fact remains that the principles of the term have had a significant influence on the food and restaurant in dustry for at least a couple of decades. DEF I N I NG MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY Molecular gastronomy refers to the scientific discipline con cerned with the physical and chemical transformations that occur during the cooking process. It seeks to generate new knowledge by exploring innovative, science-based principles to transform food from its original state to something different us ing chemistry, temperature, gelling agents, or devices, such as controlled-temperature water baths (sous vide), liquid nitrogen for flash freezing, siphons with nitrous oxide cartridges (for

foams), rotary evaporators (for the preparation of distillation and extracts), and pipettes for injections and infusions. H I STORY AND EVOLUT I ON The term “molecular and physical gastronomy” was coined in 1988 by French physical chemist Hervé This—often referred to as “The Father of Molecular Gastronomy”—and Hungar ian physicist Nicholas Kurti, who were experimenting with the scientific phenomena that occur during food preparation processes. Eventually, the term was shortened to “molecular gastronomy,” which is still used today. Associated terminology includes “molecular cooking,” referring to the techniques used, and “molecular cuisine,” describing the culinary style based on those techniques. While fundamental to modern cuisine today, the roots of mo lecular gastronomy go back centuries. 18th- and19th-century scientists studied the impact of heat and cooking, and explored the various properties of food. All their discoveries were founda tional to future developments. Many of the tools and ingredients used today are not new either. The difference is that these tools and techniques had remained in their original environments: science labs or industrial food manufacturing facilities. It wasn’t until the 1980s that these components migrated into restaurant and home kitchens and started appearing in cookbooks. Kurti and This played an important role in melding these worlds together and modern

38 MAR/APR 2023 EDIBLE VANCOUVER ISLAND