This lack of interest in culinary transformations is why the late Nicholas Kurti to [ 17 ], former professor of physics in Oxford, and I decided in March that a new discipline had to be introduced [ 2 ]. The situation at that time in food science was more or less the same as it had been for molecular biology some decades before.
The term molecular biology was first used by Warren Weaver in to describe certain programs funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, where it simply meant the application of techniques developed in the physical sciences to investigate life processes [ 18 ].
What Kurti and I had in mind was more or less the same, but concerning another field of knowledge, so the name molecular and physical gastronomy was chosen. The appeal of this new field was and remains scientifically clear: if one wants to discover new phenomena, the exploration of a new field is a safe bet, as there is plenty of easy exploration. As always, when new knowledge is produced, it is possible to make technological applications.
Since , innovations based on molecular gastronomy have been introduced almost every month frequently, names of famous chemists of the past are given to new kinds of dishes [ 21 ]. However, the initial program of this discipline was inappropriate because it mixed science and technology.
This last term describes information that is not absolutely necessary to make the dish old wives tales, proverbs, tips, methods, and so on [ 23 ].
Some years later, it was realized that the appreciation of a dish by an individual is a question of art, not of technique; thus, cooking involves an artistic activity of fundamental importance.
All these facts led to the proposal of new program for molecular gastronomy:. At the time that molecular gastronomy was introduced, we and others wanted to modernize culinary practices using what was done in scientific disciplines such as chemistry, physics or biology [ 25 ].
The idea to modernize techniques has come up many times in the history of cuisine. In , Kurti [ 26 ] mentions the application of physical techniques and, since the beginning of the s, I proposed the use of chemical tools [ 27 ]. In this definition, the word new stands for what was not available in kitchens of the western countries in Concerning ingredients, many additives were no found in western kitchens of the 80's, but proved to have useful culinary applications: sodium alginate to make objects with a gellified skin and a liquid core, or spaghetti made of vegetables, and so on; other gelling agents, such as agar-agar or carrageenans; various colors; odorant compounds; and so on.
Of course, not all of these items are completely new, other gelling agents from algae have been used in Asia for thousands of years, and many of these tools are used daily in chemistry laboratories, but they were not used by western chefs, and the goal was to modernize the technical component of cooking. The term molecular cuisine was sometimes criticized, but the reasons for using it were that innovative cuisine had to be distinguished from science, and in particular from molecular gastronomy.
The arguments over the name are unlikely to matter as the term molecular cuisine is likely to die out with the adoption of new techniques. A new idea is now being introduced with the name note by note cuisine [ 29 ]. Note by note cuisine was first proposed in in the magazine Scientific American [ 25 ] at a time when I started using compounds in drinks and dishes, such as paraethylphenol in wines and whiskeys; 1-octenol in sauces for meat; limonene; tartaric acid; and ascorbic acid among others.
The initial proposal was to improve food, but surely an obvious next step was to make dishes entirely from compounds. To put it differently, note by note cuisine does not use meat, fish, vegetable or fruits to make dishes, but instead uses compounds, either pure compounds or mixtures.
An analogy would be in the way that electronic music is not made using trumpets or violins, but using pure waves that are mixed in to sounds and music. For the various parts of the dish in note by note cuisine, the cook has to design the shapes, the colors, the tastes, the odors, the temperatures, the trigeminal stimulation, the textures, the nutritional aspects and more [ 30 ].
The feasibility of this new cuisine has already been shown. However the first note by note meal was not served until October , by chefs of the Cordon Bleu School in Paris, to the participants of the courses at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Gastronomy [ 32 ]. On 26 January , at a banquet before the launching event of the International Year of Chemistry at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, a whole note by note meal for about people was served by Potel et Chabot Catering Company [ 33 ].
This meal was again served in April to about chefs receiving Michelin stars in Paris. And since the number of note by note initiatives is becoming too big to be tracked. Many people are worried by note by note cuisine, asking questions about nutrition, toxicology, feasibility, economics and politics.
What about nutriments, oligo-elements, vitamins? Are the compounds dangerous? Will food be liquid? Will agriculture become extinct through such a new way of cooking? Our human brain, instead of making us reject novel food as nonhuman primates would do, leads us to negate new dishes and to legitimate old ones.
This is a poor argument; compare this with smoked products, a traditional cooking method, that epidemiologists now clearly see the danger of through the high incidence of cancers of the digestive tract in populations in the north of Europe, who consume a lot of smoked products [ 36 ]. Food neophobia is not a good reason to discount the interest of note by note cuisine.
Why should we drop traditional cuisine, and adopt note by note cuisine? Indeed the alternative is not compulsory; as for molecular cuisine, we could keep traditional cuisine and add note by note cuisine. Or produce hybrids…. The feasibility of note by note cuisine no longer needs to be demonstrated because meals have already been produced using this techniques, but we still have to discuss the nature of the compounds used.
The culinary world already uses very pure compounds, such as water, sodium chloride, sucrose and gelatine. The lay person often ignores the fact that these compounds were prepared by industry through various extraction processes, purifications and technological modifications for example, the anti-aggregation compounds added to sucrose [ 15 ].
Many other compounds could be prepared in the same way, such as saccharides, amino acids and glycerides, and indeed the food industry already uses some of them.
The food additives industry produces pigments, vitamins, preservatives, gelling or thickening agents and so on. Additives are not currently regulated like food ingredients, but could they not be in the future? Or should the regulation of additives be suppressed, and another very different regulation be introduced?
It is difficult to make dishes from pure compounds, and so, to go back to our music analogy, another way is to make dishes in the same way electronic music is composed [ 37 , 38 ]. That is, to enlarge the list of usable compounds by adding simple mixtures such as those that the industry already makes by fractionation of milk or grain.
Gelatine, for example, is not pure, in the sense that it is not made of molecules of only one kind: the extraction method used to make gelatine results in large variation in the molecular weight of the polypeptidic chains [ 39 ].
Also starch is not pure, as it is made of two main compounds, amyloses and amylopectins. In passing, let us not forget that, because starch is a simple fraction of grain, most traditional pastry techniques can be kept for making note by note cuisine. The industry already extracts polysaccharides, proteins, amino acids, surfactants and other compounds from grain [ 39 ].
From milk, the industry recovers amino acids, peptides, proteins and glycerides. Could we not do the same from plant carrots, apples, turnips… or animal tissues? Could we not, using the same kind of processes such as direct or reverse osmosis, cryoconcentration or vacuum distillation , prepare fractions that can be used later for note by note cuisine?
Many technology groups study these questions, and technologists at the Montpellier Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique Centre, for example, have devised techniques based on membrane filtration to recover the total phenolics fraction from grape juice [ 40 ]. Now we have discussed the issue of ingredients, we have to consider assembling them into dishes.
We should not forget that today's food items are material systems of a colloidal nature [ 41 — 43 ], often with a large proportion of water in them. Many organic compounds are poorly soluble in water, and emulsification is obviously a very important process in note by note cuisine. However it is not the only process; all dispersion techniques will be useful. During the assembly, the various biological properties of food have to be considered.
Of course, the nutritional content is important [ 44 ] but it would be a mistake to forget that food has to stimulate the various sensory receptors involved in vision, odor, taste, trigeminal system and temperature [ 45 ], for instance: this creates many questions. Also, when one mixes odorant compounds in proportions near the detection threshold, unpredictable odors are obtained.
For taste, the question is even more difficult to answer, because taste receptors and their substrates are not known [ 48 ]; it was discovered only recently less than ten years ago that the tongue has receptors for fatty acids with long unsaturated chains [ 49 ]. This means that other important discoveries could still be made!
In the meantime, one can use citric, malic, tartaric, acetic, ascorbic or lactic acids, or saccharides such as glucose, fructose or lactose, as well as the traditional sucrose but experimental tests will be needed to appreciate the result. For trigeminal effects, some fresh or pungent compounds are known, such as eugenol from cloves , menthol one of its enantiomers only , capsaicin from chilli , piperin from pepper , ethanol, sodium bicarbonate and many others [ 48 ].
But again the knowledge of receptors could lead to new products. From the texture point of view, technological work can be done, because more studies are needed on the manufacture of colloidal materials. Making simple emulsions is sometimes considered difficult, but more generally one should not assume that the texturization of formulated products is fully solved, even if we now have surimi and analogous systems. Who will succeed in making the consistency of a green apple?
Or a pear? Or a strawberry? Not only is there still the question of laboratory prototypes but also of mass production. As a whole, much remains to be done and many aspects of note by note cuisine remain to be studied by science and by technology. Let us finish this paragraph with an important observation: it would be uninteresting to reproduce already existing food ingredients. As synthesizers can reproduce the sounds of a piano or a violin, note by note cuisine could reproduce wines, carrots or meats … but why?
Traditionally, you would place your ingredients in an automatic ice cream maker to churn and freeze the mixture. Churning folds air into the material and breaks up ice crystals. But there's a limit to how cold an average machine can get. Most rely on your kitchen freezer, which reaches a temperature of 0 degrees F degrees C. A molecular gastronomist uses a simpler technique: He or she pours liquid nitrogen directly into the ingredients, which will flash freeze the mixture and create extra-small ice crystals that result in the smoothest ice cream possible.
If you're dying to make this classic dessert in a cutting-edge way, start with a basic recipe, like this one from the Food Network. After you've prepared the ice cream mixture, don your safety glasses and gloves and add liquid nitrogen while stirring with a wooden spoon.
Stop when the ice cream reaches your desired thickness. Adding oil to boiling water does not, in fact, prevent pasta from clumping. Because oil and water don't mix, which means the oil stays on the surface, far from the cooking noodles.
Instead, add a tablespoon of something acidic, such as vinegar or lemon juice. A weak acid inhibits the breakdown of starch and reduces stickiness. But that doesn't mean they won't appreciate the products of molecular gastronomy. Luckily, there are several chefs around the world who readily embrace physics and chemistry in the kitchen. The accompanying table lists some of the most renowned chefs who apply the principles and techniques of molecular gastronomy.
But be forewarned: If you decide to visit one of these restaurants, you'll need to make reservations weeks or even months in advance. If, after dining at one of these molecular gastronomy hotspots, you decide you want to become an avant-garde chef yourself, there are options.
A few universities are introducing molecular gastronomy programs for postgraduate students. For example, the University of Nottingham has partnered with Heston Blumenthal to create a doctoral track.
The three-year course of study provides a unique blend of science and gastronomy, with ideas and inventions devised in the laboratory being tested and refined at the Fat Duck. Several cooking schools are also incorporating molecular gastronomy in their courses. At the French Culinary Institute in New York City, students can learn about sous vide techniques, hydrocolloids and other applications of food and technology. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close.
Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Edible Innovations. How Molecular Gastronomy Works. By: William Harris. See more food pyramid pictures. Contents Molecular Gastronomy: Art vs. Molecular Gastronomy: Art vs. Science " ". It's Not Food Science. Colloids and Cooking " ".
Chef Ferran Adria experimenting in his kitchen workshop in Barcelona, Spain. A syringe can be a handy tool when you're practicing molecular gastronomy. Vacuum machine. Remember the sous vide steak we talked about last section? If you really want to do the job right, consider a vacuum sealer. A good model will evacuate the air from plastic bags and then seal the bag tightly closed. You can also buy a thermal bath to provide precise heating of your water bath.
Hypodermic syringe. You may shudder at the sight of a needle, but you may have to overcome your fear if you want to practice molecular gastronomy. As we've already seen, syringes are helpful in the process of spherification. Some chefs also use them to inject liquids into meat to enhance flavor and texture.
Liquid nitrogen. At a temperature of degrees F degrees C , liquid nitrogen will flash freeze any food it touches. As it boils away, it gives off a dense nitrogen fog that can add atmosphere and drama to food preparation. Unfortunately, liquid nitrogen must be transported in specially made flasks and can be dangerous if it touches skin.
A safer alternative is the Anti-Griddle, described next. The Anti-Griddle, a product of PolyScience, looks like a traditional cooktop, but it doesn't heat up food. The Gastrovac. Manufactured by International Cooking Concepts, the Gastrovac is three tools in one: a Crock-pot, a vacuum pump and a heating plate. In its low-pressure, oxygen-free atmosphere, the Gastrovac cooks food faster at lower temperatures, which helps the food maintain its texture, color and nutrients.
When the food is done warming, you restore the pressure and create what ICC calls the "sponge effect. Molecular Gastronomy Recipe Redux " ". Becoming a Molecular Gastronomist " ". How can sugar explode? Would turkey be so popular if it didn't have its own holiday? Molecular Gastronomy for the Masses khymos. In more recent times, molecular gastronomy has had a different meaning.
It has become known as a movement led by chefs who introduce innovative techniques in cooking to diners around the world. This entry will follow the history of the discipline and the movement, mention the key people involved in making it known, and look at the ethical questions that arise from all perspectives of the discipline: ingredients, preparations, and marketing.
They noted the physical Skip to main content Skip to table of contents. This service is more advanced with JavaScript available. Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics Edition. Editors: David M. Contents Search. Molecular Gastronomy. Authors Authors and affiliations Vivian Liberman.
Reference work entry First Online: 27 June How to cite. Synonyms Food science ; Modern cuisine ; Molecular cooking ; Progressive cuisine. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. Arnold, D. Molecular gastronomy is just a long four-letter word [Blog].
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