The introduction of molecular gastronomy into modern cuisine took the culinary world by storm
and started a movement that has become an international revolution. Using groundbreaking
technology and molecular techniques pioneered by Ferran Adria, the chefs that followed in his
footsteps have become the leaders of innovation in modernist cooking today.
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| Molecular gastronomy includes the study of how different cooking temperatures affect eggs, and their viscosity, their surface tension, and different ways of introducing air into them. |
Molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine is the science of cooking but it is commonly used to
describe a new style of cuisine in which chefs explore new culinary possibilities in the
kitchen by embracing sensory and food science, borrowing tools from the science lab and
ingredients from the food industry and concocting surprise after surprise for their diners.
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| Spherification of juices and other liquids is a technique of molecular gastronomy |
Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the
transformation of ingredients, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of
culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general. The term Molecular Gastronomy was born in 1992
by late Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti and the French INRA chemist Hervé This.
Many modern chefs do not accept the term molecular gastronomy to describe their style of
cooking and prefer other terms like "modern cuisine", "modernist cuisine", "experimental
cuisine" or "avant-garde cuisine". Heston Blumenthal says molecular gastronomy makes cuisine
sound elitist and inaccessible, as though you need a BSc to enjoy it. In the end, molecular
gastronomy or molecular cuisine refers to experimental restaurant cooking driven by the desire
of modern cooks to explore the world's wide variety of ingredients, tools and techniques.
Molecular gastronomy science research starts in the kitchen and the learnings of how food
tastes and behaves enable these chefs to cook with it and discover new sensory pleasures with
it.
When people hear molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine for the first time they often
mistakenly view it as unhealthy, synthetic, chemical, dehumanizing and unnatural. This is not
surprising given that molecular gastronomy often relies on fuming flasks of liquid nitrogen,
led-blinking water baths, syringes, tabletop distilleries, PH meters and shelves of food
chemicals with names like carrageenan, maltodextrin and xanthan. The truth is that the
"chemicals" used in molecular gastronomy are all of biological origin.
If you are passionate about cooking, have a creative mind and at the same time you are
analytical and logical, molecular gastronomy is most likely going to become your passion.
If you are not a professional chef with a fully equipped kitchen you can still enjoy molecular
gastronomy at home and without spending too much money. Many molecular cuisine recipes don't
even require especial equipment or "chemicals".
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| Ferran Adria |
Some of the best Molecular Gastronomy Chefs are:
Ferran Adria, Barcelona, Spain
Heston BlumenthalBray, United Kingdom
Andoni AdurizDonostia-san Sebastián, Spain
Grant AchatzChicago, Illinois
Jose AndresWashington, District of Columbia
Yoshihiro NarisawaTokyo, Japan
Seiji YamamotoTokyo, Japan
Paco RonceroMadrid, Spain
Quique DacostaDenia, Spain
Rene RedzepiCopenhagen, Denmark
RJ CooperMclean, Virginia
Yoshiaki Takazawa, Tokyo, Japan
sources:
molecularrecipes.com wikipedia Worlds-Best-Molecular-Gastronomy-Chefs
