Molecular gastronomy is the art of creating new flavors by taking food and beverages to a different dimension from traditional recipes.

Food expresses a culture in perhaps one of the most beautiful ways. As you get to know a culture’s cuisine, you learn much more than you might have guessed about that culture. Gastronomy provides people with the opportunity to develop themselves further in this field.

In our world, every field now prefers to have a direct connection with science. Molecular gastronomy represents the collaborative work between food and science. In essence, it involves observing the physical and chemical changes that occur during the preparation stage of a meal. This way, meals are introduced to science for the first time.

What is Molecular Gastronomy?

In recent years, molecular gastronomy has become increasingly popular worldwide, and people have started investing significantly in this field. The foundations of molecular gastronomy began with physicist Nicholas Kurti’s research in 1988. Molecular gastronomy is now recognized as a scientific discipline. In this field, chemicals of organic origin are used.

The products created are made with microbial substances, plants, and animal ingredients. Additionally, as you might expect, many laboratory equipment pieces are used in molecular gastronomy. Thus, the temperature of the cooking water is controlled to the most ideal degree, ensuring it remains steady at the correct temperature. 

Products that need to be cooled are brought to low temperatures without damaging the taste of the food, much quicker than usual. This field is also utilized to add aroma to meals or to remove unwanted flavors. This aspect of molecular gastronomy surprises people. 

Technologies are used to create small balls that do not disintegrate, to make paper for consumption using soy, to obtain foams from vegetables and fruits, and to attempt to reproduce some nutrients in the form of a different nutrient.

Spherification Technique and Creative Dishes

With molecular gastronomy, chefs’ ideas that once found a place in their dreams can now become reality. In the past, when a liquid was transformed into a solid using traditional methods, it would only result in a gel-like form. However, nowadays, this situation has been taken to entirely different dimensions. 

In the spherification technique, the liquid is trapped within a firm membrane. This technique was first attempted in 1942. The small spheres obtained through this technique do not affect the taste of the liquid inside and provide a pleasant sensation in the mouth.

Another method for these processes is calcium alginate obtained naturally from seaweed. This method, which does not require the use of gelatin, creates small soft spheres. For example, when we apply this process to a fruit juice, the mentioned substance is mixed with the fruit juice. 

Liquid drops are then placed into calcium chloride, and using a syringe without a needle, they begin to gather. When alginate and the fruit juice solution come into contact with sodium chloride, spheres form. I recommend trying products such as mojito spheres and cocktails in a sphere to experience both the making and the taste they leave in your mouth.

Fizz and Frothy Dishes

In frothy and fizzy dishes, as well as drinks, the use of carbonates, the preparation of frothy sauces, and similar methods were utilized. However, these methods are now starting to seem insufficient in the gastronomy field. Various methods have been developed, and are still being developed, for visuals, aromas, textures, froth, and fizz. The trapping of gases is necessary for bubbles to form. 

There is a similar process during the fermentation process of bread yeast. However, these bubbles cannot last long, and they even disappear long before entering the oven. In another example, in the fermentation of wine and beer, CO2 formation occurs, and the release of gases from pressure takes place quite slowly. Given these examples, it would be correct to say that this allows the formation of liquids, gases, and froths.

Chemical Touch to Meals

With molecular gastronomy, chemical touches are applied to meals to obtain many new tastes and ingredients. This discipline sometimes sparks debates among people, yet it contains some innovations. Molecular gastronomy uses a variety of tools. 

These chemical tools include powdering, gelling, shaping into capsules, converting to gel form, enhancing aroma and taste transfer, cooking by applying cold, foaming, and smoking. Let’s examine together what is produced with these chemical touches in meals:

Powdering

This is one of the most commonly used methods in molecular gastronomy. With this method, foods with high-fat content are turned into powder. Maltodextrin and food are mixed to turn it into powder.

Shaping into Capsules

It can be briefly described as the gelation of two liquids. This method has been quite popular since 2003. Various sizes of capsules can be obtained as a result of this process. The insides of the obtained capsules are coated with liquid. The membrane surrounding the capsules traps the liquid inside until it receives a shock. When put into the mouth and crushed, the capsule bursts, revealing its flavor.

Enhancing Aroma and Taste Transfer

Injectors can be used to transfer tastes and aromas. By injecting orange juice into meat and then cooking it, you can present both tastes simultaneously.

Cooking by Applying Cold

This is called the instant freezing process. The high-speed freezing process is carried out using liquid nitrogen. For example, with this method, you can quickly obtain ice-cold ice cream in seconds. Products like the one I mentioned and many others can be quickly created and presented to people’s tastes.

Foaming

This is a widely used practice. It is called “foaming” when watery products are foamed using some additives. It particularly contributes significantly to presentations made by chefs.

Smoking

Smoking is actually a technique that has been used since ancient times. Foods are smoked using smoke. When smoked with woods from different trees, different flavors and aromas are imparted to the smoked food. Cherry branches are quite suitable for smoking.

Molecular Gastronomy Experiences

The world’s leading gourmets are succeeding in creating flavors that go beyond people’s imaginations using molecular gastronomy. While some people criticize molecular gastronomy, gourmets manage to attract crowds. 

Famous gourmets are creating wonderful dishes in their restaurants for those seeking different flavors and wanting to discover taste syntheses they have never known before. Molecular gastronomy is shaping people’s tastes, satisfying those who seek novelty, and has already become a common ground for those who want to mark a beautiful day with delicious meals. 

Gourmets who contribute to the development and progress of molecular gastronomy by signing works that will contribute to its advancement are crucial for this field. Special talents such as Dennis Maraudos, Adam Melanos, Michel Guerada, Alex Atala, Ferran Adrian, Will Goldfarb, Heston Blumenthal, and others are making significant contributions to molecular gastronomy. 

Apart from these names that shape this gastronomy, Wylie Dufresne, Michael Carlos, Grant Achatz, and Andoni Aduriz are also making great efforts to contribute to the development of molecular gastronomy and to have a say in the world.

See you in the next post,

Anil UZUN