Химия и химические технологии /5.Фундаментальные проблемы создания новых материалов и технологий.

Bronnikova A., Chala K.

National university of food technologies, Kyiv, Ukraine

Molecular gastronomy

Molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine - this cooking style - refers to experimental restaurant cooking. Molecular gastronomy is a branch of food science that utilizes the principles of chemistry, physics and biology to develop delicious food that can be presented in new and interesting ways—solid cocktails, fruit jelly caviar, or vegetable foams and bubbles.

Nicholas Kurti is considered the mastermind of the theoretical molecular cuisine. This nuclear physicist who helped develop the first atomic bomb in the 1990s led a seminar on molecular and physical gastronomy. He tried to investigate the processes of cooking from a scientific point of view. First results of developments in the restaurant appeared Kurti Englishman Heston Blumenthal Fat Duck and the Spaniard Ferran Adria in El Bulli. And then later the French, in the 90s of the 20th century developed the idea, turning the kitchen into perfection.

When people hear the words molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine for the first time they often mistakenly view it as unhealthy, synthetic, chemical, dehumanizing and unnatural. The truth is that the "chemicals" used in molecular gastronomy are all of biological origin. Even though they have been purified and some of them processed, the raw material origin is usually marine, plant, animal or microbial. These additives have been approved by EU standards and are used in very, very small amounts. The science lab equipment used just helps modern gastronomy cooks to do simple things like maintaining the temperature of the cooking water constant (water bath), cooling food at extremely low temperatures fast (liquid nitrogen) or extract flavor from food (evaporator).

The truth, strange kitchen represent chemical laboratory? But in everyday cooking we do nothing but chemistry - mix different ingredients, causing them to react chemically. Especially that molecular chemistry uses only natural ingredients.

Incidentally, Restaurants serving molecular gastronomy, gastronomic call. Moreover, any visitor can watch the preparation of high-tech mystery masterpiece.

A chef, who cooks in a restaurant, uses a variety of tools and devices, because it has to warm up, cool, mix, grind, measure the mass, temperature and acid-base balance, filter, create a vacuum and pressurize. In molecular gastronomy most commonly used techniques such as Spherize (creating liquid spheres), carbonation, or enrichment of carbon dioxide (carbonation), emulsification (mixing insoluble) and vacuum distillation (separation of alcohol).

In molecular cuisine there are interesting ways of cooking.

Vacuum cooking called sous-vide. The essence of it is: the products are placed in a vacuum bag and for a long time, sometimes even more than three days, are prepared in water at a temperature up to 60 degrees. Products ideally marinated meat is particularly juiciness and softness and texture of fruit becomes more dense, but flavorful.

Centrifugation - one of the techniques of molecular gastronomy, which is widely used in agriculture (Department of milk fat). If, for example, placed in a centrifuge tomato juice, it will be divided into three substances that can be used separately in other dishes to give a more stable and rich taste.

Liquid nitrogen is successfully started using Heston Blumenthal in his molecular restaurant. One of his specialties is the so -called perfect ice cream, in which there was no fat, just pure concentrated flavor and aroma. This mousse of green tea and lime, which put the ball on a spoon and pour liquid nitrogen. Sprinkle on top of it refined essence of the leaves and flowers of lime. Liquid nitrogen freezes instantly product, leaving no trace, and then evaporates.

Dishes in the form of a foam, called espuma, become the hallmark molecular restaurants. In such molecular foam can turn meat, fruit, nuts and generally any product.

According to chef Ferran Adria Catalan cuisine, molecular cuisine - it does not attempt to feed the public incredible nonsense and conservative shock gourmet and "approach to cooking on the basis of knowledge that gives the fundamental science, summarized the various culinary phenomena occurring throughout history gastronomic art and modern innovative technologies ".

After all these tweaks molecular food melts in your mouth , the taste explodes and changes in language, in short, makes a visit to the restaurant in a real attraction.

Molecular gastronomy makes all other cooking fads lose relevance: it is the ultimate fantasy to create by combining science and cooking. The main objectives of molecular gastronomy are to understand in detail culinary transformations and processes, from a technical, artistic and social standpoint.

And how, indeed, guess the ice cream - herring? Or what to look at a piece of raw salmon is really excellent frizzled , foam , similar to the one that stays on the bottom of the glass with natural juice drunk - nothing but meat. By the way, this foam - one of cards of molecular gastronomy. It's called Espuma and makes it possible from anything we just have to know how.

Weight sensations that is, the reality does not meet expectations dramatically, leading to subsequent emotional meltdown - that is what must be prepared molecular cuisine restaurant patrons.

Molecular cuisine is somewhat similar to the magic of focus - we see, feel, but cannot quite explain what is happening. But it is also very important not to feel the bitterness of deception and see only ease of execution.

Literature :

1. Herve This Blog 2 | Gastronomie Moléculaire

2. Food for tomorrow? As a scientific discipline of molecular gastronomy could change the way we eat - Nature.tsom

3. Egullet - Notes on International Workshop on Molecular Gastronomy 2004

4. Herve This Website - History of Molecular Gastronomy