Molecular Gastronomy...

Just wondering if there are any chefs in town that are currently employing any techniques that would be fall under the category of molecular gastronomy? i'm pretty sure that noone is devoted to this field as of yet, but is anyone trying to research it, maybe incorporating any ideals into their own dishes?

Ethan, Stephen D, care to reply?

Chef Nick Sullivan at Corbett's has been creating some fabulous desserts inspired partly by his internship under Grant Achatz at Alinea in Chicago. Some of his efforts have resonated over to contributing elements of past and current main course menu(s), involving form spherification, agar gelification process, vegetable foams... Plays, homages & deconstructions/reconstructions of comfort and classic food favorites. (ie., 'banana split' offered on the recent dessert menu)

I'm not qualified to go into great detail about the chemicals and execution. From my observation, I can comment that precise measurement, acute and delicate understanding of anatomical properties of agents and how they react with the base ingredient, requires patience and skill to exact repetition.

Would be cool to see some of these techniques applied at table-side.

Be careful what you put into your mouth. Ask Chef Grant...he has cancer in his tongue (http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magaz ... 08/Burned/)

Be careful what you put into your mouth. Ask Chef Grant...he has cancer in his tongue (http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magaz ... 08/Burned/)

For the record, Chef Achatz's cancer is in remission...

None of the industrial additives cause any sort of cancer.
They are all FOOD GRADE.

They are used in common foods most of you guys use everyday.

Prepared olives contain both calcium chloride and sodium alginate. Both of which are used in spherification.

Heavy cream contains carrageenan, which is a gellifier made from irish moss.

Deli meats are bound with Activa RM, which is a meat glue.

Agar has been used forever in medicine and lab work as a medium for growing cultures, and is used as a vegan gellifier for food in japan for years.

Sodium Citrate gives Sprite it's 'burn'.


With all respect to Chef Looi (and anyone else who thinks this way)

Blaming Chef Achatz's mouth cancer on using these products is a completely uneducated statement.
Saying such things is completely mean spirited and unfound without doing some research on these 'mystery' ingredients... which obviously not many of you know about (and have been consuming without noticing for years.)



All of these ingredients come from natural sources.
They may be called 'chemicals' in some circles... but literally are not in the same respect, nor more than salt is.
The plastics we all use everyday are made from much more potentiality hazardous products than any of the products Chef Achatz or anyone else uses in their cuisine.


Here's a list of ingredients and their where they come from.

For comparative sake: Salt is Sodium chloride... sodium salt.

I've been working an Industrial Product Additive Guide, and pardon the length, but I'm here to debunk any and all myths you guys think about "molecular gastronomy" ingredients.
You can believe what you want... but please don't with out reading or diagnose someone's battle with cancer as a result of which... without actually reading and knowing what you're talking about. I don't consider myself an authority, but i do happen to know that there is a huge amount of misinformation out there.

I do on the other hand, I may have read more regarding these ingredients, and may be a little more informed on the topic in order to provide facts to debunk the contrary.

The majority of this information is sourced by definition and originally cited from science and medical sources and should be considered to be fact, not my opinion:

Again, pardon the length.






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Industrial Food Additive Guide

EMULSIFICATION

Lecithin
Lecithin is utilized in a wide variety of food and industrial applications. The French scientist, Maurice Gobley, first discovered the substance in 1850, and named it "lekithos," the Greek term for egg yolk. At the time, eggs provided a primary source of commercially-produced lecithin. Today, the majority of lecithin used in food applications is derived from soybeans.

Soy lecithin offers a multifunctional, flexible and versatile tool. It is probably best known for its emulsifying properties, which help promote solidity in margarine and give consistent texture to dressings and other creamy products. Lecithin is also used in chocolates and coatings (often added to lower their viscosity) and to counteract spattering during frying. It increases lubricating effects of fats and decreases surface tension. Additionally, its unique lipid molecular structure makes lecithin useful for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications and various industrial uses such as paints, textiles, lubricants and waxes.

Lecithin is a combination of naturally-occurring phospholipids, which are extracted during the processing of soybean oil. The soybeans are tempered by keeping them at a consistent temperature and moisture level for approximately seven to 10 days. This process hydrates the soybeans and loosens the hull. The soybeans are then cleaned and cracked into small pieces and the hulls are separated from the cracked beans. Next, the soybean pieces are heated and pressed into flakes. Soybean oil is extracted from the flakes through a distillation process and lecithin is separated from the oil by the addition of water and centrifugation or steam precipitation.

Lecithin is cold soluble and very soluble in aqueous mediums. It is ideal for converting juices and watery liquids to airs and foams. To produce a stable foam, start with a ration of .6% of lecithin.

Glycerin Flakes
Monoglyceride and diglyceride derived from fats, obtained from glycerin and fatty acids.

Glycerin flakes have a high stability to act as an emulsifier which integrates a watery medium into a fatty medium. It is an emulsifier similar to oil, which means that it must first be broken down with a fatty element and then added to the watery element.

Glycerin flakes are a fatty acid ester, indissoluble in water. It dissolves in oil heated up to 60° C. The oil/glycerin mixture added to a watery medium must be integrated slowly for the emulsion to work.


SPHERIFICATION

Sodium Alginate
Alginates are extracted from brown seaweed and are available in sodium, ammonium and potassium derivatives. They are soluble in both hot and cold water, and can thicken and bind. In the presence of calcium and an acid some alginates can form resilient gels.

The chemical compound sodium alginate is the sodium salt of alginic acid. Its form as a gum, when extracted from the cell walls of brown seaweed (particularly kelp grown in the cold water regions of Ireland, Scotland, North and South America, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa) is used by the food industry to increase viscosity and as an emulsifier. It is also used in indigestion tablets. Sodium alginate has no discernable flavor.

Sodium alginate works as a cold gelling agent that needs no heat to gel. It gels in the presence of calcium compounds. Most commonly used with calcium chloride to make caviar and spheres. It dilutes while cold with strong agitation. Heat is not needed to produce spherification. Sodium alginate can also be used to produce foams.

Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride is a chemical compound of calcium and chlorine. It is a calcium salt traditionally used in the food industry in cheese making. Used in many applications: anti-caking agent, antimicrobial agent, pickling agent, firming agent, flavor enhancer, humectant, pH control agent, stabilizer, thickener and texturizer. It is highly soluble in water. It is a salt that is solid at room temperature, and it behaves as a typical ionic halide. It has several common applications such as brine for refrigeration plants, ice and dust control on roads, and in cement. It can be produced directly from limestone, but large amounts are also produced as a by-product of the Solvay process. Because of its hygroscopic nature, it must be kept in tightly-sealed containers.

Used in conjunction with sodium alginate when making spheres, calcium chloride is used to set sodium alginate solutions resulting in spheres that gel on the outside and remain liquid in the center. It is an ideal reactant for its high water solubility and high calcium content.

Sodium Citrate
Sodium citrate is the sodium salt of citric acid. In this sense, it is similar to calcium citrate. Like citric acid, sodium citrate has a sour taste, as well as having a salty taste, like other salts. For this reason, citrates such as sodium and calcium citrate are commonly known as sour salt (sometimes, people refer to citric acid as sour salt). It is chiefly used as a food additive, usually for flavor or as a preservative. Sodium citrate gives club soda and most lemon-lime soft drinks both their sour and salty flavors.

Used to control acidity and is an important part in the making of some spheres. Acts as an acid buffer- add to high acid liquids so gelling will work. It dissolves very easily and acts instantaneously. It can also stabilize emulsified fat.

Calcium Lactate/Gluconate
Calcium lactate is a white crystalline salt made by the action of lactic acid on calcium carbonate; used in foods (as a baking powder) and given medicinally. Calcium lactate is often found in aged cheeses. Small crystals of it precipitate out when lactic acid is converted into a less soluble form by the bacteria active during the ripening process.

Calcium lactate is added to sugar-free foods to prevent tooth decay. When added to chewing gum containing xylitol, it increases the re-mineralization of tooth enamel. It is also added to fresh-cut fruits to keep them firm and extend their shelf life.

Provides a less bitter taste in the end product when used in spherification in place of calcium chloride. Will dissolve in fat.


GELIFICATION

Agar Agar
Related structurally to carrageenan, this polysaccharide derived from certain species of red algae has been used in Japan since the 15th century. It is processed by cooking and pressing the algae, freeze drying the residue into bars and then grinding it into a powder. It has stronger setting properties than gelatin.

Agar forms gels at approximately 35 °C but once formed the gel does not melt below 85 °C. It reduces sugar crystallization and acts as a stabilizer in icings, glazes and bakery fillings. It is insoluble in cold water and slowly soluble in hot. It is a source of fiber and can form gels in very small proportions and does so quickly. It can be used to make hot gelatins. If an agar solution is boiled, it will gel upon cooling. Allow to rest for correct gelification. The gels are rigid, tough and can form at concentrations as low as .5%. Agar gels are acid-stable in pHs ranging from 4.5 – 9.0.

Applications: temperature resistant gels (agar agar resists heat up, making gelees stable at room temperature or hotter), fluid gels, and agar agar gels can be processed to a creamy “flan like” consistency, without resetting completely.


Methylcellulose
Methylcellulose (or methyl cellulose) is a chemical compound derived from the cellulose of vegetables. Like cellulose, it is not digestible. “A” type food gums are methylcellulose AKA modified vegetable gum. All others are Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose AKA carbohydrate gum. Unlike other gelifiers, methylcellulose gelifies when heat is applied. When cold it acts as a thickener. There is a wide range of viscosity in methylcellulose, which affects the final result of the gelification. Mix cold, shaking vigorously, and leave to rest in the refrigerator until it reaches 4° C for hydration. Next apply temperature up to optimal range for each product. It is a thermo-reversible gelling agent- when the product cools it loses gel capacity and becomes liquid. You can also produce stable foams with methylcellulose products.

THICKENING

Xanthan Gum
Natural carbohydrate produced by fermenting glucose with Xanthomonas campestris bacteria (found in cabbage). It is gluten free and can be used as a substitute for gluten in baking (used along with non-gluten containing flours). Discovered more than 50 years ago in Illinois. Develops a weak gel for high-viscosity solutions at low concentration. It is pseudoplastic (shear reversible). Exceptional thickening and stabilizing abilities- keeps ingredients suspended uniformly in salad dressings while providing excellent pour ability without flavor masking. Provides improved mouth feel to such products as syrups and powdered juice drinks. Functions as hydrophilic colloids to thicken and stabilize emulsions, foams, and suspensions. Soluble in hot or cold water, stable over a range of pH and temperatures, can thicken items with a high alcohol content, compatible with and stable in systems containing high concentrations of salt.

One of the most remarkable properties of xanthan gum is its capability of producing a large increase in the viscosity of a liquid by adding a very small quantity of gum, on the order of one percent. In most foods, it is used at 0.5%, or even as low as 0.05%. The viscosity of xanthan gum solutions decreases with higher shear rates. Foods need high viscosity at low shear rates to be stable but, when consumed, they must not seem thick and heavy in the mouth. Due to the pseudoplastic properties of xanthan gum, it can seem thin in the mouth (fairly high rates of shear) but still have good stabilization properties.


Tapioca Starch
ULTRA-TEX 3 is a high performance cold water swelling modified food starch derived from tapioca. It exhibits many of the properties of a modified cooked starch and possesses a very bland flavor profile with good mouth melt away characteristics. It can be used to thicken liquids without the application of heat. Add to liquid and shear well. Retains color and flavor profile of original liquid. Finished product can be dried into a thin crispy sheet. Many of the same properties of xanthan gum without the “snotty” factor.

ULTRATEX 8 is the bigger, badder brother of Ultratex 3. Modified tapioca starch. Brand new product to the market. Reacts better to acidic mediums. Use less, better mouth feel, can produce a thinner dried product since you can dry a thinner liquid.

Guar Gum
An economical thickener and stabilizer. Rapidly hydrates in cold water giving high low-shear viscosity but is strongly shear-thinning. Stable at pH range 5-7. It is a better emulsifier than locust bean gum. This gum shows viscosity synergy with xanthan gum.

Locust Bean Gum
Also called carob bean gum, it is extracted from the seed of the carob tree. It forms a food reserve for the seeds and helps to retain water under arid conditions. Used as agent in ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming or thickener in salad dressing. Interact synergistically with guar gum to make a thicker gel.


Gellan Gum

Kelcogel (Low Acyl)
A water-soluble polysaccharide produced by fermentation, this gelling agent can be used alone or in combination with other products to produce a wide variety of interesting textures. Extremely effective at low use levels in forming gels, it is low acyl, and forms hard, non elastic, brittle gels and fluid gels.

Kelcogel LT100 -(High Acyl)
A water-soluble polysaccharide produced by fermentation, this gelling agent can be used alone or in combination with other products to produce a wide variety of interesting textures. Extremely effective at low use levels in forming gels, LT100 is high acyl and forms soft, very elastic, non-brittle, and fluid gels.

Carrageenan
A natural hydrocolloid, carrageenan is a natural extract from specific red seaweed species that are farmed and processed. It is used as a suspending and emulsifying stablizer, thickener, binder and gelling agent. These outstanding properties makes it a very versatile ingredient, finding more usage in meat. Typical applications include cooked cured ham, poultry roll, and turkey breast.

Genugel CHP-2 ("Kappa") Carrageenan
This refined kappa type is soluble in hot water at temperatures above 140 F. It is soluble in cold water medium when mixed with sodium salt. The same is true for both conditions when the medium is milk. The usage level is 0.3-0.6%.

Genugel LC-5 Carrageenan
This type is mostly iota with some kappa. It is used for water gels.

Genulacta LP-41 Carrageenan
This type is standardized with sucrose. It functions mainly as a gelling agent in (typically hot) milk desserts. The level of usage ranges from 0.15% to 0.35%.

Genutine 310-C Vegetarian Carrageenan
This type of vegetarian carrageenan is mixed with locust bean gum and standardized with sucrose. It is a gelatin replacer for water gels.

Genutine 400-C Carrageenan
This type of carrageenan is mixed with locust bean gum and standardized with sucrose. It is a gelatin replacer for water gels.

Genuvisco CSM-2 Carrageenan
This is lambda type, standardized with sucrose. It is used as a thickening and stabilizing agent in milk environment. Its strong thickening power gives a stable performance over a wide temperature range.

Genuvisco CSW-2 Carrageenan
This is lambda type, standardized with sucrose. It is used as a thickening agent in a cold prepared dispersion in a standard salt solution. It exhibits viscosity effects almost immediately after dispersion. It is cold water soluble.

Genuvisco J ("Iota") Carrageenan
This iota type is standardized with sucrose. It is cold soluble and gellified at 80 degrees Celcius. Stirring will not cause any gelling formation. However, when the gel is broken, allowing it to rest will restructure the gel. It is usually used in water applications where a weak cohesive and elastic gel is required. Soluble in hot water medium at 140 F. Strongly gels in the presence of calcium ions. Stability in freeze/thaw process.

FOAM

Egg White Powder
Spray dried egg white solids (dried albumen) which are shelf stable. Dry blend with other ingredients whenever possible, or add powder to liquid. Use in any formula where a high whip egg white is not essential, but where binding and coagulative qualities of albumen are essential. Use 7 parts of water to 1 part of egg white solids to equal 8 parts of liquid egg whites. It produces an exceptionally high volume, stable egg white foam. Used for uncooked foods such as marzipan and butter cream icing because it has been heat treated to meet USDA standards for being salmonella negative.

Versawhip-600k
Pure enzymatically treated soy protein which can be hydrated with water and whipped to make a foam. Can replace egg-albumin or gelatin, and exhibit a synergistic effect in combination with egg-albumin or gelatin. Use less product than with egg white powder, foams are more stable, better flavor release. Can use for cold or hot foams. Advantages include consistent foam quality without risk of over-beating, greater heat and acid tolerance, and reduced microbial risk.



TRANSFORMATION

Tapioca Maltodextrin
N-ZORBIT M is a tapioca maltodextrin derived from tapioca that has been specially designed to have a very low bulk density. It dissolves completely when in contact with any aqueous medium. This product is primarily used to increase the volume of dry mixes and frozen foods. In addition, this bland tasting maltodextrin functions excellently as a dispersant for dry ingredients in low solids preparations. Can stabilize high-fat ingredients and which can then be transformed into powders.

Fats should be liquefied, chilled, and mixed with a starting ratio of 60 percent fat to 40 percent tapioca maltodextrin. Puree together in a Robot Coupe and pass through a tamis for a fluffier powder.




OTHER PRODUCTS

Activa RM
Activa RM (also known as meat glue) is a type of transglutaminase that allows "out of the box" thinking in making new food products. It is a naturally occurring enzyme that acts to link proteins. Transglutaminase is a protein that is made by a fermentation process. Fermentations are widely known throughout the food industry and many well known foods and beverages are produced by fermentation. Various forms of transglutaminase are found in animals, plants and microbes. Transglutaminase from fermented sources tend to be easy to use in many different food systems.

Activa RM restructures muscle foods such as red meat, poultry and seafood. This preparation also has uses in foods having lower protein content. It can be applied by dry sprinkle, or added as a dry powder during mixing. It can also be applied as a slurry in water.



Gum Arabic/Acacia Gum
Alternatively known as Gum Arabic or Acacia Gum, it was used in ancient times for purposes as varied as mummification and inks for hieroglyphics. Derived from the sap of the African acacia tree, Gum Arabic is one of the world’s most common gums with the longest history. Defined as a cold water-soluble polysaccharide, Gum Arabic is a multi-functional hydrocolloid that features a highly branched arabino-galactan-protein complex.

Because Gum Arabic is such a versatile hydrocolloid, it has many applications. A superior emulsifier, our Gum Arabic Powder is widely used. Its low viscosity and adhesive properties make Gum Arabic an excellent ingredient for coating confections, and snack foods. For bakery products, the gum’s binding and emulsification abilities aid in the formulation of icings and frostings as well as baked goods like cakes and pastries.

In addition to its functional properties, Gum Arabic plays an important dietary role. It is an excellent source of soluble dietary fiber (more than 85% on dry basis) and because of its low viscosity (300 cP maximum in a 1% solution), can be used to boost fiber levels in a food or beverage without drastically altering the finished viscosity. Studies have shown that Gum Arabic as a source of soluble dietary fiber may provide important dietary benefits.
Flavor encapsulation, confection, marshmallow, candy coating, formulation of cloud emulsions. Will retard crystallization and emulsify fat (preventing fat from "rising" to surface and oxidizing) in confections. Functions as a whipping & stabilizing agent for aerated confections. Binding and emulsifications abilities in frostings and icings.

Bravo Ethan for the 3 mins worth of college chemistry 101 or was that 501 level? There is a reason for 'organic' ingredients and not chemically extracted/derived components. For the same reason, smoking tobacco used to be 'safe' but not now. You are what you eat, if you remember some of what I have lectured upon the younger cooks including yourself.

For the same reason, smoking tobacco used to be 'safe' but not now.

Medical science might take issue with that statement.

Just wondering if there are any chefs in town that are currently employing any techniques that would be fall under the category of molecular gastronomy? I'm pretty sure that no one is devoted to this field as of yet, but is anyone trying to research it, maybe incorporating any ideals into their own dishes?

Welcome to the forum Scott!

To answer your question, molecular gastronomy is behaving more like a sunrise than an atom bomb in Louisville. It's less about whether chef's want or can do it and more about the receptivity of the average diner. Right now, it is somewhat the tricky sale for most diners...

What is happening is that chefs are sneaking some of the more crowd-friendly applications onto menus. First, it's desserts, then a savory application for a preset menu before ending up on the menu. So you really have to keep an eye on the dinner and dessert specials from the top-tier establishments.

I feel confident that the molecular approach will catch on and Louisville will eventually gets its own WD-50, Cafe Atlantico or Alinea, people just have to be introduced to the subject slowly, over time.

Bravo Ethan for the 3 mins worth of college chemistry 101 or was that 501 level? There is a reason for 'organic' ingredients and not chemically extracted/derived components. For the same reason, smoking tobacco used to be 'safe' but not now. You are what you eat, if you remember some of what I have lectured upon the younger cooks including yourself.

I trust you know me well enough to know that i mean this is no way trying to be offensive, by responding the way i did.
I think over the years you and I both have agreed and disagreed on a number of things, but also agreed to disagree.
One thing I remember you telling me was to defend those things you are passionate about, regardless of what others think.
You introduced Louisville to a new style of cooking they were blind to; in some respects, I'm doing the same thing.

Regardless of my or your personal viewpoints on the use of such ingredients, my respect for you as a mentor, professional, and friend will never falter or wane.


The sole purpose of the overly-lengthy "definitions" was both to offer background and information for those who may be interested, as well as supporting my argument that they are all all in fact natural ingredients and not the "chemicals" they've been made out to be known as.

I was also trying to address that the majority of foods that most American's consume on a regular basis contain a number of these ingredients.
These are products that consumers buy on a daily basis and restaurants use on a daily basis; and with these ingredients in concentrations no greater than being used in "avant garde" restaurants today.
Chefs outside of the food science and industrial food world have been using them for decades, and they are only recently making it into the restaurant world.

I am still kicking myself in the ass for not taking any chemistry in high school.

Back to the pulpit:

I think a large amount of the misconceptions attributed to usage of these products begins with A) when in the hands of creative chefs, they find incredibly more interesting (and often outlandish) usages for them beyond the comparably simple tasks they have been mostly used for (emulsification, thickening, shelf stability, etc, etc.) in the industrial food world. B) Until recently, most consumers cared little about how their food is made in industrial food world, and especially the additives that we have used to make food more convenient, attractive and shelf stable for our modern supermarkets. When it is brought down to the more tangible (and visable) level (the restaurant), and the question of "how did you do this?" (followed by an explanation and list of 'industrial products' used to achieve the questioned effect) and then the inevitable: "what is that ingredient?" - that's when people actually notice. When you look at the ingredients of food products bought in the store, most people easily overlook these same additives in the list. Why? because the product is "packaged" more in familiar manner.

The usage of xanthan and/or guar gums, or soy lecithin will permanently emulsify a vinaigrette.
In addition to the classic emulsifier of egg yolk (which contains a lot of lecithin), I use a little of both to stabilize/thicken most vinaigrette's I make.
Why? Because I never have to worry about the emulsion breaking, i have 100% control over the viscosity, and other outside variables that once were unpredictable are now controlled.

If i didn't tell anyone xanthan or guar gum was in the vinaigrette, would they begin to question it? No.
Yet that's what they put in store-bought salad dressings. And people are used to vinaigrette's being emulsified and not broken.

Now on the other hand... if i was to make a creme brulee shaped like a cube -that can be burnt without melting, and yet retains the mouthfeel of a "classic" brulee- people question these things; because the mind's focus is on the fact that it tastes and feels the same as every creme brulee you've ever had; but isn't, it's shaped like a cube... and then the bigger question: "how was this accomplished?"

That's when people begin to ask, question and really want to know what these products are and what they do.
And this is also when some begin to dismiss such approaches to cooking as "unhealthy", pointless and the like.

When they're in your everyday food products you know, use and don't even stop and think about what is in them...
No one seems to care.

The fear of the unfamiliar, yet while turning the blind eye or not even caring what is in their everyday products is what gets me.


Unless you're literally buying milk straight from the cow, churning your own butter, buying farm-fresh eggs, and making EVERYTHING from raw products... you are consuming these products every time you buy most things that are ready made at the grocery store. From raw ingredients like cream, to processed foods, it's there.
It's also in the ingredients used to make your food in restaurants.

For that matter, these types of products or no less familiar or strange than using salt, cornstarch, or gelatin in your foods. At least from a food science perspective, that is. The big difference is the names aren't all that familiar to most. In fact, you're likely to find a large (and growing) number of these products in your natural foods stores as they often-times as comparable substitutes for vegetarian and/or vegan applications. If they're not of an organic nature, then why am i finding them in our health food grocery stores?

Further more, the methods of chemically deriving/extracting such ingredients is no more unnatural than the methods used to make beer/wine/penicillin, collecting seaweed, or the chemical changes that happen when you refine (or for that matter cook/caramelize) sugars .



It's nothing new, and nothing you haven't been consuming before...
You just haven't been reading the labels, nor have cared to.


To quote Alex Stupak (pastry chef at WD~50, former pastry chef at Alinea): "It's really just about controlling water"

Which is really what 90% of these products do.
Hydrocolloids are products that gellify water.

The movement to use such products is neither based upon gimmick, hype or novelty (or at least shouldn't be).
Subtlety is key in their application, and is just another tool the modern chef has at their disposal to control the way the cook and present food.

Microwaves used to be science fiction and scared the hell out of people.
Before that, people couldn't fathom having a range and oven in their house that wasn't coal/wood fired - and before that, a big kettle under a fire pit.

Honestly, for the most part cooking has progressed very little in the past few hundred years compared to other things. (Medicine, Technology, etc. etc.)
Shy of the aforementioned appliance (or rather convenience) upgrades in our modern kitchens and convenience foods, very little has changed in the fundamental ways we cook or think about food.

I'm sure most of you can recall a time when you were skeptical of using a new ingredient or technique in your kitchen (home or at work), sometimes you're surprised... other times you can counter back with "I told you so", but without an open mind and eyes and ears...

It's just another phase in the evolution of what we can and will use in the kitchen.
There's no way of forecasting whether it will catch on, or will fade away.
But as are most things in life.

We'll just have to wait and find out.

.

Wow! Thank you for the wealth of information, Ethan... and thank you fo the warm welcome, Stephen!
While i don't believe that everything involved with molecular gastronomy is something that I am neccesarily interested in applying to my own cooking, there are certain things that really interest me, I and believe it would be a shame to discount anything before I try it out for myself. Ethan, your list has now given me a base from which I can pick and choose as I seem fit, and i certainly appreciate it.

I am by no means offended by your remarks as I know you well enough. I am very glad you have great passion for this cooking technique. There are many items out there in the market that I would not purchase simply because the manufacturers have too many chemicals in their final products eg. high fructose corn syrup. Also I am a advid fan of things 'new' although "there is nothing new in this culinary world"(one of my many quotes to rookies). Creativity is what makes our profession interesting too.

We are in the business of feeding the masses and we do have a reponsibility to make sure their safety/health is and will not be at risk now or in the future. There is a reason why more than 50% of the American population is overweight. They consume too much manufactured food that is shelf stable. Unfamiliar sounding names is a different story. I am sure durian was an unfamiliar name of a fruit 20 years ago until Zimmerman puked in front of the TV last year. The delicious food has been consumed even by my great grandfather, but it is a natural fruit grown in South East Asia.

As for Alex Stupak, I sincerely believe your work is many times better than his. You know how to control flavors better than he 'know' how to control water.

My problem is this: I have real issue with the fact that the term 'molecular' has become mainstream because people associate the elBulli methodology with industrial additives. The debate you just had (important as it is,) is the only thing people talk about and think about when discussing 'molecular.' To the point where I have read that the Adrias have denounced their style as 'molecular.' Too many Marcels, putting foams on everything...

Let's be honest with ourselves... with all the tens of thousands of additives that have had mass-daily use in the past 50 years, only saccharine and red dye #5 have been proven to be carcinogens. With a little digging, someone should be able to rebut this statement with about 5 others I either forgot or don't know about. Now, remind me... are we eating eggs this week or not? Should I avoid jelly on my PBnJ? Gelatin/pectin is very similar to many of these additives.

It's all about balance, I think, as I take a more moderate stance than either of my august colleagues.

I thought the Achatz story was a alot more interesting from the 'Beethoven' viewpoint. The fact that the man lost his sense of taste and found his culinary voice, not because of, but in spite of this handicap to me is brilliant. Cooking with his mind...

'I'm your cook, not your nurse!'
-Paula Dean

I hesitate to say too much, but there is talk of doing a molecular dinner with the Idea Festival and Mayan Cafe in March. It has only been talked about so far and is in the early planning stages. With luck, Stephen D will be making the pairing cocktails for the event.