molecular gastronomy

Molecular gastronomy is a discipline within food science that focuses on the chemical and physical changes that occur in cooking. Prior to the development of molecular gastronomy, food science has been dominated by food industry application, whereas molecular gastronomy focuses on science in the kitchen.

Author Harold McGee writes about kitchen science and addresses the history of molecular gastronomy in his blog Curious Cook. Molecular gastronomy was first documented at a workshop in Erice, Sicily, in 1992, which focused on how kitchen preparations might be improved through better understanding of physics and chemistry. McGee writes, "Elizabeth Cawdry Thomas, a cook and teacher, should be remembered for initiating the feasts of conversation between scientists and cooks that took place at Erice, and for choosing Nicholas Kurti to lead them in his enthusiastic and entirely undogmatic fashion."

Since the 1992 program, molecular gastronomy has been transformed somewhat by a few high-profile chefs to emphasize innovation and cooking at the molecular level. Molecular gastronomy is quite international. The Kymos blogsite focusing on the subject originates from Oslo, Norway. If you are fluent in French, read Herve This's blog Gastronomie Moleculaire. The International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science is slated for publication in 2009.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “molecular gastronomy”

• A Christmas Dinner potluck with friends

  
  Chicken Fried Gourmet — Authority: 111
  Here are my contributions to a potluck dinner at our house last night :   Beer cheese soup with rosemary   Duck,turnip popcorn puree,roasted beets blackberry and piquillo pepper,turnip popcorn soil Nutella powder with parmesan sphere
  1 week ago

• Super Chef Battle at White House

  
  FriendsEAT.com — Authority: 134
  Michelle Obama, A Foodie we Love First Lady Michelle Obama has challenged Iron chefs Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse to a Super Chef Battle at the White House. The Iron Chef stars will be pitted against White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford, and Bobby Flay. The two-hour special will premier Sunday January ...
  2 weeks ago

• Great Flavor At New Marigold

  
  Foobooz — Authority: 487
  Craig LaBan visits the now avant-garde Marigold Kitchen where chef Robert Halpern is deconstructing and meat-gluing back together the typical idea of a meal.Great flavor combinations abound here, like the stunningly earthy taste of the chorizo-scented broth and perfectly cooked seafood of his “New World paella,” ...
  2 weeks ago

• Top Cheffage: Last night, on his first day...

  
  Eater SF — Authority: 591
  Last night, on his first day as the Top Chef, Michael Voltaggio appeared on the Tonight Show With Conan OBrien . Unlike some other late night demos, its a fun clip, with Lil Volt showing off his molecular gastronomy skills by making a "yogurt shop" dessert with liquid nitrogen, foam, chocolate worms and faux dirt. ...
  2 weeks ago

• Tasting Menu at Providence, LA

  
  This is Gonna Be Good — Authority: 117
  I was lucky that for my birthday, my friends got us a reservation at LAs Michelin two star restaurant, Providence for dinner. We decided to try the full tasting menu that evening. The meal started with a trio of amuse-bouches, two of which were alcohol based. The first was a gin & tonic gelée. You ...
  2 weeks ago

• Molecular Gastronomy School: It was probably only a matter...

  
  Eater National — Authority: 629
  It was probably only a matter of time before Spain decided to open an entire culinary school dedicated to the wonders of molecular gastronomy (or whatever you want to call it) . Due to open in in San Sebastian in September 2011, its going to be called the University for Gastronomical Science and the Centre for ...
  2 weeks ago

• Sous-vide: Greatest Cooking Advancement in Decades

  
  FriendsEAT.com — Authority: 134
  Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide Sous-vide — French for “under vacuum — is a cooking technique of vacuum-packing food, then slow-cooking it at low temperatures. Unlike using a slow cooker, chefs using the sous-vide method cook at temperatures below the boiling point, between 104°F to 190°F. The method was ...
  2 weeks ago

• Molecular Gastronomy - New Site and Freebies

  
  Just Cook It — Authority: 109
  At some point in the not too distant future I will be helping the good folks at Cream Supplies , purveyors of the finest molecular gastronomy goodies, to launch a new interactive cooking site. The focus will be on making molecular gastronomy accessible to us mere mortals. We will be de-mystifying the processes, ...
  3 weeks ago

• Video: The Chemistry of Thanksgiving

  
  Wired Science — Authority: 756
  If you want to arm yourself with some nice science trivia for tonight’s dinner conversation, check out this lecture by Diane Bunce , a professor of chemistry at The Catholic University in Washington, DC. She gets off to a slow start, so you may want to skip the first two minutes. See Also: Top 10 Amazing ...
  4 weeks ago

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