Molecular Techniques at home
November 25th 2010 14:08
Got kitchen ambition? Interested in the scientific aspect of food preparation? There is no big secret to applying science to food, much of the research is available to you already through such chef/writer/researchers as Herve This, Heston Blumenthal, Grant Achatz, Peter Barham and Ferran Adrià.
Personally, the most important book I have read is by Harold McGee titled "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen". It is a massive (600 pages) compendium of terms, scientific explainations and historical overview about the who, what, where, how and why of cooking and plant biology. I have had several copies and use it frequently to get perspective on anything I may be doing in the kitchen.
Remember, there is always so much to learn that you can never ever learn it all. That gives you a free pass to ask all the questions you want, to be able to PLAY in the kitchen and to make mistakes. It is JUST FOOD after all. We learn (hopefully) more from our errors than from our success. Just try not to make errors with raw chicken or turkey, because those errors require extensive clean up and recovery time, but more on that later.
So now that you have a list of reference materials to get started with I'm going to monkey it up for you a bit. Most of those involved in "molecular gastronomy" hate the term "molecular gastronomy" and prefer to call it food science or something else entirely, as the molecular tag confuses or intimidates the casual diner or reader. It is enough to say that Mol. Gas.(HOHO) usually involves manipulating, deconstructing/reconstructing, reinterpreting and challenging commonly held PERCEPTIONS and expectations. An example is Ferran Adria's "caviar" which is in effect a gelatinized sphere of tasty liquid that LOOKS like caviar, is served as a garnish or accent to a dish, but has a completely different flavour from caviar, like sesame oil, soya or whatever. You see caviar but taste something else. I tend to approach Mol. Gas. with a sense of humour and playfullness.
I will post a recipe fro home use later today.
Personally, the most important book I have read is by Harold McGee titled "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen". It is a massive (600 pages) compendium of terms, scientific explainations and historical overview about the who, what, where, how and why of cooking and plant biology. I have had several copies and use it frequently to get perspective on anything I may be doing in the kitchen.
So now that you have a list of reference materials to get started with I'm going to monkey it up for you a bit. Most of those involved in "molecular gastronomy" hate the term "molecular gastronomy" and prefer to call it food science or something else entirely, as the molecular tag confuses or intimidates the casual diner or reader. It is enough to say that Mol. Gas.(HOHO) usually involves manipulating, deconstructing/reconstructing, reinterpreting and challenging commonly held PERCEPTIONS and expectations. An example is Ferran Adria's "caviar" which is in effect a gelatinized sphere of tasty liquid that LOOKS like caviar, is served as a garnish or accent to a dish, but has a completely different flavour from caviar, like sesame oil, soya or whatever. You see caviar but taste something else. I tend to approach Mol. Gas. with a sense of humour and playfullness.
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