What is Molecular Gastronomy?

If you've heard of Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal, then you're tuned in to the latest culinary revolution. If you don't think anything can be done to elevate food to new pedestals beyond the works of celebrated chefs of unparalleled classical cooking like Thomas Keller, think again. Some other chefs are having fun in the kitchen, with the help of science.

Molecular gastronomy is a relatively new field, and a great number of classically trained chefs don't think too highly of it. The term was coined in the 1980s by French food scientist Hervé This and physicist Nicholas Kurti. What is it? Harold McGee, the brains behind the encyclopedic masterpiece On Food and Cooking, a masterful tome on the science behind food, its components and the chemical processes that take place in the kitchen (you've never thought of cooking or baking as a process of different chemical reactions, have you?), describes it simply as "the science of deliciousness".

Kurti has since passed away, but This continues to do intensive research in his Paris laboratory, funded by the French government. There, he attempts to decipher what most scientists merely shrug off, like what's the best way to make a soufflé? Or how many liters of mayonnaise can be coaxed out of a single egg yolk? It's questions like these that interest him, and it's scientists like him that contribute so much to development of the techniques behind food processing. Chefs around the world have many thanks to say to this man. He's published several books, all delving into the world of molecular gastronomy.

Of course, as with any good science, it has to find solid applications beyond the laboratory and the realms of research. Enter Ferran Adria. This Catalan chef is regarded by many as some sort of modern day culinary genius, with his restaurant El Bulli, tucked along the remote coastline near Roses, Spain, has become a pilgrimage site for food enthusiasts and serious gourmands alike. El Bulli is open for only six months a year, and the race for reservations is very intense. Here, Adria conjures up dishes that are vehicles for his own experiments with molecular gastronomy, and each tasting menu consists of around 25 different dishes, each a whimsical take on regular foods we might encounter everyday, like olives or beans, and some haute cuisine staples like foie gras or truffles. He also serves other more exotic items, including chicken feet (deboned, so there's little work for the diner) and rabbit kidneys. Each dish is infused with a novel take on food, including foams (cabbage foams, for example, that capture the essence of the produce in a light foam), airs (he serves parmesan air, believe it or not), sauces encased in gelatinous spheres that burst with flavor in your mouth, and all sorts of odd flavor combinations. Adria is a kitchen alchemist, and even within the same season, El Bulli constantly changes dishes; one tasting menu might not exactly be the same a day later.

Over in England, El Bulli's main rival is The Fat Duck, owned and operated by self-taught chef Heston Blumenthal. The food here are results of molecular gastronomy experiments by Blumenthal, too. He cooks some of his food in vacuum bottles and freezes up stuff with liquid nitrogen you might think you've entered a science lab! As with the likes of El Bulli, The Fat Duck is also a three star Michelin restaurant, proving that novel methods can also be applied to generate fine, exquisite cuisine.

Other notable molecular gastronomy chefs include Grant Archatz with his acclaimed restaurant Alinea in Chicago and Homaru Cantu, with his restaurant Moto, also in Chicago. In D.C., there's the ED-50 and in New York, Jose Andres' Minibar is all the rage. The molecular gastronomic movement, albeit in its infancy, is already gathering steam, and lots of attention. Even NASA has signed a contract with Cantu for his space food! Cantu also designs and puts a twist on many traditional kitchen equipment, even coming up with an edible menu and cooking with lasers!

While many classically-trained chefs disdain the molecular gastronomy movement, it's clearly making ripples. Science has always been used as a vehicle for improvement of the quality of lives we live, so why not use it to enhance our everyday dining experience? Molecular gastronomy aims to enhance food to appeal to all senses, an interplay of taste, visual, aromatic, and textural aesthetics. These chefs may be the pioneers of molecular gastronomy, but one day, this movement just might find itself in the kitchens of every households, helping home cooks turn out quality meals for the family. They may not be as elaborate as those at El Bulli or The Fat Duck, but they will certainly be an appetizing fusion of science and cuisine.