Have you heard of "molecular cuisine"? Maybe you have already tried it!

Review expert: Meng Meng, associate researcher at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

At present, a new cooking method has emerged in many Michelin restaurants in big cities - molecular cuisine. It was originally born in Spain. Interestingly, the name of this cuisine did not come from the proposal of a chef, but was created by physicist Nicolas Coty and French chemist Ivy Tice.

Different from traditional cooking methods, molecular cooking is based on experiments and uses a scientific perspective to analyze the chemical and physical changes that occur in food during the cooking process. It uses scientific experiments to change the properties of the ingredients themselves and study the cooking temperature and time that best suit people's daily eating habits. Because the form of the substance itself is changed, it often deceives diners' eyes and common sense judgment, giving diners a novel experience and unexpected surprises.

The origins of molecular gastronomy

Someone once proposed that molecular cuisine is deconstructionism that takes place in the small space of the kitchen. The kitchen for making molecular cuisine is more like a laboratory with many precision instruments, including droppers, infrared thermometers, siphon bottles, spoons, scales and other instruments.

French scientist Hervé, also the father of molecular cuisine

Source: Paul Cooper/Rex

The creator, Ivy Tiss, is a creative foodie. During his doctoral studies, he walked the streets and collected various folk cooking secrets. He then conducted experiments in the laboratory to verify these handed-down experiences. He took molecular and physical cooking as the theme of his thesis and successfully graduated with a doctorate. In other words, molecular cuisine has been a scientific research and re-creation based on folk cooking experience since its inception.

Source: Pixabay

"The taste of food is not presented at a macro level, but from a micro level, processed in molecular units, breaking the original appearance of the ingredients, re-combining and reshaping them, and even to a certain extent using physical means to make up for the deficiencies and defects of the ingredients themselves, so that you see mountains not mountains, and water not water." This is the scientific principle of molecular cuisine.

For example, molecular gastronomy research has found that cooking a piece of ordinary beef at 59°C for 12 hours can make it as soft as a sponge.

Key molecular gastronomy cooking techniques

The molecular cuisine cooking methods currently popular on the market mainly include low-temperature slow cooking technology, liquid nitrogen quick freezing cooking technology, spherification cooking technology, foam cooking technology, etc.

Low temperature slow cooking technique

It is considered a veteran molecular cooking technique, which was first used in French restaurants in the 1970s. According to research, when the protein cells in the food reach a certain temperature, they will explode. Chefs can accurately locate the cooking temperature corresponding to the best taste by analyzing and calculating the explosion temperature of the protein cells in different types of food.

Using low-temperature slow cooking technology, the first step is marinating; the second step is to place it in a high-temperature resistant packaging bag and vacuum it. Finally, put it in a constant temperature slow cooker to slowly cook the food. This can maximize the retention of nutrients such as protein in the ingredients and achieve the purpose of increasing the taste of the food.

Source: pixabay

Liquid nitrogen quick freezing cooking technology

When ingredients are exposed to pure liquid nitrogen at -196°C, their molecular structure will change instantly, causing the shape and taste of the ingredients to change significantly in a short period of time. When using liquid nitrogen quick freezing technology to make ice cream, the taste will be smoother and more delicate, and there is no need to add extra additives, so it is more nutritious and healthy.

Foam cooking technique

This is an emulsification technology that quickly stirs the liquid to make it foamy, with a denser and more delicate taste. In the process, "soy lecithin" needs to be added to dissolve oil and water to achieve a balanced state. It often appears in seafood dishes in Western cuisine. For example, lemon foam, which is used to remove fishy smell, sterilize and maintain nutrition, is made in this way.

Spheroidization cooking technique

Spheroidization cooking technology can be further divided into forward spheroidization technology and reverse spheroidization technology. The principle of "forward spheroidization technology" is to add sodium alginate to liquid ingredients and slowly put the mixture into calcium chloride solution. The calcium ions in the solution will "switch positions" with the sodium ions of sodium alginate, and the molecular chains of sodium alginate will be cross-linked with the help of calcium ions to form a hydrogel. In this way, a thin film can be formed on the surface of the food through chemical means, while the liquid form is still retained inside, thus achieving a bursting taste.

Some "flying fish roe" is made of sodium alginate. Source: pixabay, while the "reverse spherification technology" is formed by dripping liquid with added calcium lactate into the sodium alginate solution. In terms of food taste, the food of the forward spherification technology will be thinner and crispier.

Molecular gastronomy in everyday life

Although molecular cuisine sounds like a dietary barrier, it is actually hidden in our daily lives, affordable and common. In fact, tofu, cotton candy and ginger milk that can be seen everywhere on the street are all molecular cuisine.

Tofu source: pixabay

Tofu is a delicate product created by the combination of soy milk and gypsum; marshmallows are made by sugar powder melted into threads under high temperature, which continuously fly out from the small holes in the container under the action of centrifugal force; and the last one, ginger milk, is made by ginger juice and milk undergoing chemical changes at a certain temperature, which causes the protease in the milk to coagulate.

So although it sounds like it is very "high-end", in fact, everyone has tried the taste of molecular cuisine to some extent. It's just that when tasting it, you don't know the principle behind it.