Molecular Gastronomy

[Servo2000]

I've always been fascinated by this somewhat more recent development. This menu looks exemplary, and seems a pretty decent introduction to the world / idea of molecular gastronomy ("culinary alchemy") the fundamental idea behind molecular gastronomy was originally put forth as the following:

* Investigating culinary and gastronomical proverbs, sayings, and old wives' tales

* Exploring existing recipes

* Introducing new tools, ingredients and methods into the kitchen

* Inventing new dishes

* Using molecular gastronomy to help the general public understand the contribution of science to society

Either way, it's basically the science of food. You might know Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck, or more likely the fellow from Top Chef.

Anyway, here's the fully documented visit to Simon Rogan's L'Enclume looks fucking awesome.

The Underground Menu at L'Enclume

[onemancult]

Look up the restaurant Alinea, in Chicago, and read the Press section of their website.

They're sort of at the forefront of the whole molecular gastronomy thing, and I am dying to head there to drop 1000 on dinner for four.

For instance, they have this chemical in powder form on hand that, when added to softer food items, turns those items into powder as well. They sprinkle this on caramels, and serve the powder in a little shot glass- the second it hits your mouth, your saliva re-hydrates the caramel and you've got chewy deliciousness in your mouth when you were expecting chalk. Amazing.

[therealcas]

The actual father/creator of molecular gastronomy (deconstructivist) is, Ferrán Adrià. He is a Spainish born chef and throughout his career has redefined the way chefs look at food. His restaurant, El Bulli, is a Michelin 3 star restaurant. It is pretty much considered one of the best restaurants in the western world. This guy is the OG of molecular gastronomy, he's been making this shit up since 1983. He also has a fat ass book that he sells with all his creations documented each year.

This guy is untouchable in the gastronomy world.

El Bulli

[Servo2000]

Yeah, Alinea is definitely interesting. The "performance" aspect of the meal sounds really interesting, but some of the experiments from the Fat Duck are more interesting to me, and on total hearsay it seems that L'Enclume is still the best 'tasting' of the bunch.

Again, complete anecdotal evidence. They're all some of the top ranked restaurants in the world, I imagine it's hard to go wrong!

[Servo2000]

The actual father/creator of molecular gastronomy (deconstructivist) is, Ferrán Adrià. He is a Spainish born chef and throughout his career has redefined the way chefs look at food. His restaurant, El Bulli, is a Michelin 3 star restaurant. It is pretty much considered one of the best restaurants in the western world. This guy is the OG of molecular gastronomy, he's been making this shit up since 1983. He also has a fat ass book that he sells with all his creations documented each year.

This guy is untouchable in the gastronomy world.

El Bulli

Those catalogues look pretty interesting.

I've always wondered if they pare down the recipes to not assume that more people have $10,000 industrial whipping machines to create those creams, and whatnot. A few of those guys have some pretty specialized equipment.

[therealcas]

yea. gastronomy has also caught my eye, but it seems so far fetched for a regular person who doesnt have access to chemicals or materials they use to create these types of dishes.

[poly800rock]

I've always been fascinated by this somewhat more recent development. This menu looks exemplary, and seems a pretty decent introduction to the world / idea of molecular gastronomy ("culinary alchemy") the fundamental idea behind molecular gastronomy was originally put forth as the following:

* Investigating culinary and gastronomical proverbs, sayings, and old wives' tales

* Exploring existing recipes

* Introducing new tools, ingredients and methods into the kitchen

* Inventing new dishes

* Using molecular gastronomy to help the general public understand the contribution of science to society

Either way, it's basically the science of food. You might know Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck, or more likely the fellow from Top Chef.

Anyway, here's the fully documented visit to Simon Rogan's L'Enclume looks fucking awesome.

The Underground Menu at L'Enclume

there was a great time magazine article on this i read in the dentists office. really interesting,