Molecular Gastronomy

Discover a Whole New World of Food

written by Margarette Emin Lee | photographed by Chika Okoye | designed by Solana Chatfeld

A glossy yellow-green droplet sits elegantly on a silver spoon which curves to refect an intriguing sphere. Its color vibrant, but not overpowering; its fragrance subtle, with nuttiness and tang. It slides off the spoon and onto your tongue where the slightest pressure against the roof of your mouth causes it to burst and release a velvety familiar favor: salty, savory, briny, accentuated with the oil from the olive, which creates depth to its delicate favor profle. This is Chef Ferran Adrià’s famous olive—one creation in his exploration in experimental cuisine, a subdiscipline of the science of molecular gastronomy.

A regular customer experiencing experimental cuisine may perceive it as a form of art or an inexplicable phenomenon they fnd pleasure in. However, behind the sphere on their silver spoon rests a whole world of researched techniques in the world of molecular gastronomy. Valerie Ryan, a Boston University Professor in Molecular Gastronomy, explained the intricate details to this world of research.

“Molecular gastronomy has a scientifc approach to understanding the physics and chemistry of cooking. It can be thought of as the science of culinary phenomena. However, it is not a method of cooking or a type of haute cuisine as some mistakenly believe,” said Professor Ryan.

Originally known as “molecular and physical gastronomy,” molecular gastronomy was frst coined at a conference in Erice, Sicily in 1992 and was created by physical chemist Hervé This and physicist Nicholas Kurti. Unlike food science, which focuses on the composition of food itself, molecular gastronomy focuses on the science of the transformation of different foods, which commonly occurs in the culinary process. Hervé This’s successful efforts to popularize the discipline extrapolated molecular gastronomy into a form of experimental cuisine that helps develop new culinary techniques popular today.

Professor Ryan further described why she thinks the discipline has become so popular. “I think that many of us have a passion for understanding the molecular properties of our everyday food, especially how those properties are altered by our cooking, and how they give rise to the sensory characteristics in the food we love,” she said.

Putting these scientists’ thought process into perspective, Chef Adrià explains the science behind the famous previously described olive. This process is a product of the commonly practiced technique of spherifcation, which creates the previously described cherished olive purée. This purée is made to isolate the intense favor of the best olives and is dolloped into a solution of sodium alginate, which chemically reacts with the calcium mineral found naturally in olives to form a translucent case, preserving the liquid purée and forming the olive sphere.

According to Professor Ryan, this technique has inspired not only new culinary creations, but also new food and beverage commercial products, some of which involve edible packaging. For example, notable chefs including the previously mentioned Adria, as well as Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller, Pierre Gagnaire, and others, have incorporated aspects of molecular gastronomy into their approach to discover new dishes and techniques in their personal practices.

This new world of cuisine, which incorporates arts, science and even the humanities, continues to evolve every day, creating an exciting environment to explore the developing infuence that molecular gastronomy has on the food we eat in our daily lives. Not only does this discipline inspire the discoveries made in haute cuisine, but it may also be a large infuence on food product development and may even contribute a new perspective on dietary health and nutrition as society continues to strive for a healthier lifestyle.

I encourage you to explore molecular gastronomy further, and to have a taste of it yourself in Boston! Boston Magazine recommends Restaurant L, where the 2005 Best Chef Pino Maffeo showcases his practice in molecular and experimental cuisine.

Additionally, if molecular gastronomy interests you, BU offers its very own Master’s program in Gastronomy, founded by the famous Chefs Jacques Pepin and Julia Child. Courses include Valerie Ryan’s own class in Science of Food and Cooking, which discusses different perspectives of food, with hands-on culinary exploration. For more information, follow the BU Metropolitan College website to discover your own journey in the exploration of molecular gastronomy.