It's Bazaar - Chef Andres and Molecular Gastronomy

Andres is one part chef one part mad scientist.  He thinks food should be fun and practices molecular gastronomy, a scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking.  Sitting down for a meal at one of his restaurants is truly an adventure, as outlined in this great post by actress Felicia Day.

Molecular gastronomy has only been an official area of study for the last twenty to thirty years, but it is now approaching a tipping point in popularity thanks to Chef Andres and restaurants like The Bazaar.

Professor Peter Barham is another key player in this movement.  In a Discovery Channel piece he outlined molecular gastronomy as a study of the following:

· How and why we evolved our particular taste and flavor sense organs and our general food likes and dislikes?

· How do production methods affect the eventual flavor and texture of food ingredients?

· How are these ingredients changed by different cooking methods?

· Can we devise new cooking methods that produce unusual and improved results of texture and flavor?

· How do our brains actually interpret the signals from all our senses to tell us the "flavor" of food?

· How is our enjoyment of food affected by other influences - the environment in which we eat the food, our mood, etc?

Peter also says that our sense of touch can actually change our perception of flavor.  He suggests this experiment to test the theory:

1. Taste a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. 

2. Now take a second spoonful, but this time close your eyes and hold a piece of velvet cloth in your hands.  Does it taste creamier than before?

3. Now try the same ice cream with a piece of fine sandpaper in your hands.  Does the texture seem to become grittier?

What do you think about this approach to food and cooking?  Will one of these non-traditional dishes make their way into your ultimate meal?