RESEARCH PROJECT

ON
MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY IN
BAKERY
ABSTRACT
Modern culinary direction - molecular gastronomy is very complex, and the
relative youth of that direction affects the ignorance of the matter by a large
number of professionals and the general public. It is precisely this lack of
matter which causes a number of disagreements between chefs and
scientists, while there is a number of related debates about aspects of
molecular gastronomy, especially in connection with a change in its
gastronomic cuisine. The main focus of disagreement lies in the name of
''molecular'', which mostly leads to a misunderstanding, because of the
identification with something microscopic. A very common mistake is to
address this branch of gastronomy as a style of cooking, which she doesn't
represent. The second mistake is naming its practical application of
molecular cooking, molecular cuisine. Molecular gastronomy is a scientific
discipline that studies food and asks questions and gives answers so far
unanswered questions about gastronomy. Simply put, molecular gastronomy
can be understood as a process of application of science in everyday
cooking, and the application of molecular gastronomy in the kitchen.
Modern man with his awareness made some chefs to reconsider the adoption
of these radical ideas to accomplish the fusion of science and gastronomy.
This idea is established as a full hit, because today the best restaurants in the
world, the vast majority of those who have seen the benefits of these two
joints before incompatible branches of human activity. As a culinary
direction it quickly spread to Western Europe and North America, and it
later spread to other parts of the world, but Croatia and neighboring
countries are not one of them. Molecular gastronomy shows the trends of
further progress, and in the future molecular gastronomy will be more
prevalent and popular.
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Every time something is placed in somebodys mouth one or a
combination of tastes alerts to vital information about that matter. If it's
sweet, maybe it's got the nutrients the body needs to keep running for
another few hours. If it's salty, perhaps it is necessary to replace some of
those vital minerals just excreted through sweat or urine. If it's sour, there's a
chance it's not ripe and will cause a bad bellyache. If it's bitter, watch out..
it could be poison and the next swallow will be the last. Thus, eating is
associated to neurophyscological inherited and acquired phenomena.
Deciding what tastes "good" is anything but simple.
A food's flavor doesn't usually depend on data from a single sense
Rather, smell, touch, sight and even hearing often come into play, and the
best methods of pleasurably exciting those senses, during a meal or
snack,occupies the days of thousands of chefs, brewers, marketing flaks, and
scientists around the world.Senses depend on an intricate cross talk between
the different sensitive areas enervated by peripheral nerve branches and the
remaining nervous system, medulla and brain
This is a complex system yet not fully known which has demanded
scientists to delve deeply into its mechanisms In terms of taste, until very
recently, a concept that has guided much taste research is the existence of
only four (or possibly five) independent taste qualities. These four so-called
basic or primary tastes are sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; a fifth quality,
the taste of glutamate salts called umami, has also been described

. All other tastes are presumed to be combinations of these basic tastes

mixed in various proportions. The idea that taste was, as the other senses,
just a mechanical action in which nervous fibers played the conductors to
reach the brain has also been
rejected. A new concept has emerged showing that aside from the receptor,
this has to interact with a chemical signal or a tastant
Tastants are chemicals that stimulate receptors and ion channels in
taste receptor cells found in taste buds ( garlic clove-like structures). The
latter are contained within papillae on the tongues surface in the soft palate,
pharynx, larynx, and epiglottis.. Papillae types vary according to the region
in the tongue. For example, in the anterior area of the tongue fungiform
papillae predominate, foliate papillae are located in the posterior lateral sides
of the tongue and circumvallate (rearward facing chevron across the back of
the tongue) papillae
Taste buds contain between 50 and 150 cells that form a discrete
ovoid structure

.These cells are divided into basal cells (from which new taste cells
originate) as well as elongated cells, some of which have microvilli that
extend through a taste pore into the oral environment. Tastants dissolve in
saliva and cross a mucus layer to reach microvilli and taste receptors.
Diminished salivary production can impair taste perception and this explains
why elderly people who, in general, have less saliva present with taste
disorders, as well as those individuals who have undergone chemo or
radiotherapy. The tastants then activate either ion channels (sour, salty) or G
protein (gustucin) coupled receptors (sweet, bitter, umami), depolarizing
these cells. These, in turn, set up impulses in the taste nerves. It is
interesting to note that the pleasure response to sweetness and disgust from
bitterness is present at birth and not learned. Response to saltiness develops
during the first year of life
Branches of three cranial nerves innervate taste buds, transmitting the
electrical impulses to the medulla: the chorda tympani nerve innervates
fungiform and anterior foliate papillae and the lingual nerve innervates the
posterior foliate and circumvallate papillae. Taste buds on the soft palate are
innervated by the superficial petrosal nerve, while those on the epiglottis are
innervated by the superior branch of the vagus nerve. Each nerve has fibers
that respond best to a specific taste quality
. However, the tongue map the idea that certain areas respond only to
certain taste qualities is wrong; all areas of the tongue respond to all
qualities From the medulla, the taste impulses reach the brain, more
precisely the primary taste cortex in the rostal insula and adjoining frontal
operculum and the orbitofrontal cortex that contains the secondary taste
cortex, in which the reward value of taste is represented. The latter area also
contains the secondary and tertiary olfactory cortical areas, in which
information about the identity and also about the reward value of odors is
represented. The orbitofrontal cortex also receives information about the
sight of objects from the temporal lobe cortical visual areas, and neurons in
it learn and reverse
the visual stimulus to which they respond when the association of the visual
stimulus with a primary reinforcing stimulus (such as taste) is reversed.
Foods and beverages stimulate multiple fibers in the trigeminal nerve (CN
V): tactile sensations such as particle size, texture and creaminess stimulate
mechanoreceptors while temperature triggers thermo receptors and, irritants
and pungent foods stimulate nociceptors. Somatosensory input is tightly
integrated with, but separate from, smell and taste input.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY?

Originally coined to describe the scientific study of food and cooking,

molecular gastronomy is now associated with innovative modern cuisine.
Chefs use a combination of unusual tastes, textures and theatrical twists to
give the eating experience a new multi-sensory dimension with the aid of
high-tech equipment and a handful of clever chemicals. They're not afraid to
break the mould either - traditional kitchen techniques are examined in
scientific detail, and if they aren't up to scratch, they're adjusted.

Many of the chefs branded as molecular gastronomists, including 4Food's

Heston Blumenthal can't stand the phrase though as they feel it misses the
point - they may be using new and innovative techniques, but quality and
flavour are still at the heart of what they're doing.
A FEW TECHNIQUES EXPLORED

FOAM

There are a few different ways to achieve froths and foams. The easiest is
using a hand blender, held just under the surface of the liquid. As the foam
appears, skim it off and add to your dish - this works well with creamy or
buttery sauces or sauces, but the bubbles won't last long. Another method is
to use a cream whipper(opens in a new window) and put your
creamy/buttery sauce through that. To give your foam a bit more stability
and body, or to foam thinner liquids, stocks and juices, you can add a gelling
agent such as agar agar, or thickener like lecithin before using either of the
techniques above.
SNAP, CRACKLE AND POP

If it's good enough for Heston, it's good enough for us. Addpopping
candy(opens in a new window) to the base of cheesecakes and tarts to give
your diners a pleasant surprise when they start chewing.

SPHERIFICATION

You can give just about anything the appearance of balls of caviar with this
trick. Mix sodium alginate with any liquid, then drip the mixture into a
calcium salt and water solution. Scoop them out quickly enough and they
should be jellied on the outside and still liquid in the middle as the calcium
solution will set the sodium alginate gel. Fruit juices make a nice choice for
spherification as you can add them to desserts for a bit of decoration.
Alternatively make balls of of consomm, or other thin soups or sauces for
an interesting savoury garnish.
FIZZ

If you mix bicarbonate of soda with any form of acid and then add water, it
will fizz. So, make your own by mixing a little bicarb, citric acid and icing
sugar, then dust it onto toffees, boiled sweets, or even on to the surface of
fruits (only if the skins are really dry though) and get tongues tingling.
SOUS VIDE

Food, such as meat or fish, is sealed in vacuum packed bags and cooked in a
water bath for several hours on a very low heat. Cooking in this way helps
food to retain its moisture and flavour, as well as tenderizing tough cuts of
meat. Sous vide cookery is become so popular these days that you can now
buy domestic.
MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY KITS

There are various kits(opens in a new window) on the market which

contain all the basic chemicals you'll need to get started with techniques
such as spherification, fizz and jelly making. They usually contain a few bits
of basic equipment too such as pipettes, tubing and a recipe book or leaflet.
It's worth investing in a set of precision scales(opens in a new
window) too, as you'll be working with very small quantities.

Molecular gastronomy is a sub discipline of food science that seeks to

investigate, explain and make practical use of
the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur
while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of
culinary and gastronomic phenomena in general. Molecular gastronomy is a
modern style of cooking, which is practiced by both scientists and food
professionals in many professional kitchens and labs and takes advantage of
many technical innovations from the scientific disciplines.

The term "molecular gastronomy" was coined in 1992 by

late Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti and the French INRA chemist Herv
This. Some chefs associated with the term choose to reject its use, preferring
other terms such as "culinary physics" and "experimental cuisine"

Molecular gastronomy is the new direction of gastronomy mostly initiated

by idea of implementation of science in cooking. Many things associated
with this term are not quite clear and many have a wrong idea. This direction
of gastronomy seeks innovation and improvement of the existing situation, a
fundamental goal of improving ways of preparing meals, so that they have
such taste as it should be in the optimal case, every time. The idea of a
practical molecular gastronomy in restaurants and forming a sort of
combination of traditional and modern, artistic and scientific approach to
cooking is widespread throughout the world, but the greatest concentration
of such restaurants are located within the European Union, where actually
were created the first prototypes of such restaurants. In the today' world the
obesity is one of the biggest problems of modern man, a result of sedentary
lifestyles and unbalanced diets imposed by lifestyle. Standard restaurants'
offer is based on the portions that exceed nutritional requirements and the
entry of such foods further undermines the notion of a balanced diet. For
these reasons there is a need for rationalization and regular moderate intake
of what is needed. Rationalization of nutrition is one of the main features of
the new attitudes adopted by molecular gastronomy, as well as the use of
food as a whole.
PURPOSE OF STUDY
 PURPOSE OF STUDY

This project aims to be guideline to the Hoteliers

entrepreneurs including _____________.

This project would also provide helpful to teacher

and trainers as sufficient material for giving lesson is
provided. Even the students will gain a lot in knowledge as
out _____________ .
SCOPE OF
STUDY
 SCOPE OF STUDY

Though the theoretical portion of this project has

been taken from various books, the data analysis and the
interpretation has been done basing on the experiments
conducted, the results yielded and the scores given by the
judges that comprise of the respected faculty of the
college.
OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVES
 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
&
METHODS OF
DATA COLLECTION

RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
&
METHODS OF

DATA COLLECTION
The data collected for the project are primary. They have been collected
based on the survey conducted by myself in New Delhi. The theoretical
framework has been done with the help of some books, but the data
analysis & interpretation has been done based on primary source of
information. From the very beginning of my study upon this valuable as
well as important and interesting topic, I have got always a positive
response from every concern and individual wherever I approached. I went
to some old and renowned restaurants, hotels, which are well known to
the staff.

The experiments had been solely conducted by me keeping

in mind the valuable advise & informations from the
esteemed teachers. The result product was presented
before a panel of judges comprising lecturers of our
college. They had been provided with a score sheet
prepared by me. The marks provided by the panel were
used for the data analysis & interpretation.
I personally interviewed some chefs and staff according to
my questionnaire. I found they are really cordial and
supportive during my survey.
THEOROICAL
FRAMEWORK
APPLICATION OF ADDITIVES AND INNOVATION IN THE
PREPARATION OF FOOD MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY

The term to cook is defined as the use of heat to transform food for
consumption. The question is whether this is the only way to transform the
food for consumption? Is the heat the only that can be used to cook
something? When the meat is removed from the refrigerator it is dissolved,
for this process the heat is also used, but for that meat we would never say
that it is cooked. If the egg yolk is mixed with ethanol it will coagulate
and it will tranform although this transformation has not used any heat (This
2010). There are many ways for transforming foods in traditional
gastronomy. These methods are applied in the modern ''scientific'' molecular
gastronomy. With the development of traditional ways of trying to introduce
new and innovative ways. From new ways of transformation of food used in
molecular gastronomy in everyday practice can be applied:
Specification in a bath of sodium alginate or calcium chloride and
water
 The use of liquid nitrogen
a) Specification in a bath of sodium alginate and calcium chloride and water
an innovative way of transforming food without the presence of heat. This
is a technique used for making, among other things, false and reverse olive
caviar. There are many variations of using this process, but the last two uses
are the most often. During specification the food is transformed in the way
of placing them in a thin, slowly solvable membrane of sodium alginate and
calcium chloride. The process of specification in a big way introduces
Spanish chef Ferran Adri and he was one of his trademarks.
For complete specification it is required special equipment, and it consists of
the following components:
sodium-alginate
salt, calcium chloride (calcium without food can not be spherificated)
spoons of different shapes and sizes
syringe without a needle (for the fake caviar)
water bath for stopping the process

b) Use of liquid nitrogen is a relatively new technique in gastronomy. The

temperature of liquid nitrogen is -196C and as such has long been used
mainly for various industrial purposes. Its use as a cooking technique
reduces the production of ice cream and sorbet. It is a great plus in making
ice cream with liquid nitrogen so that the crystals are very small due to the
short time of freezing and thus ice cream made in this way has a very
creamy and smooth texture. The concept at first, totally impossible to
understand, but cooking with liquid nitrogen is nothing more than cooking in
a very cold medium. Because of the large so-called ''wow effect'' the use of
liquid nitrogen can be considered scientific, and especially since it is not
used in traditional cuisines, but it is more innovative way for the creation of
an extremely traditional preparations like ice cream or sorbet, which
previously could only work because most of the cooler was not able to
achieve much lower temperatures and is no more scientific to the bread
making (McGee 2004). New machinery, equipment and tools at the present
time offer chefs the opportunity to achieve what was always possible with
the food, but the available equipment didn't allow, in other words the borders
of realizable are moving. These new capabilities enable the use of science as
well as mutual cooperation between chefs and scientists. New equipment
can be divided into those originally intended for laboratories, which slowly
begins to apply in catering kitchens and the one whose purpose is primarily
and exclusively planned for the professional catering kitchen, some of which
are designed as equipment intended for household.
New equipment dedicated to kitchen:
Anti-grill

Machine for rotation of sugar

Paco jet

Sous-vide water bath

Smoking gun

gastrovac
bottle for production of domestic whipped cream
spaghetti set.

ANTI-GRILL - on the market, we encounter two types of anti

grill:
Electrical anti-grill ''bakes'' using liquid nitrogen freezing
food at temperature up to - 34C. There are variations of
anti-grill instead of using electricity for freezing food using
liquid nitrogen, and is called Teppan Nitro. In addition to
difference in the way of freezing there is a difference in
temperature because by using liquid nitrogen Teppan
Nitro can be achieved much lower temperature up to -148C.
Anti-grills allow completely freeze sauces and purees and
semi-freeze dishes to get a crispy surface and creamy
center.
MACHINE FOR ROTATION OF SUGAR - a device often seen in
amusement parks, while rarely used in restaurants. It is
used, among the others, in restaurant El Bulli, but not for the
spin of sugar which original purpose of this device is in the
production of sugar cotton. Application of machine for
rotation of sugar is not in any way scientific innovation as it
is a very creative way of using the device. When talking
about modern catering equipment, this is primarily thought
of:
Electrical

With liquid nitrogen.

PACO JET - machine that is used to make ice cream and

sorbet. It is used in most professional kitchens. It consists of
a very sharp knife that turns up to 2000 rpm. Using the paco
jet we can get the ice cream with a very small crystals, a
very similar texture as in liquid nitrogen. Except for the
sweet it is used to produce salt types of ice cream.
SOUS-VIDE WATER BATH - sous-vide technique was used
in kitchens before, but the revival it is experienced with the
development of molecular gastronomy. The technique
consists of placing vacuum food (meat) in the bath. The
specificity of this technique is that it can control the cooking
temperature and time to get better results than simple
boiling in water, the only deficiency of the method is
extremely long cooking time.
SMOKING GUN - a device that is used for processing a
variety of dishes, smoked flavors. A very simple principle
that adds a secondary smoked flavor to dishes. The process
consists of a selection of flavors, aromas of putting in a small
compartment and blowing smoke in an enclosed container or
bowl covered with foil.
GASTROVAC - is a serious professional cooking appliance
often used in kitchens of molecular gastronome. It is a kind
of combination of slow ladle so called slo-cooker, vacuum
and thermostat (but without magnetic mixer). It works by
sucking the flavor out of food and water with the help of
vacuum and leaves it completely dry like a
sponge. After that fills dry cells of food such as pre-selected
fluid wine. So we can get using gastrovaca pear with an
intense wine aroma.
MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY: A NEW EMERGING SCIENTIFIC
DISCIPLINE

The science of domestic and restaurant cooking has recently moved from the
playground of a few interested amateurs into the realm of serious scientific
endeavor. A number of restaurants around the world have started to adopt a
more scientific approach in their kitchens,13 and perhaps partly as a result,
several of these have become acclaimed as being among the best in the
world.4,5

Today, many food writers and chefs, as well as most gourmets, agree that
chemistry lies at the heart of the very finest food available in some of the
worlds finest restaurants. At least in the world of gourmet food, chemistry
has managed to replace its often tarnished image with a growing respect as
the application of basic chemistry in the kitchen has provided the starting
point for a whole new cuisine. The application of chemistry and other
sciences to restaurant and domestic cooking is thus making a positive impact
in a very public arena which inevitably gives credence to the subject as a
whole.

As yet, however, this activity has been largely in the form of small
collaborations between scientists and chefs. To date, little new science has
emerged, but many novel applications of existing science have been made,
assisting chefs to produce new dishes and extend the range of techniques
available in their kitchens. Little of this work has appeared in the scientific
literature,2,3,69 but the work has received an enormous amount of media
attention. A quick Google search will reveal thousands of news articles over
the past few years; a very few recent examples can be found in China,(10)
the United States,11,12 and Australia.(13)

In this review we bring together the many strands of chemistry that have
been and are increasingly being used in the kitchen to provide a sound basis
for further developments in the area. We also attempt throughout to show
using relevant illustrative examples how knowledge and understanding of
chemistry can be applied to good effect in the domestic and restaurant
kitchen.

Our basic premise is that the application of chemical and physical

techniques in some restaurant kitchens to produce novel textures and flavor
combinations has not only revolutionized the restaurant experience but also
led to new enjoyment and appreciation of food. Examples include El Bulli
(in Spain) and the Fat Duck (in the United Kingdom), two restaurants that
since adopting a scientific approach to cooking have become widely
regarded as among the finest in the world. All this begs the fundamental
question: why should these novel textures and flavors provide so much real
pleasure for the diners?

Such questions are at the heart of the new science of Molecular Gastronomy.
The term Molecular Gastronomy has gained a lot of publicity over the past
few years, largely because some chefs have started to label their cooking
style as Molecular Gastronomy (MG) and claimed to be bringing the use of
scientific principles into the kitchen. However, we should note that three of
the first chefs whose food was labeled as MG have recently written a new
manifesto protesting against this label.(14) They rightly contend that what is
important is the finest food prepared using the best available ingredients and
using the most appropriate methods (which naturally includes the use of
new ingredients, for example, gelling agents such as gellan or carageenan,
and processes, such as vacuum distillation, etc.).

We take a broad view of Molecular Gastronomy and argue it should be

considered as the scientific study of why some food tastes terrible, some is
mediocre, some good, and occasionally some absolutely delicious. We want
to understand what it is that makes one dish delicious and another not,
whether it be the choice of ingredients and how they were grown, the
manner in which the food was cooked and presented, or the environment in
which it was served. All will play their own roles, and there are valid
scientific enquiries to be made to elucidate the extent to which they each
affect the final result, but chemistry lies at the heart of all these diverse
disciplines.

The judgment of the quality of a dish is a highly personal matter as is the

extent to which a particular meal is enjoyed or not. Nevertheless, we
hypothesize that there are a number of conditions that must be met before
food becomes truly enjoyable. These include many aspects of the flavor.
Clearly, the food should have flavor; but what conditions are truly
important? Does it matter, for example, how much flavor a dish has; is the
concentration of the flavor molecules important? How important is the order
in which the flavor molecules are released? How does the texture affect the
flavor? The long-term aims of the science of MG are not only to provide
chefs with tools to assist them in producing the finest dishes but also to
elucidate the minimum set of conditions that are required for a dish to be
described by a representative group of individuals as enjoyable or delicious,
to find ways in which these conditions can be met (through the production of
raw materials, in the cooking process, and in the way in which the food is
presented), and hence to be able to predict reasonably well whether a
particular dish or meal would be delicious. It may even become possible to
give some quantitative measure of just how delicious a particular dish will
be to a particular individual.

Clearly, this is an immense task involving many different aspects of the

chemical sciences: from the way in which food is produced through the
harvesting, packaging, and transport to market via the processing and
cooking to the presentation on the plate and how the body and brain react to
the various stimuli presented.

MG is distinct from traditional Food Science as it is concerned principally

with the science behind any conceivable food preparation technique that
may be used in a restaurant environment or even in domestic cooking from
readily available ingredients to produce the best possible result. Conversely,
Food Science is concerned, in large measure, with food production on an
industrial scale and nutrition and food safety.

A further distinction is that although Molecular Gastronomy includes the

science behind gastronomic food, to understand gastronomy it is sometimes
also necessary to appreciate its wider background. Thus, investigations of
food history and culture may be subjects for investigation within the overall
umbrella of Molecular Gastronomy.

Further, gastronomy is characterized by the fact that strong, even passionate

feelings can be involved. Leading chefs express their own emotions and
visions through the dishes they produce. Some chefs stick closely to
tradition, while others can be highly innovative and even provocative. In this
sense gastronomy can be considered as an art form similar to painting and
music.

In this review we begin with a short description of our senses of taste and
aroma and how we use these and other senses to provide the sensation of
flavor. We will show that flavor is not simply the sum of the individual
stimuli from the receptors in the tongue and nose but far more complex. In
fact, the best we can say is that flavor is constructed in the mind using cues
taken from all the senses including, but not limited to, the chemical senses of
taste and smell. It is necessary to bear this background in mind throughout
the whole review so we do not forget that even if we fully understand the
complete chemical composition, physical state, and morphological
complexity of a dish, this alone will not tell us whether it will provide an
enjoyable eating experience.

In subsequent sections we will take a walk through the preparation of a

meal, starting with the raw ingredients to see how the chemical make up of
even the apparently simplest ingredients such as carrots or tomatoes is
greatly affected by all the different agricultural processes they may be
subjected to before arriving in the kitchen.

Once we have ingredients in the kitchen and start to cut, mix, and cook
them, a vast range of chemical reactions come into play, destroying some
and creating new flavor compounds. We devote a considerable portion of the
review to the summary of some of these reactions. However, we must note
that complete textbooks have failed to capture the complexity of many of
these, so all we can do here is to provide a general overview of some
important aspects that commonly affect flavor in domestic and restaurant
kitchens.
In nearly all cooking, the texture of the food is as important as its flavor: the
flavor of roast chicken is pretty constant, but the texture varies from the
wonderfully tender meat that melts in the mouth to the awful rubber chicken
of so many conference dinners. Understanding and controlling texture not
only of meats but also of sauces, souffls, breads, cakes, and pastries, etc.,
will take us on a tour through a range of chemical and physical disciplines as
we look, for example, at the spinning of glassy sugars to produce candy-
floss.

Finally, after a discussion of those factors in our food that seem to contribute
to making it delicious, we enter the world of brain chemistry, and much of
that is speculative. We will end up with a list of areas of potential new
research offering all chemists the opportunity to join us in the exciting new
adventures of Molecular Gastronomy and the possibility of collaborating
with chefs to create new and better food in their own local neighborhoods.
Who ever said there is no such thing as a free lunch?

SENSES

Before we begin to look in any detail at the chemistry of food production

and preparation, we should take in a brief overview of the way in which we
actually sense the food we eat. Questions such as what makes us enjoy (or
not) any particular food and what it is that makes one meal better than
another are of course largely subjective. Nonetheless, we all share the same,
largely chemical based, set of senses with which to interpret the taste,
aroma, flavor, and texture of the food. In this section we will explore these
senses and note how they detect the various food molecules before, during,
and even after we have consumed them.
It is important to note at the outset that our experience of foods is mediated
through all our senses: these include all the familiar senses (pain, touch,
sight, hearing, taste, and smell) as well as the perhaps less familiar such as
chemesthesis. As we will see, our senses of sight and touch can set up
expectations of the overall flavor of food which can be very hard to ignore.
Try eating the same food using either high-quality china plates and steel or
silver cutlery or paper plates and plastic cutlery; the food seems to taste
better with the perceived quality of the utensils. Equally, the color of food
can affect our perception of the flavor; try eating a steak dyed blue!

However, among all the senses, the most significant for our appreciation of
food remain the chemical senses which encompass taste, smell, and
chemesthesis. These three distinct systems mediate information about the
presence of chemicals in the environment. Taste or gustation detects
chemical compounds dissolved in liquids using sensors mostly in the mouth.
Smell or olfaction detects air-borne chemicals, both from the external world
but also from the internalized compounds emitted from food in our oral
cavity. Chemesthesis mediates information about irritants through nerve
endings in the skin as well as other borders between us and the
environments, including the epithelia in the nose, the eyes, and in the gut.
Chemesthesis uses the same systems that inform us about touch,
temperature, and pain.

SENSE OF TASTE

Specialized chemoreceptors on the tongue, palate, soft palate, and areas in

the upper throat (pharynx and laryngopharynx) detect sensations such as
bitter, for example, from alkaloids, salty from many ionic compounds, sour
from most acids, sweet from sugars, and umami, or savory, from some
amino acids and nucleotides. Each of these taste sensations probably
evolved to provide information about foods that are particularly desirable
(e.g., salt, sugar, amino acids) or undesirable (e.g., toxic alkaloids). The
receptors reside in taste buds mostly located in fungiform, foliate, and
circumvallate but not filiform papillae on the tongue. Taste buds, as the
name indicates, are bud-shaped groups of cells. Tastants, the molecules
being tasted, enter a small pore at the top of the taste bud and are absorbed
on microvilli at taste receptor cells.

In the past decade receptor proteins for bitter, sweet, and umami have all
been identified. All these receptors are a subclass of the super family of G-
protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and have been classified as T1R1, T1R2,
T1R3, and T2Rs. The activation of GPCRs by external stimulus is the
starting point of a succession of interactions between multiple proteins in the
cell, leading to the release of chemical substances in the cell also called
second messengers. Although the cellular signal cascade is a general pattern
of GPCRs, the very large variety of each protein involved renders these
mechanisms very complex so that they are under a good deal of ongoing
investigation.

Taste receptors share several structural homologies with the metabotropic

glutamate receptors. These receptors are composed of two main domains
linked by an extra cellular cystein-rich domain: a large extra cellular domain
(ECD) also called the Venus Flytrap module, due to the similarity of
mechanism by which this plant traps insects, containing the legend binding
site and a seven-Tran membrane domain region. Moreover, as in the case of
mGluRs, T1Rs assemble as dimers at the membrane and the composition of
the heterodynes has been shown to be specific to the taste recognized.
Heterodimers T1R2T1R3 are responsible for sweet sensing, whereas
T1R1T1R3 are responsible for umami tasting. A large number of T2Rs
have been shown to function as bitter taste receptors in heterologous
expression assays, and several have distinctive polymorphisms that are
associated with significant variations in sensitivity to selective bitter tastants
in mice, chimpanzees, and humans.

Receptors for sour and salty tastes are essentially ionic channels, but the
identity of the salty receptor is still speculative and controversial. The hunt
for a sour receptor has been narrowed down to a ionic channel of the type
TRP, transient receptor potential. Undoubtedly, more receptor proteins for
other nutritionally relevant molecules will be identified. For example,
recently a specific fatty acid receptor, a multifunctional CD36 glycoprotein,
has been demonstrated in rats.
SENSE OF SMELL
While the taste receptors in the mouth detect small molecules dissolved in
liquids, the receptors of the olfactory system detect molecules in the air. The
range of receptors provides a wide sensitivity to volatile molecules. Some of
the most potent thiols can be detected in concentrations as low as 6
107molecules/mL air (2-propene-1-thiol), whereas ethanol requires around 2
1015 molecules/mL air. Thus, there are at least 8 orders of magnitude
between our sensitivity to the most and least smelly molecules. The
sensitivity of the sense of smell varies quite significantly between
individuals. Not only do different people have different sensitivity to
particular aromas, some people suffer anosmia, odor blindness to specific
odorants. People can be trained to become sensitive to some odorants, such
as for the unpleasant smelling and rotenone. To complicate the picture
further, the sense of smell develops during the human lifetime; we tend to
lose sensitivity at an older age, especially after the seventh decade.

EFFECT OF MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY ON BAKERY

PRODUCT

CALCIUM SALTS

Function

Calcium is a mineral salt. In molecular gastronomy, calcium salts are

involved in the basic spherification or reverse-spherification processes in
reaction with sodium alginate. Sodium alginate indeed needs a source of
calcium to form a gel.
Origin

Calcium is a mineral salt that occurs naturally in many foods. Some of the
foods richest in calcium include dairy products, some fish such as sardines,
beans and watercress.

The main calcium salts used in molecular gastronomy are calcium lactate,
calcium chloride and calcium gluconate. Mixtures of gluconate and calcium
lactate can also be found under the name of calcium gluconolactate.

Calcium chloride is obtained as a byproduct of the manufacturing of

sodium carbonate. The Solvay process is the most common manufacturing
method used to produce sodium carbonate and calcium chloride. From a salt,
sodium chloride, and calcium carbonate, the main component of limestone
and chalk, a share of sodium carbonate on the one hand and calcium chloride
on the other are obtained.

Sodium carbonate is subsequently used in the industries of soap, glass, paper

and textiles. It is also used for cooking, in a refined form called baking soda.

Calcium lactate is a salt derived from lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced by
fermentation, that is to say by the action of micro-organisms in the absence
of oxygen. Thus, the mitochondria of human muscles, for example, produce
lactic acid when oxygen supply by blood is not sufficient during intense
efforts.

Lactic acid is also found naturally in fermented foods like cheese, wine and
sauerkraut. The bacteria responsible for fermentation is lactobacillus, hence
the name of the products of this fermentation. The commercial production of
lactic acid to extract calcium lactate is achieved by bacterial fermentation of
various plant sugars like starch, molasses or beet sugar.
Calcium lactate is the salt of lactic acid. It is obtained by the treatment of
lactic acid with a base in the presence of calcium ions. Calcium carbonate
can be used to provide the calcium ions.

Since calcium lactate comes from the fermentation of plant sugars, it is non-
allergenic for people with allergies to lactose. The word lactate refers to
the lactobacillus responsible for fermentation from which it is derived, and
not anything to do with lactose.
Calcium gluconate is a calcium salt derived from gluconic acid, treated
with a base in combination with calcium ions by a process similar to that of
lactic acid. Calcium gluconate is only used in the kitchen once it has been
mixed with calcium lactate. The mixture is called calcium gluconolactate.

Industry applications
Industrially-produced calcium chloride is used, for example, as road salt or
to accelerate the setting of concrete.

Calcium lactate, for its part, is mainly used in food. For example, it can be
used to regulate the acidity of certain foods in order to influence the
development of essential bacteria found there. Thus it improves the taste and
texture of these foods. It can enter into the composition of baking powders in
bakery products. It provides food for yeast in breads and beer. It is a firming
agent in processed products, like cut fruits and vegetables as well as
processed fish whose texture might otherwise be degraded by heat. Finally,
it can ensure the firmness of the curd in some cheeses.

Calcium lactate, for its part, is mainly used in food. For example, it can be
used to regulate the acidity of certain foods in order to influence the
development of essential bacteria found there. Thus it improves the taste and
texture of these foods. It can enter into the composition of baking powders in
bakery products. It provides food for yeast in breads and beer. It is a firming
agent in processed products like cut fruits and vegetables as well as
processed fish whose texture might otherwise be degraded by heat. Finally,
it can ensure the firmness of the curd in some cheeses.

The idea of the baking soda addition was not taken out of the blue but based
on something I gleaned from the chemistry of the Maillard reaction.
Popularly known as the browning reaction, the Maillard reaction is the
chemical interplay between a reducing sugar (a sugar that under alkaline
conditions, forms reactive ketones or aldehydes) and an amino acid (the
basic building block of all proteins). As a chemist, I have always found the
Maillard reaction to have a deceptive name, camouflaging the fact that a
surprisingly large number of reactions occur when a reducing sugar and an
amino acid are heated together. In addition to its complexity, I had noted the
pH dependency of the Maillard reaction. By increasing the pHmaking the
food less acidic and more alkalinethe Maillard reaction can be sped up.
And the addition of baking soda happens to be a convenient way of doing
this. Over time, it became clear to me that the use of baking soda was only
one of many ways cooks can and do influence the speed of the Maillard
reaction in the kitchen.[1]

Ever since the French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard studied the

metabolism of urea and kidney illnesses and published his thesis on the
actions of glycerin and sugar on amino acids in 1913, the Maillard reaction
has been a hot research topic. A review on browning reactions in dehydrated
foods, which appeared in the first volume of Journal of Agricultural and
Food Chemistry, remains the most-cited paper in that journals history. It is
sad, yet understandable, that undesirable occurrences of the Maillard
reaction have received more attention in the scientific community than the
desirable ones. Fortunately, desirable Maillard products have been explored
for thousands of years in the kitchen and the results are well-documented in
numerous recipes.

The Maillard reaction, which is also sometimes referred to as nonenzymatic

browning, produces volatile compounds that contribute aroma and
nonvolatile compounds that provide color, known as melanoidins. Some of
these compounds contribute to the resulting flavor as well. The Maillard
reaction imbues foods with a characteristic smell, taste, and color. High-
temperature processes in particular, such as frying, roasting, grilling, and
baking, rely heavily on the Maillard reaction for the characteristic aromas
it produces. What would the crust of a freshly baked loaf of bread be without
the Maillard reaction? What would beverages such as espresso, hot
chocolate, or Irish stout be if the coffee, chocolate beans, or barley were not
roasted to facilitate the Maillard reaction? Or the nice meat flavors of a beef
roast? Or the smell of toasted white bread? Browned onions? The list is
endless.

It is possible to speed up the Maillard reaction by choosing favorable

conditions. Chances are, you have done this without knowing or thinking
about the chemistry. One can speed up the reaction by adding protein or a
reducing sugar, increasing the temperature, using less water (or boiling off
water), and increasing the pH. In fact, when looking for examples, I was
surprised the extent to which conditions favoring the Maillard reaction had
found their way into recipes.

When I was little, I remember my mother brushing leavened yeast buns with
milk or egg yolk to give them a nice brown crust in the oven. She knew
nothing about the Maillard reaction, but she did know how to obtain the
desired color and aroma. In the glazing of baked goods, milk or eggs
provide the protein source that leads to Maillard reaction browning. In
recipes in which eggs are used because of their binding and emulsifying
properties, the role they play as a protein source for the Maillard reaction is
sometimes overlooked. An added benefit of the egg yolks when applied to
yeast buns is that the viscosity allows a thicker layer to be brushed onto the
surface, yielding a glossy finish. Milk, on the other hand, provides the
reducing-sugar lactose in addition to protein, which compensates for the
lower viscosity with regard to browning potential.
Brushing yeast buns with egg (or milk) provides the ingredients needed for a
wonderful nice browning of the surface.

Yeast buns can also be brushed with sugar water before baking. Even though
sucrose is not a reducing sugar, it easily breaks up into fructose and glucose
when heated, and these take part in the Maillard reaction. When a sugar is
applied to a surface that is exposed to heat, there will be a fine line between
caramelization, which involves only sugars, and the formation of Maillard
products. If the surface contains proteins or amino acids, both caramelization
and Maillard products will be observed. This will also be the case for the
yeast buns. Another example is glazed meat, such as ham, in which the sugar
reacts with proteins in the meat. Barbecuemarinades and sauces for
basting or brushing can contain a lot of sugar. This encourages quick
browning, but it can be a disadvantage if the meat is cooked at a high
temperature or for a long time. With plenty of sugar present, the Maillard
and caramelization reactions proceed fast but may also go too far, yielding
higher concentrations of the Maillard products and an unpleasant burned
flavor. When grilling with direct heat from hot coals, it is advisable to leave
the sugar out of the marinade and save the sugar-rich sauces for a last minute
brush.

Because both a reducing sugar and protein are required for the Maillard
reaction to occur, the preparations of butterscotch, caramel candy, and
toffee each represent a nearly perfect setup. The making of plain caramel
starts with water and sugar. The water stabilizes the temperature as it
evaporates and cools the syrup. This allows the syrup to be cooked for a
longer period of time without burning. In this process, rich caramel flavors
develop. In the making of butterscotch, caramel candy, and toffee, butter
and/or milk are added to the syrup. This provides the required proteins for
the Maillard reaction to occur alongside the caramelization.

With sugar and protein present, butterscotch is an ideal setup for the
Maillard reaction to occur (Photo: Butterscotch Candy from Bigstock).
In several countries, including Spain, Argentina, and Singapore, it is
common practice to add sugar to coffee beans in the roasting process.
The resulting coffee is known as torrefacto or torrado, not to be confused
with torrefied coffee, which refers to conventionally roasted coffee. Several
explanations exist for why this is done, including the formation of a thin
sugar film to protect the beans from oxidation as well as to compensation for
weight loss from evaporation (in some countries up to 20 percent sugar is
added, and sugar is cheaper than coffee!). Others claim that it is a simple
way of masking the flavor of inferior beans, especially cheap robusta beans.
As the sugar is heated, it caramelizes, and the sugar solution penetrates into
the coffee beans, taking part in the Maillard reaction. Despite the obvious
potential for less-honest coffee roasters, the torrefacto method is used with
success to obtain a special aroma, and it is not uncommon to find a fraction
of torrefacto beans added to conventionally roasted beans. This influences
the resulting flavor, emphasizing toasty, earthy, and musty flavors.

Apart from adding proteins and reducing sugars, there are other ways to
influence the Maillard reaction. Temperature is crucial, and the correlation
between temperature and browning is obvious. In order to obtain sufficient
Maillard products within minutes or hours, a temperature of more than
212F (100C) is required. This is easily achieved in processes such as
frying, roasting, grilling, toasting, flambing, and baking. A typical
temperature range of 230 to 340F (110170C) is often cited as ideal for
the Maillard reaction to proceed in the normal time frame. If the
temperature gets too high, bitter flavors develop, even before the surface
appears burned. If the temperature exceeds the typical range for the Maillard
reaction, it is common to talk about pyrolysis, which can be characterized as
heat-induced decomposition. If uncontrolled, pyrolysis of foods will
typically give rise to burned and bitter flavors. However, the desirable
smoky flavor in barbecue sauces and Scotch whisky comes from the
controlled pyrolysis of wood and peat, respectively.

Even though the temperature is ideal for the Maillard reaction to proceed on
the surface of a steak, for instance, the great challenge is that the interior of
the steak should not exceed 122 to 150F (5065C), depending on
consumer preference. This leaves a relatively narrow window in which the
temperature gradient through the steak is at the desired core temperature and
sufficient Maillard products have been formed on the surface. With the sous
vide (vacuum) cooking technique, this is solved by bringing the whole piece
of meat to the desired core temperature in a temperature-controlled water
bath, followed (or preceded) by a quick browning of the surface, either in a
sizzling hot pan, on a hot grill, over a gas flame or with a blowtorch.

Contrary to popular belief, the Maillard reaction will also occur at lower
temperatures. In vintage Champagne, autolyzed (inactive) yeast and sugars
react to form Maillard products that yield a characteristic flavor profile. This
reaction takes place in the cool chalk cellars of the Champagne district in
France, where the temperature remains constant at 48 to 54F (912C) year
round. Because of the low temperature, a much longer reaction time is
needed, so the characteristic Maillard-influenced flavor is found only in
aged Champagnes. If the temperature is increased, the reaction will proceed
more quickly. When liquids such as stock or demi-glace are boiled, plenty
Maillard products are formed within hours. Similarly, a roux is cooked not
only to remove the flour taste but also to allow the development of flavors.
To make dark stocks for brown sauces, the meat and bones are roasted prior
to boiling in order to create an even more intense meaty flavor.

The presence of water limits the maximum attainable temperature as it boils

off from the surface of foods, thereby slowing the Maillard reaction.
However, once water has evaporated, for example, in a bread crust or on the
surface of a french fry, the drier surface allows the temperature to exceed
212F (100C), which in turn drastically speeds up the Maillard reaction.
Similarly, a piece of toast browns in the outermost layer only. But less water
is not always better. There is an optimum water level required for the
Maillard reaction to proceed. If the food gets too dry, the lack of water will
actually slow down the Maillard reaction as the mobility of the reagents
decreases.

The beautiful browned surface of a traditional Bavarian pretzel is the result

of a seredipitous discovery in 1839 when a German baker by accident used
lye to glaze his pretzels (Photo:Pretzel from Bigstock).
Another way of influencing the Maillard reaction (and perhaps the least
obvious) is by adjusting the pH. The Bavarian pretzel is an extreme example
of how the Maillard reaction can be tweaked, and it seems it was
a serendipitous discovery. On February 11, 1839, the German baker Anton
Nepomuk Pfannenbrenner unintentionally used the lye (sodium hydroxide,
or caustic soda) intended for the cleaning of his baking sheets instead of
sugar water to glaze his pretzels. The customers, who were used to sweeter
pretzels, liked the new taste, and to this day, Bavarian pretzels and even the
ubiquitous pretzel sticks are sprayed with (or immersed in) a 1 to 3 percent
solution of sodium hydroxide before baking. The high pH speeds up a
bottleneck in the Maillard reaction and the result is a delicious savory snack
with a shiny brown finish.

A more common basic ingredient found in most kitchens is baking soda

(sodium bicarbonate). Its most common use is as a leavening agent, which
requires the addition of an acid to function. Since it is a weak base, it can be
used to increase pH and hence the speed of the Maillard reaction. When
making pretzels at home, baking soda can easily be substituted for
sodium hydroxide. Since baking soda is a weaker base, some recommend
using boiling water when immersing the pretzels (as opposed to cold water
when using soda lye). When baking soda is used as a leavening agent in
cookies, a side effect is more rapid browning and a more pronounced nutty
flavor.

Dulce de leche is a popular sauce and caramel candy in Latin America. It is

made by slowly boiling sweetened milk. Baking soda is not a required
ingredient but is often included. The baking soda gives dulce de leche a
darker color and contributes to the flavor by facilitating the Maillard
reaction. Similarly, it is the baking soda that gives persimmon puddings their
dark brown color and rich flavor. The kinds of chemical reactions observed
in Champagne, stocks, and caramel candies belong to the less frequently
encountered examples of Maillard reactions that occur in the interior of
foods. The reason the Maillard reaction primarily occurs on the surface of
foods is of course because of the higher heat and lower water content (from
evaporation) encountered there.

Microwavable pies with browning crusts are challenging to produce because

microwaves primarily interact with water and therefore bring the
temperature only up to the boiling point. This is the reason microwave
cooking in general does not contribute much flavor to dishes and why
microwave ovens are used mainly to reheat food. In order to get a nice
browning of a pie crust in a microwave, pH adjustment is combined with the
addition of reducing sugars and amino acids. Another example of baking
soda use on surfaces is in Chinese and Japanese tempura batters. In
addition to a leavening effect, the baking soda also gives a more rapid
browning.
Baking soda can give a tempura batter extra fluff and lightness, as well a
slightly higher pH for more rapid browning (Photo: Shrimp Tempura With
Chopsticks from Bigstock).

At the beginning of this chapter, I mentioned how a pinch of baking soda

could influence the browning of onions. The browning proceeds faster and
the result is a remarkably sweet flavor with strong caramel notes. The
alkaline baking soda increases (or at least stabilizes) the pH of the onions,
which release acidic compounds when chopped and subjected to heat. More
water is lost than without the soda, and the chopped onions collapse to a
certain degree. If too much baking soda is used, the onions turn mushy and
wet. One possible explanation for this is that the alkalinity facilitates onion
cell-wall destruction, resulting in the rapid release of the intracellular juices.

Interestingly, some recipes recommend adding salt when sauting onions,

and salt facilitates osmosis which draws water out of the cells. The
evaporation of this water adds to the overall cooking time which may
increase the amount of Maillard products. But more importantly salt will of
course also act as a flavor enhancer.

To simultaneously compare the effect of salt and baking soda, I chopped a

couple of onions, put them in a hot frying pan with some oil, and split the
onions in four equal portions. To three of the portions, a pinch of baking
soda, salt, and a baking soda/salt mixture were added, respectively. The last
portion served as a control. The experiment revealed a significant difference
between the baking soda and salt. With the baking soda, a faster browning
was observed, and the onions came out very sweet, with caramel notes. The
salt had no significant effect on the browning but did enhance the savory
flavor. Also, the onions with salt retained a slight acidity that could not be
detected in the baking soda portion. The onions that were browned with
the baking soda and salt mixture (1:1) had the best flavor, probably due
to the enhanced savory taste from the salt combined with the rich caramel
sweetness.
Investigating the effect of salt and baking soda when sauting onions. From
top left, clockwise: reference (no salt, no baking soda), baking soda, baking
soda and salt, only salt.

Apart from the effect on the overall speed of the reaction, changing the
cooking conditions also favors other reaction pathways, which in turn result
in different flavors. For instance, in a model study, it was found that the
formation of 2-furaldehyde (almondy, woody, sweet aroma) was favored at a
low pH, whereas furanone (caramel-like aroma) was favored at a higher
pH. The latter fits well with the observations from the onion experiment.
But because of the complexity of the Maillard reaction in real food systems,
there is reason to believe that much remains to be discovered about how pH
affects flavor.

So far, I have discussed how the Maillard can be made to proceed faster, but
sometimes the opposite is desired, especially in industrial-food preparation.
In dehydrated products, such as instant potatoes, milk powder, egg powder,
corn starch, cereals, and fruit, the Maillard reaction causes deterioration of
the food colors and decreases the nutritional value. And ever since
thediscovery of high levels of acrylamide in fried and baked foods in 2002, a
real effort has been made to reduce these levels. In home cooking, a
motivation for slowing down the Maillard reaction could be a desire to
emphasize the intrinsic flavors of the ingredients used.

Table 1 Conditions That Speed Up or Slow Down the Maillard Reaction

Speed up Maillard Slow down Maillard

reaction reaction
Protein More Less
Reducing sugar More Less
Temperature Higher Lower
Water Less More
Cooking time Longer Shorter
pH Higher Lower

The conditions that speed up the Maillard reaction can be reversed

to achieve the opposite result (table 1). Using a lower temperature and a
shorter cooking time is so obvious that one would not even think of it as a
way of reducing the amount of browning. When cooking jam, the cooking
time is kept short in order to reduce the decomposition of pectins and the
formation of unwanted Maillard products. Similarly, removal of milk solids
is what allows clarified butter to be heated at higher temperatures than
normal butter. When making ghee (Indias clarified butter), however, these
milk solids are allowed to react for some time before they are removed,
giving ghee its characteristic nutty flavor. The addition of water can help to
lower the temperature and halt the Maillard reaction, which is what happens
when a pan is deglazed with water, stock, or wine. The water stops the
reactions and helps collect the flavor molecules. Excessive browning in
cookies can be avoided by the addition of an acid that lowers the pH.

To conclude, it is fascinating to consider how well the Maillard reactionin

many cases, without knowledge of the basic science behind ithas been
manipulated by home cooks everywhere. By adjusting simple parameters,
such as sugar, water and protein content, temperature, and pH, the Maillard
reaction can be made to proceed faster or slower and therefore influence the
reaction pathway and the relative concentrations of the resulting flavor
compounds. In an educational setting, this can be used to illustrate basic
chemical reactions. For home cooks, it demonstrates that they may know
more chemistry than they are aware of. And for the scientist, it may serve as
inspiration for further study of the Maillard reaction in gastronomy. But,
most important, in the everyday kitchen, this knowledge can be used by
the creative cook to improve old dishes and invent new ones.
Cooking is the process of preparing food, by the analog skills, often with the
use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the
world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions.
Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training. Cooking can also
occur through chemical reactions without the presence of heat, most notably
as in Ceviche, a traditional South American dish where fish is cooked with
the acids in lemon or lime juice. Sushi also utilizes a similar chemical
reaction between fish and the acidic content of rice glazed with vinegar.

Chicken, pork and bacon-wrapped corn cooked in a barbecue smoker

Preparing food with heat or fire is an activity unique to humans, and some
scientists believe the advent of cooking played an important role in human
evolution.[1] Most anthropologists believe that cooking fires first developed
around 250,000 years ago. The development of agriculture, commerce and
transportation between civilizations in different regions offered cooks many
new ingredients. New inventions and technologies, such as pottery for
holding and boiling water, expanded cooking techniques. Some modern
cooks apply advanced scientific techniques to food preparation
Yeasts are eukaryotic microorganisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with
1,500species currently described[1] (estimated to be 1% of all fungal species).
[2]
Yeasts areunicellular, although some species with yeast forms may
become multicellular through the formation of a string of connected budding
cells known as pseudohyphae, or false hyphae, as seen in most molds.
[3]
Yeast size can vary greatly depending on the species, typically measuring
34 m in diameter, although some yeasts can reach over 40 m.[4] Most
yeasts reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric
division process called budding.

By fermentation, the yeast species Saccharomyces

cerevisiae converts carbohydratesto carbon dioxide and alcohols for
thousands of years the carbon dioxide has been used in baking and the
alcohol in alcoholic beverages.[5] It is also a centrally importantmodel
organism in modern cell biology research, and is one of the most thoroughly
researched eukaryotic microorganisms. Researchers have used it to gather
information about the biology of the eukaryotic cell and ultimately human
biology.[6] Other species of yeast, such as Candida albicans,
are opportunistic pathogens and can causeinfections in humans. Yeasts have
recently been used to generate electricity inmicrobial fuel cells,[7] and
produce ethanol for the biofuel industry.

Yeasts do not form a single taxonomic or phylogenetic grouping. The

term yeast is often taken as a synonym for Saccharomyces cerevisiae,[8] but
the phylogenetic diversity of yeasts is shown by their placement in two
separate phyla: the Ascomycotaand the Basidiomycota. The budding yeasts
("true yeasts") are classified in the orderSaccharomycetales
USE OF MECULLAR GASTRONOMY IN BAKERY

THE INGREDIENTS OF SCIENTIFIC COOKING

Molecular Gastronomy Ingredients

For the raspberry symphony plate containing raspberry pearls:
800
grams Raspberries to make 450g raspberry coulis
100 Stock Sugar (equal quantities of sugar and water, 100g each and heat
grams until sugar dissolved)
15 grams Calcium Lactate
3 grams Xanthum gum
For Alginate bath:
50 grams Golden Caster Sugar (Billington's)
8 grams Sodium Alginate
1l Water
10 drops raspberry flavouring

Additional Ingredients
For the Cherry Foam:
250 ml cherry juice (this can be bought from supermarkets)
2.50 grams hy-foamer
2.50 grams Xanthum gum
5 drops cherry flavouring
For the Mini Raspberry Tarts:
Ready-made mini sweet pastry cases
250 grams Mascarpone cheese
400 grams Raspberries fresh
1 tsp Vanilla Sugar
 To assemble the plate:
Edible flowers
Violet flavouring spray
Bee pollen

Further Additional Ingredients

For the apple sorbet:
350 ml Apple Juice
1 Lemon juice of
100 grams Golden Caster Sugar (Billington's)
2.50 grams Silk Gel
5 grams Gellan Gum
1 drop green performance food colouring
For the apple tart:
Ready made all butter puff pastry
2 Granny Smith apples
Flour for dusting
1 Free Range Eggs (Happy Eggs) yolk
50 grams Butter unsalted and melted
25 grams Golden Caster Sugar (Billington's)
1 tsp Cinnamon
For the Rhubarb fool with rhubarb caviar:
750 grams Rhubarb Pink
150 grams Golden Caster Sugar (Billington's)
2 tbsp Water
500 ml Double Cream
1 tsp vanilla seed
1 tsp vanilla powder
1.50 tbsp Agar Flakes
3 drops rhubarb flavouring
1l chilled sunflower oil
How to make Molecular Gastronomy
Click on the text to highlight the different stages as you go along,
or click the button below to enlarge all text
To make the raspberry symphony plate containing raspberry pearls and
Alginate bath : Make a coulis by blitzing the raspberries in a food processer
and then passing through a sieve to remove seeds.
Place the coulis in a pan and add stock syrup, calcium lactate and xanthum
gum. Mix and heat to boiling point, then remove from heat and pass mix
through a sieve into bowl. Place to one side and leave to cool.
Prep the aliginate bath by placing water in pan and heating. Place sugar and
sodium alginate in a separate bowl and place to one side.
Once water is hot, add the sugar mix and whisk until sugar dissolved, then
remove from heat. Finally add raspberry flavouring to this mixture and place
to one side to cool.
Once both mixtures are completely cold (dont put in fridge though as
mixtures may set), take the raspberry coulis mixture and scoop one tsp of
mixture and carefully place this into the alginate bath. Leave the raspberry
pearls in the alginate bath for 10mins to set. Once set, remove and carefully
rinse them in cold water. These are now ready to eat!
To make the Cherry Foam: Place the cherry juice in a bowl, add Xanthum
gum and hy-foamer and whisk with electric mix, finally add the cherry
flavouring.
To make the Mini Raspberry Tarts: Place mascarpone in a bowl and add
vanilla sugar. Mix until you achieve a smooth mixture.
Place the mascarpone in the bottom of your sweet pastry tart cases and
decorate with lines of fresh raspberries.
To assemble the plate: Place a raspberry tart on the plate and add raspberry
pearls to the side and some fresh raspberries if you have some left over from
tarts. Decorate the plate with a line of cherry foam.
Place some colourful edible flowers on the plate and sprinkle with bee
pollen and a spritz of violet flavouring. Finally dust over some icing sugar.
To make the apple sorbet: Place apple juice, lemon juice and silk gel in a
pan and heat.
In bowl blend sugar, gellan gum and add to juice mixture and heat to
boiling. Once boiling, remove from heat and leave to cool slightly before
adding food colouring.
Blend the mixture and allow to cool to below 39C. Once below this temp,
place in ice cream maker and churn to produce sorbet. This will take around
25mins.
To make the apple tart: Preheat oven to 200C. Roll your pastry out thinly
and using a 10cm cutter or a small plate, cut out a disc which will form your
tart base
Brush the edge of the pastry disc with beaten egg yolk and brush the centre
of the pastry with melted butter.
Peel and core the apples and slice thinly. Cover the pastry base with
overlapping slices of apple, leaving a 0.5cm border around the edge.
Sprinkle the top of the tart with sugar and dust with cinnamon.
Place the tart on a piece of silicone paper and place the paper directly on the
oven shelf this will ensure the pastry cooks evenly and the tart is crisp.
Cook for 12-15 mins or until the apple is starting to colour and the pastry is
golden.
To serve, place a scoop of sorbet on top of the tart, using your favourite
spirit brandy or calvados works well - serve flaming to impress your
guests.
To make the rhubarb fool with rhubarb caviar: Place your sunflower oil in a
jug and put into the fridge to chill.
Cut your rhubarb into even size pieces, about 1.5cm in length. Mix with
caster sugar and tbsp water and stew over gentle heat until beautiful pink
rhubarb juices have been released and rhubarb is very soft, almost like a
puree. Strain the rhubarb in a sieve and reserve the juice. Set both aside to
cool.
Whisk the vanilla powder and seed into the cream and place in a bowl, beat
to soft peak stage and chill.
Take 200ml of your reserved rhubarb juice and place in a pan with agar
flakes, heat gently to melt the flakes, this will take around 3-4mins.
Once flakes dissolved, remove from the heat and add the rhubarb flavouring.
Leave to chill for 10 minutes. Remove the chilled oil from the fridge. Take a
syringe and fill it with the rhubarb juice and agar mixture. Hold the syringe
about 6 inches above the jug of oil and drop the rhubarb mixture in so it falls
into the oil and creates tiny pearls. Leave in the oil for a couple of minutes,
then remove and gently rinse under cold water. These are now ready to
serve.
To assemble the fool, take some shot glasses and place 3-4 tsp of stewed
rhubarb in the bottom of the shot glass. Top with the vanilla cream and to
finish, decorate the top with some rhubarb pearls.

Though many disparate examples of the scientific investigation of cooking

exist throughout history, the creation of the discipline of molecular
gastronomy was intended to bring together what had previously been
fragmented and isolated investigation into the chemical and physical
processes of cooking into an organized discipline within food science to
address what the other disciplines within food science either do not cover, or
cover in a manner intended for scientists rather than cooks. These mere
investigations into the scientific process of cooking have unintentionally
evolved into a revolutionary practice that is now prominent in today's
culinary world.

The term "Molecular and Physical Gastronomy" was coined in 1992 by

Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti and French physical chemist Herv This.
It became the title for a set of workshops held in Erice, Italy (originally titled
"Science and Gastronomy") that brought together scientists and professional
cooks for discussions on the science behind traditional cooking preparations.
Eventually, the shortened term "Molecular Gastronomy" also became the
name of the scientific discipline co-created by Kurti and This to be based on
exploring the science behind traditional cooking methods.[5][9][10]

This had been the co-directors of the "Molecular and Physical Gastronomy"
meetings in Erice, along with the American food science writerHarold
McGee, and had considered the creation of a formal discipline around the
subjects discussed in the meetings. University of Oxford physicist Nicholas
Kurti was an enthusiastic advocate of applying scientific knowledge to
culinary problems. He was one of the first television cooks in the UK,
hosting a black and white television show in 1969 entitled "The Physicist in
the Kitchen" where he demonstrated techniques such as using a syringe to
inject hot mince pies with brandy in order to avoid disturbing the crust.
[11]
That same year, he held a presentation for the Royal Society of
London (also entitled "The Physicist in the Kitchen") in which he is often
quoted to have stated:

During the presentation Kurti demonstrated making meringue in a vacuum

chamber, the cooking of sausages by connecting them across a car battery,
the digestion of protein by fresh pineapple juice, and a reverse baked
alaska - hot inside, cold outside - cooked in a microwave oven. Kurti was
also an advocate of low temperature cooking, repeating 18th century
experiments by the English scientist Benjamin Thompson by leaving a 2 kg
lamb joint in an oven at 80 C (176 F). After 8.5 hours, both the inside and
outside temperature of the lamb joint were around 75 C (167 F), and the
meat was tender and juicy. Together with his wife, Giana Kurti, Nicholas
Kurti edited an anthology on food and science by fellows and foreign
members of the Royal Society.

Herv This started collecting "culinary precisions" (old kitchen wives' tales
and cooking tricks) in the early 1980s and started testing these precisions to
see which ones held up; his collection now numbers some 25,000. He also
has received a PhD in Physical Chemistry of Materials for which he wrote
his thesis on molecular and physical gastronomy, served as an adviser to the
French minister of education, lectured internationally, and was invited to
join the lab of Nobel Prize winning molecular chemist Jean-Marie Lehn.[14]
[15]
This has published several books in French, four of which have been
translated into English, including Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the
Science of Flavor, Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of
Cooking, Cooking: The Quintessential Art, and Building a Meal: From
Molecular Gastronomy to Culinary Constructivism. He currently publishes a
series of essays in French and hosts free monthly seminars on molecular
gastronomy at the INRA in France. He gives free and public seminars on
molecular gastronomy any month, and once a year, he gives a public and
free course on molecular gastronomy. Herv also authors a website and a
pair of blogs on the subject in French and publishes monthly collaborations
with French chef Pierre Gagnaire on Gagnaire's website.[16][17][18]

Though she is rarely credited, the origins of the Erice workshops (originally
entitled "Science and Gastronomy") can be traced back to the cooking
teacher Elizabeth Cawdry Thomas who studied at Le Cordon Bleu in
London and ran a cooking school in Berkeley, CA. The one-time wife of
aphysicist, Thomas had many friends in the scientific community and an
interest in the science of cooking. In 1988 while attending a meeting at the
Ettore Majorana Center for Scientific Culture in Erice, Thomas had a
conversation with Professor Ugo Valdr of the University of Bologna who
agreed with her that the science of cooking was an undervalued subject and
encouraged her to organize a workshop at the Ettore Majorana Center.
Thomas eventually approached the director of the Ettore Majorana center,
physicist Antonino Zichichi who liked the idea. Thomas and Valdr
approached Kurti to be the director of the workshop. By Kurti's invitation,
noted food science writer Harold McGee and French Physical ChemistHerv
This became the co-organizers of the workshops, though McGee stepped
down after the first meeting in 1992.

Up until 2001, The International Workshop on Molecular Gastronomy "N.

Kurti" (IWMG) was named the "International Workshops of Molecular and
Physical Gastronomy" (IWMPG). The first meeting was held in 1992 and
the meetings have continued every few years thereafter until the most recent
in 2004. Each meeting encompassed an overall theme broken down into
multiple sessions over the course of a few days

CONCLUSION
Molecular gastronomy is a new gourmet direction connecting the catering
kitchen and laboratory, and thus creates new flavors, forms of
unprecedented. It can be, of course, understood as a process of application of
science in everyday cooking. Methods and means for obtaining the final
products in the molecular gastronomy request the knowledge of the chemical
and physical processes. Of course, the introduction of molecular gastronomy
requests, too, and some modifications in the approach to guests, number of
courses of which every dish is extremely small - the art on a plate, losing the
concept of menus and menu, while the duration of a meal takes several times
longer. Certainly, this approach also affects the habits of the people towards
healthy eating, where it is no longer considered to be a meal consumed in a
shorter time, but the opposite, and making sure the food is consumed, and
thus affects the reduction of today's problems related to overweight-obese
population. Modern molecular gastronomy shows the tendency toward
further progress and popularization, but a noticeable impact on the so-called
''Molecular mixology'', and molecular approach to the preparation of
cocktails, where just as in the case of food, it is changing the physical state
of food and it is searching the limits of each food. The future is
unpredictable, and in which direction to go to molecular gastronomy
remains
to be seen. Ivanovic, Slobodan, Kresimir Mikinac, and Luka Perman. 2011.
Taste, nutrition, medicine, food, chemistry, gastronomy and molecular
gastronomy all intermingle. They are part of a science of many sciences
enrolled in the act of eating. They represent human history and evolution!
Therefore, its extremely difficult to separate them from this intricate web,
into science or art erhaps, they shall be the two! Somehow, similar to
health and disease, which are also two complete opposing words, although
almost paradoxically similar as they are side by side in the reality of life. So
should be taste, medicine, nutrition and molecular gastronomy

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