Molecular gastronomy

Molecular gastronomy is the scientific approach of cuisine from primarily the perspective of chemistry. The composition (molecular structure), properties (mass, viscosity, etc) and transformations (chemical reactions, reactant products) of an ingredient are addressed and used in the preparation and appreciation of the ingested products. It is a branch of food science that approaches the preparation and enjoyment of nutrition from the perspective of a scientist at the scale of atoms, molecules, and mixtures.

Nicholas Kurti, Hungarian physicist, and Hervé This, at the INRA in France, coined "Molecular and Physical Gastronomy" in 1988.

History

There are many branches of food science that study different aspects of food, such as safety, microbiology, preservation, chemistry, engineering, and physics. Until the advent of molecular gastronomy, there was no branch dedicated to studying the chemical processes of cooking in the home and in restaurants. Food science has primarily been concerned with industrial food production and, while the disciplines may overlap, they are considered separate areas of investigation.

The creation of the discipline of molecular gastronomy was intended to bring together what had previously been fragmented and isolated investigations 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.

The term "molecular and physical gastronomy" was coined in 1988 by Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti and French physical chemist Hervé This. In 1992, 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 about the science behind traditional cooking preparations.