Food and
cooking, just like any other areas of our lives or parts of culture are
susceptible to fashion and new trends. For some time now there is a boom of
culinary bloggers, vloggers, critics and foodies. They mostly focus on dishes
that are traditional or creative and innovative through the unusual addition of
new ingredients. Taking a classic recipe and giving it a new twist. Even when
looking at the catering and restaurant business in Warsaw you can see how some
food trends appear, have their big 5minutes and then slowly fade away. The
first example, from the top of my head, would be burgers. There are just so
many places that ‘specialize’ in making burgers that I have lost count. Some of
them are just plain normal some are really exciting and use ingredients that I
would never say that they would work in a burger. Still, burgers are just like
a plaid of the culinary fashion, very hip and omnipresent but already fading
away.
What about
the culinary trends that are not so visible just from the street view? Here
comes the interesting field of Molecular Gastronomy. As one of the articles that I've read has nicely stated: it is a cross between
science and cooking. It has already gained many fans studying it both in the
labs and in the kitchens. Molecular gastronomy focuses on the physical
processes and reactions that happen during preparation of food. Understanding
them in greater depth allows the creation of incredible new dishes that
sometimes sound and look like abstract art.
I first
encountered this part of gastronomy while watching TV at home. On one of the
cooking channels there was a show called Marcel's Quantum Kitchen. Since I like all those shows with cooking
competitions and challenges, this got me interested. Marcel Vigneron and his
team had to organize some themed dinner parties sometimes for a tens of people
but if that wasn’t hard enough, all the dishes that they made were a once in a
lifetime experience, that nobody cooked before. His kitchen looked more like a
chemistry lab than a restaurant prep room. Litters of liquid nitrogen were
poured, meat would turned into tiny slices that were cooked, yet frozen at the
same time – it was almost magic. Watermelon caviar, edible champagne foam and
that’s just the start.
In Warsaw there is one restaurant that I can think of that serves dishes partially prepared using molecular gastronomy – Atelier Amaro. Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to go there, but looking at pictures and reviews makes me want to try this type of cuisine even more.
If any of you would be interested in experimenting with molecular
gastronomy, the internet is already full of recipes that are both for beginners
and advanced cooks. You can also buy a “molecular cuisine starting kit” that
contains the basic tools and chemicals to make those wonderful food creations.
Here are also some links to Amaro’s recipes. Although they are not
exactly ‘molecular’ you can get the feel the chemistry and physics in them.
So what do you think about this food? Would you like to try eating or
maybe preparing it sometime? Do you think that it will become more popular? Or
maybe there is yet another food trend that you’d like to share with us?
Sources:
http://geekgirls.pl/2011/03/jadalna-piane-raz-poprosze/
Comments
However giving it a second thought, one of the best burgers I ever tried was at a restaurant called the Big Burger, on Jeju Island in Korea. It was the most unusual dish I ever tried.
The burger looked like this:
http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/photo/201204/2570_4215_553.jpg
It's the size of a small pizza and.. it is made with regular burger ingredients, but wiith apple added. I have to admit.. it was unusual, but very tasty.
I would like to eat it first, but when I saw prices at Amaro's restaurant: "No, thank you.".
Do you think that it will become more popular?
After 26 years of molecular gastronomy in the world, it is still something new in Poland, so it must become more common because it can't be less common than now is.
Or maybe there is yet another food trend that you’d like to share with us?
I cook by myself and I don't watch cooking shows, so I don't follow any cooking trends. I recently have been learning Thai cuisine.
I think this is very interesting, but this start to be since rather than normal cooking with a hint of excitement about the taste.
Will it be more popular, i think yes like everything new
I never tried it, so now I see it as something for cooks to make them feel almost like scientists :)
Here's an article about a dinner in the best restaurant in the world - Noma. It is really interesting as it lists all the courses, their photographs and a very precise description. They don't use much 'molecular kitchen' technique and their food is still amazing. I think that molecular cuisine is just something extravagant and I prefer eating more down-to-earth food.