Word: molecular
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...disputation, one of those deep discussions in which 13th-century theologians debated the finer points of monotheism. In a highly anticipated panel discussion earlier this week at the international culinary conference Madrid Fusion, Ferran Adrià, Heston Blumenthal, and Andoni Luis Aduriz took on the pressing question of whether molecular gastronomy is for real. Considering that the three chefs are widely considered to be the leading practitioners of molecular gastronomy, it came as something of an ontological relief to learn that it - and thus they - do exist...
...three men spent over an hour discussing different aspects of innovation, and what part science plays in helping chefs in their everyday work. "Molecular gastronomy is the movement that studies the chemical-physical processes of cuisine," said Adrià, hazarding a definition. (See the Top 10 food trends...
...only it were that simple. Known for its blood orange foams, and 'spherified' croquettes made from ham broth - as well as for bringing the likes of centrifuges and hydrocolloids into the kitchen - molecular gastronomy has been more reviled than any style of cooking since a handful of chefs thought stacking a few undressed pea pods on the plate and calling it nouvelle cuisine was a good idea. That might account for why the trio sounded ever so slightly defensive as they protected the role of science in their kitchens. Brandishing a loaf of bread like an amulet, Adrià, chef...
...owner of The Fat Duck in Bray, England, agreed. "We all use sugar. And sugar - sucrose - doesn't grow in the form of white grains. It has to be processed. Yet sugar is okay. Sucrose is okay. It's only when you get to maltodextrin (a group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch) that people start saying, 'Wait a minute, that's going too far.'" (Read a TIME story about Blumenthal's perfect day in London...
...other words, ovens and alginates exist on the same technological continuum, and the public wouldn't be so put off by avant-garde techniques if it understood the true nature of this relationship. Impeding that realization, however, is the movement's unwieldy name. "Molecular gastronomy sounds scary," said Harold McGee, who writes regularly on the science of cooking for The New York Times, and, along with physicist Davide Cassi, also participated in the panel. "If it were called something else, it wouldn't make you think there's something there you don't know or can't trust...