Hi Calvin,
Molecular gastronomy and/or modernist cuisine is both a collection of cooking techniques informed by science as well as an overarching approach to the preparation and presentation of food.
The best overview of the history and development of molecular gastronomy can arguably be found in Modernist Cuisine.
Here are three important ways to look at the history:
- Most chefs and foodies would probably point to Ferran Adria’s work at el Bulli as defining the current ecosystem of modernist cuisine. If you look at this site, you’ll find that many of the plates adopt elements created or refined at el Bulli.
- The actual term “molecular gastronomy” was coined by French chemist Herve This in 1998 (originally, in 1988, he called it “molecular and physical gastronomy”). This always meant the term to refer to a field of study, not a style of cuisine. Regardless, the term has received some criticism for being both inaccurate and offputting to diners.
- In my opionin, the scientific roots of molecular gastronomy go back post-World-War-II America, when a premium was put on convenience products and new technologies. Technologies developed in this time included widespread home refrigeration, pre-frozen foods, and the electric blender. Also significant, the 1960s may have been the first time that “Sous-vide” cooking, or cooking food in plastic bags in a water bath, was tried.
In summary, if you want to explore the role of science in molecular gastronomy, start by understanding how the food system in the United States changed after World War II and how a bias toward convenience created the technologies and products we have today.
As for how has molecular gastronomy affected the food industry today, I’d say the effect has been minimal. Molecular gastronomy remains the specialty of top-tier restaurants. While the food industry could use techniques developed by chefs to create higher-quality packaged products, there simply doesn’t appear to be a market for these products.
Much more significant to the food industry has been consumer demand for more healthy and health-defined foods (that is, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, organic, GMO-free, etc.) Just as the low-fat craze of previous decades spurred innovation in low-fat products, it looks like new innovations will focus on creating foods that are tasty, last long, and still meet the requirements of health-conscious consumers.
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Kevin Liu 11 years ago.Quantum Chef.
