What is Molecular Gastronomy and what you'll need!

Molecular Gastronomy is often seen as a form of cooking that has only surfaced in the last decade or two. However it's been around for close to a 100 years. In the last decade it's gone from how to making mayo perfectly to making a dish that the has everything from caviar to flavored smoke. The term "Molecular and Physical Gastronomy" was coined in 1992 by Hungarian physicist Nicholas Kurti and French physical chemist Hervé This. However with anything new comes people who resist change. Most chefs at the time thought of it as cooking without the need for a true chef not just someone with chemicals and a scale. Now back to what is it! Molecular Gastronomy is changing the texture or state i.e liquid or solid of food. Next few posts will be what you need and what they do! 



Here is a list of the chemicals you need and what they're used for.

1. Agar Agar- Used to form rigid and brittle gels.
2. Calcium Lactate- Used alongside sodium alginate in a spherification process
3. Citric Acid- Used to change pH levels in food..
4. Glycerin- sweet odorless liquid used to sweeten food
5. Guar Gum- Used as a thickening agent.   
6. sodium alginate-used in a spherification process.
7. Soy Lecithin- Used to stabilize a mixture for emulsification.
8.  Tapioca Maltodextrin- used to dry out mixtures.
9. Xanthan gum- Used as a thinking agent.

These are the main things you'll need to get started!


I do not take credit for any of these recipes! These all have been tried and tested before I got to them.