Science Saturday: Chefs are Chemists
I had a wonderful dinner at 6th Street Kitchen a few days ago with a lot of delicious molecular gastronomy elements like basil gelée cubes (they look like translucent jello cubes), avocado sorbet, feta cheese sorbet (which was so good!), and most delicious corn custard I’ve ever had in my life. The chef there is going to Alinea now, a molecular gastronomy restaurant that I’ve been dying to go to.
It’s interesting how much chemistry exists in kitchens. There’s an informative article from the New York Times back in 2007 about how chefs are chemists and I wanted to share it (even though it’s an old article) because it’s still true!:
“Chefs are using science not only to better understand their cooking, but also to create new ways of cooking. Elsewhere, chefs have played with lasers and liquid nitrogen. Restaurant kitchens are sometimes outfitted with equipment adapted from scientific laboratories.”
The rest of the article is pretty interesting to read and relevant to the study of molecular gastronomy. If you’re a chemist or have studied chemistry, you’ll love reading this. The slideshow accompanying the article has some amazing pictures about how Chef Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 makes their mole sauce look like tiny lentil beans. I think molecular gastronomy is amazing because once science is applied to food, you see and eat the most creative and artistic pieces. If no one studied it, you won’t have creative, delicious, artistic, and well-thought out food like…
![Want: Chocolate Bar Card from Upon a Fold
[Sorry, I’m hungry]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5xtrg7xpb1qzncalo1_400.jpg)
Weird Wednesdays: This egg peeling technique could be perceived as gross but I think it’s kind of cool…
By popular demand, a decision tree for the things you could/should have on your fries after you’ve decided what kind of french fries to stuff your face with.
Today is National French Fries Day!
National French Fries day is probably a great excuse to gorge on fries all day. To help you decide what kind of fries you should tickle your palate with, I’ve constructed a French Fries Decision Tree:
How this “holiday” came about, I have absolutely no idea. I was even nerdy enough to look up presidential proclamations or congressional records on “french fries.” Hell, I’m nerdy enough to make a decision tree about french fries. I just really love french fries…
[Edit: Alright people. I have MANY inquiries about a chart revision for seasoned fries and other sorts of fanciful french fry related dishes. There will be probably be an Edition II.]
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