Food (Mad) Science

Molecular Gastronomy

So, we meet again.
Friends, when you think "Mad Science" I'm sure you, like I, think mostly of lab coats, bubbling beakers full of glowing slime, half-crazed minions, and hardly enough time between frenetically paced experiments in world domination to microwave a frozen burrito.

But what does even that frozen burrito have in common with the neon beaker of glowing slime? CHEMICALS! Yes, all food, when you get down to it, is made of chemicals. These are the chemicals our bodies break down into useful building blocks, more or less. And that makes all cuisine into a glorious and choreographed dance of chemistry!

In fact, there is a whole branch of (mad) science dedicated to gustatory delights. This field is called Molecular Gastronomy. A wonderful site and blog dedicated to the topic is Khymos.org. The blog is by a man named Martin Lersch with a PhD in Organometallic Chemistry. He mentions that Molecular Gastronomy is “the science of deliciousness” which is exactly the sort of thing a mad scientist would say to get you into his lab, after all.

Molecular Gastronomy is what tells you that, according to matching amines, caviar and white chocolate are a perfect match. This is not something you would arrive at without science, since it defies common sense. (Then again I have never understood the prosciutto and melon pairing either.) Seriously, follow this link for more “chemically correct” food pairings. Perhaps you will start eating parsley with your bananas every time (for science).

In fact, some thoughtful soul here at the University of Exeter School of Physics, has discovered the perfect formula for boiling an egg! I won’t repeat it without permission; go click their link so that they can get a little attention.

The formula is a hauntingly beautiful thing (if you like math, which I don’t).

If that isn’t mad science for you, well, there’s lots more. It’s all the rage right now to use chemistry to create Flavors and Textures Man Was Not Meant To Know. Lasers. Flash freezing foods with liquid nitrogen. Scented Aerogels that hover briefly before the diner. The Madrid Fusion conference is a major one for Molecular Gastronomy. I imagine this blog would be quite fascinating, if I knew Spanish.
If you root around here you can find hints of the strangeness of which I speak, such as recipes for things like “iodine flavored seaweed stock” and “shrimp in fir needles”.

The restaurant that comes to my mind when you say Molecular Gastronomy is MOTO, in Chicago, where you can find “edible paper” printed (using a hacked Canon inkjet) with different flavored pictures. In fact, if you want the real scoop go here and see a blog documenting (in photos) all the courses in a bizarre/amazing meal at MOTO, from "popcorn flavored packing material" to "vegetable globe".

Doesn’t mad science make you feel hungry?

Now I didn't mention anything specifically fictional or "story game related" in this post, but if one can do such terrible and strange things to food in reality, I'm sure it can get your brain going on ways to implement this (and directions to take it) in your own fiction.

Links:
http://khymos.org/
http://newton.ex.ac.uk/teaching/CDHW/egg/
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/
http://www.motorestaurant.com/flash/index.html