Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor

Molecular Gastronomy

a r t s a nd t r a d i t ion s
o f t h e
t a b l e

Hervé This

a r t s a n d t r a d i t i o n s
o f t h e
t a b l e :

p e r s p e c t i v e s o n c u l i n a r y h i s t o r y

Albert Sonnenfeld,
series editor

Salt: Grain of Life

Pierre Laszlo, translated by Mary Beth Mader

Culture of the Fork

Giovanni Rebora, translated by Albert Sonnenfeld

French Gastronomy: The History and Geography of a Passion

Jean-Robert Pitte, translated by Jody Gladding

Pasta: The Story of a Universal Food

Silvano Serventi and Françoise Sabban, translated by Antony Shugar

Slow Food: The Case for Taste

Carlo Petrini, translated by William McCuaig

Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History

Alberto Capatti and Massimo Montanari, translated by Áine O’Healy

British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History

Colin Spencer

A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America

James E. McWilliams

Sacred Cow, Mad Cow: A History of Food Fears

Madeleine Ferrières, translated by Jody Gladding

Hervé This

Molecular Gastronomy

Exploring the Science of Flavor

t r a n s l a t e d b y
m . b . d e b e v o i s e

c o l u m b i a u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s {
n e w y o r k
}

c o l u m b i a u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s

Publishers Since 1893

New York Chichester, West Sussex

Copyright © Éditions Pour la Science 2002.

Translation copyright © 2006 Columbia University Press

All rights reserved

Columbia University Press gratefully acknowledges permission to reprint

excerpts from
The Physiology of Taste
by Jean Brillat-Savarin, translated by

M. F. K. Fisher, copyright 1949 by the George Macy Companies, Inc. Used by

permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

This, Hervé.

[Casseroles et éprouvettes. English]

Molecular gastronomy : exploring the science of flavor / Hervé This ;

translated by Malcolm DeBevoise.

p. cm. -- (Arts and traditions of the table)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

i sbn 0 -231-13312-x (alk. paper)

1. Food --Sensory evaluation. 2. Flavor. 3. Gastronomy.

i. Title. ii. Series.

tx546.t5513 2005

664'.072-- dc22

20050053784

Columbia University Press books are printed on

permanent and durable acid-free paper.

Printed in the United States of America

Designed by Linda Secondari + Vin Dang.
Ferdinand
typeface by Isaac Tobin.

c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

It is not enough to know the principles, one needs to know how to
manipulate
.

—
Dictionnaire de Trévoux,
quoted by michael faraday

in the first edition of
Chemical Manipulation
(1827)

15 Preserves and Preserving Pans •
65

16 Saving a Crème Anglaise •
68

17 Grains of Salt •
71

18 Of Champagne and Teaspoons •
74

19 Coffee, Tea, and Milk •
76

Part Two : The Physiolo³ of Flavor

Contents

20 Food as Medicine •
83

21 Taste and Digestion •
86

22 Taste in the Brain •
88

23 Papillary Cells •
91

24 How Salt Affects Taste •
94

25 Detecting Tastes •
97

26 Bitter Tastes •
100

27 Hot Up Front •
103

series editor’s preface •
ix

28 The Taste of Cold •
106

Language Edition •
1

30 Tenderness and Juiciness •
112

31 Measuring Aromas •
115

Part One : Secrets of the Kitchen

32 At Table in the Nursery •
118

1

Making Stock •
23

33 Food Allergies •
121

2 Clarifying Stock •
26

34 Public Health Alerts •
124

3

Hard-Boiled Eggs •
29

4 Quiches, Quenelles, and

Part Three : Investigations and Models

Puff Pastries •
32

35 The Secret of Bread •
131

5

Échaudés and Gnocchi •
35

36 Yeast and Bread •
134

6 The Well-Leavened Soufflé •
38

37 Curious Yellow •
137

7 Quenelles and Their Cousins •
41

38 Gustatory Paradoxes •
140

8 Fondue •
44

39 The Taste of Food •
143

9 Roasting Beef •
47

40 Lumps and Strings •
146

10 Seasoning Steak •
50

41 Foams •
149

11 Wine and Marinades •
53

42 Hard Sausage •
152

12 Color and Freshness •
56

43 Spanish Hams •
155

13 Softening Lentils •
59

44 Foie Gras •
158

14 Souffléed Potatoes •
62

45 Antioxidant Agents •
161

46 Trout •
164

77 Champagne and Its Foam •
257

47 Cooking Times •
167

78 Champagne in a Flute •
260

48 The Flavor of Roasted Meats •
170

79 Demi Versus Magnum •
263

49 Tenderizing Meats •
173

80 The
Terroirs
of Whisky •
266

50 Al Dente •
176

81
Cartagènes
•
269

51 Forgotten Vegetables •
179

82 Tea •
272

52 Preserving Mushrooms •
182

53 Truffles •
185

Part Four : A Cuisine for Tomorrow

54 More Flavor •
188

83 Cooking in a Vacuum •
279

55 French Fries •
191

84 Aromas or Reactions? •
282

56 Mashed Potatoes •
194

85 Butter: A False Solid •
285

57 Algal Fibers •
197

86 Liver Mousse •
288

58 Cheeses •
200

87 In Praise of Fats •
291

59 From Grass to Cheese •
203

88 Mayonnaises •
294

60 The Tastes of Cheese •
206

89 Aioli Generalized •
297

61 Yogurt •
209

90 Orders of Magnitude •
300

62 Milk Solids •
212

91 Hundred-Year-Old Eggs •
303

63 Sabayons •
215

92 Smoking Salmon •
306

64 Fruits in Syrup •
218

93 Methods and Principles •
309

65 Fibers and Jams •
221

94 Pure Beef •
313

66 The Whitening of Chocolate •
224

95 Fortified Cheeses •
316

67 Caramel •
227

96 Chantilly Chocolate •
319

68 Bread and Crackers •
230

97 Everything Chocolate •
322

69 The
Terroirs
of Alsace •
233

98 Playing with Texture •
325

70 Length in the Mouth •
236

99 Christmas Recipes •
328

71 Tannins •
239

100 The Hidden Taste of Wine •
331

72 Yellow Wine •
242

101 Teleolfaction •
334

73 Wine Without Dregs •
245

74 Sulfur and Wine •
248

gloss ary •
337

75 Wine Glasses •
251

further reading •
35 1

76 Wine and Temperature •
254

index •
361

viii | contents

Series Editor’s Preface

“It takes a tough guy to raise a tender chicken!” the late Frank Perdue

used to proclaim in his radio and t v advertisements. Physical chemist Hervé

This (pronounced teess), the internationally controversial molecular gastro-

nome, explains to us in understandable yet precise terms the science of ten-

derness.

What defines tenderness, anyway? How does one achieve it in the farmyard

and the kitchen? What chemical interactions give a chicken the potential to be

a gourmet chicken? How is tenderness perceived by the complex nerve end-

ings and taste buds of the mouth? The current cult of “Slow Food” may have a

basis in molecular science, or it may be mere Walden Pondish Romantic Rous-

seauism. After reading this absorbing book I now know what I mean when I

sing, “Try a little tenderness!”

Hervé This combines the seriousness of purpose and acumen of a respect-

ed scientist (Collège de France) with the aura of dynamic t v personality. He

succeeds more than others in making what seems recondite to some accessible

to all. We worry about making good French fries; here we read that there is

laboratory predictability in the choice of potato variety, the slicing technique,

and the discoloration that occurs when enzymes in the air hit the uncooked

spud. Each scientific food inquiry raised in this book takes root in specific

everyday (and useful) examples, the whys and wherefores of our very real culi-

nary dilemmas as home cooks and consumers.

| ix

Should one salt a steak before, during, or after cooking? We must under-

stand the chemical processes and consequences of that common ritual. How

does the shape of the wine glass affect the taste of a given wine? Science gives

us real answers. Our molecular gastronome could use equations, but instead

he uses words, readably, eloquently, and wittily.

How to cool down a drink that is too hot? Cool your almost-boiling morn-

ing Java with cold milk and it will take ten minutes, but wait for the coffee to

reach 75°f, then add the milk, and one obtains the same result after only four

minutes.

And your
espresso ristretto
(black)? One would think that the energy deflec-

tion of the metallic spoon and the diluting effect of sugar would be dramatic.

Blowing on the brew proves to be more efficient by half than stirring, even

though I had always thought that spreading the heat would lead to more rapid

cooling.

The era of culinology, a useful term immediately trademarked in our prof-

it-driven culinary culture by a group called Research Chefs of America, has

clearly arrived. How timely, then, is the publication of
Molecular Gastronomy
,

the liveliest addition to the growing bibliography exploring culinary science.

I might also cite the work of the Monell Chemical Senses Institute and the

books of such distinguished scholars as Peter Barham, Harold McGee, and

Robert L. Wolke.

Hervé This explores the chemistry, physics, and technology of produce cul-

tivation and selection, food preparation (cooking, freezing), tasting, and diges-

tion in his pioneering t v shows and acclaimed magazine articles. His labora-

tories at the Institutes for Advanced Research and the seminars he codirects

at the Collège de France have attracted many of the celebrity chefs to whose

kitchens people flock on pilgrimages of culinary initiation.

This book is as much about the science of eating and enjoying food as about

the science of its preparation. How does the brain perceive flavor and decide it

is good, and how do we detect textures? Is chewing healthful or even necessary

for gastronomic enjoyment? How does breaking down foods by mastication

alter their chemistry and release flavors? Study the effect and techniques of

flavoring and chewing gum, asserts our media-friendly gastronome, and you’ll

understand.

One of the most fascinating debates in current food science revolves around

the so-called fifth taste, umami. We had been taught that salty, sweet, sour, and

x | preface

bitter are the four taste sensations. As so often happens, new insights come

from Asia.