Molecular cuisine is exciting, surprising, and delicious all at once! Vibrantly colored or flowing dishes have a very striking character and represent something truly special. Eating becomes a unique event, since classic patterns are broken and textures are fundamentally transformed. Familiar ingredients take on new colors, and dishes gain an entirely different consistency. In the following article, we'll reveal exactly what molecular cuisine is all about and what delicious recipes can be created with it.

What is molecular cuisine?

Anyone devoted to molecular cuisine has a passion for experimentation and a creative streak. This is usually reflected in how dishes are put together, since a central question in molecular cuisine is: why do foods change their essential properties under certain temperatures, or mechanical or other effects from physics, chemistry, or biology?

Reduced to its bare minimum, molecular cuisine shows up mainly in ready meals, where adding water to a powder turns it into a tasty soup, for example. Here, we're looking at the kind of molecular cuisine that turns eating into a genuine experience. Textures, colors, and aromas that break with previously familiar patterns and give dishes an entirely new look, a new consistency, and a different taste, that's what defines modern molecular cuisine.

One key difference from classic cooking is already apparent in the equipment used. Wooden spoons and the like are rarely found here, instead, observers get the impression that cooking is happening in a laboratory. Pipettes and tweezers have a fixed place here. Cooling is also handled, for example, with dry ice or even liquid nitrogen, which isn't exactly risk-free.

Ultimately, in molecular cuisine, foods are sometimes transformed to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.

• Gelification: the goal of this technique is to turn a liquid mass into a solid state. Plant-based binding agents like agar-agar, algin, gellan, or xanthan replace the gelatin commonly used elsewhere. A foam of gravy, for example, is an ingredient often found in recipes using this technique.
• Emulsification: this involves combining two typically immiscible liquids, like oil and water. The emulsifier lecithin is an additive that makes this possible in a fascinating way.
• Reverse spherification: this special technique in molecular cuisine allows, for example, spheres with a liquid center to be created. For guests, these are usually special taste experiences, since combinations are chosen that normally would never go together.

Who invented molecular cuisine?

French chemist Hervé This and German physicist Thomas A. Vilgis laid the groundwork for what's known today as molecular cuisine through their extensive research. They wanted to find out which chemical, biological, and physical processes cause changes in food. It was Ferran Adrià who then established "laboratory cuisine," and his creations captivated diners so much that his restaurant was named "the best restaurant in the world" five times. Today, countless master chefs and Michelin-starred chefs are, at least in part, devoted to molecular cuisine.

Is molecular cuisine healthy?

Molecular cuisine isn't entirely without controversy. Quite a few Michelin-starred chefs dismiss it as mere showmanship and are fairly critical of transforming food this way. There are also ingredients like transglutaminase, a protein binder, or the thickening agent xanthan, that arguably don't belong in a high-quality kitchen at all. But they can create certain effects that would be nearly impossible with normal preparation.

Since molecular cuisine represents more event-style dining than hearty everyday food, though, it's definitely worth trying. Since restaurants are required to disclose the relevant ingredients and flag additives, you can pay close attention to this during a visit if it matters to you. Transparency is likely the best approach when it comes to "health."

What do you need for molecular cuisine?

If you want to try molecular cuisine yourself, you don't necessarily need culinary training or a lab. As with many things, there's a starter kit here too, which can be expanded depending on your preferences and how much you enjoy this style of cooking. Most kits typically include:

• agar-agar powder
• calcium lactate
• sodium alginate
• soy lecithin
• pipettes
• skimmer spoon
• measuring spoon
• syringe
• silicone tubing
• silicone molds

An extension would be a spherification kit with gluco, algin calcic, citras, including grenadine syrup, a recipe booklet, and pipettes, if you're excited about diving deeper into this technique.

What absolutely can't be missing is a steady hand, along with the necessary calm and time, since these recipes rarely succeed on the first try.

Molecular cuisine recipes to try

We've gathered a few molecular cuisine recipe ideas and present them here:

Fruit spaghetti from molecular cuisine

• approx. 300 g fruit purée
• 30 g sugar
• 6 g agar-agar

Fruit spaghetti from molecular cuisine are fairly simple, but definitely a visual highlight. Plus, you can make the spaghetti with any fruit purée you like, giving you plenty of freedom. You'll need around 300 grams of fruit purée, 30 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of agar-agar as ingredients. A disposable syringe and a small-diameter PVC or silicone tube of appropriate length are all the equipment you need.

First, mix the agar-agar with 80 milliliters of water, the fruit purée, and the sugar using an immersion blender, then heat the whole mixture slightly. The slightly liquid mixture is then pressed through the tube using the syringe, creating fruit spaghetti of whatever length you like.

Apple juice bubbles from molecular cuisine

• 250 ml apple juice
• 250 ml still water
• 1.5 g sodium alginate
• 2.5 g calcium lactate

Sift the alginate into the apple juice through a small sieve and mix everything thoroughly. Bring the resulting liquid to a boil, then let it cool slightly again. While it cools, mix the still, cold water with calcium lactate. Then draw the apple juice liquid into a syringe and drip it, drop by drop, into the cold water. Ideally, bubbles form, which can then be scooped out with a sieve.

Molecular cuisine catering with heycater

If you already know that preparing this yourself would be a personal challenge, you can rely on catering instead. Selected caterers at heycater! delight guests with fine dining, high-end cuisine, or exactly this kind of molecular cuisine. Take the opportunity to contact us, and we'll find the best caterers near you who can wow you and your colleagues. Trade shows and events can also become unique experiences with select dishes like these.