Molecular Gastronomy - Scientific work

Molecular gastronomy is the scientific discipline that explores the phenomena that occur during the preparation and consumption of food. Formally created in 1988, it is now being developed in many universities around the world, as are its applications, with which it is not confused (the educational applications of molecular gastronomy, as well as the technical applications of molecular cooking and note-to-note cooking, are the subject of another article [F 1 016] ). Its aim is to discover new physical and chemical mechanisms, by exploring phenomena that had been neglected because they appeared in the prosaic context of "cooking".

We begin by examining two important pieces of information: the historical necessity for the introduction of molecular gastronomy among food sciences and technologies, and the notion of food, which we propose to distinguish from the notion of food ingredient. These two pieces of information go hand in hand, and have both conceptual and practical importance, shaping the work of the discipline.

Then we'll look at some results, focusing several of them on the Dispersed Systems Formalism (DSF), an algebra analogous to the formalism of chemistry, but which applies to all formulation activities, with a view to describing systems, with the added interest of predicting as yet unrealized systems (technical innovation, technological methodology, particularly with a view to formulation activities). We will also present a general theory of bioactivity, and show how the examination of culinary techniques has led to the discovery of new kinds of gels with particular bioactivities.