Mix mix, swirl, mix

Good day dear readers, the topic of discussion today will be mixing as the title suggests. However, it isn't your ordinary form of mixing but rather applying a scientific method to mixing your beverages! Yes, that's right molecular mixology deals with finding different ways in order to create new flavours, textures, unique presentations and can enhance the overall drinking experience. This is why bartenders and mixologists are able to create various numbers of cocktails and make the drinking experience all the more enjoyable. The creativity which one can make use of is near unlimited as there have been cocktails with cigars, cocktails that resemble lava lamps and various other forms which are tantalizing to the eye.

This form of molecular gastronomy was first created by Ferran Adria, Heston Blumenthal and Grant Atchatz but the trend was adopted by many other molecular gastronomy chefs in today's world. Chef Ferran Adria created the spherification process which allows spherical gels to be created which can be added to caviar, champagne and margaritas and other traditional cocktails to make the drink stand out.

Some interesting examples which make use of molecular mixology are jell-o-shots, cocktail marshmallows, cocktail ice pops, cocktail gums, frozen nitro cocktails, suspending solid elements in liquid in order for superb visual presentation, serving cocktails in hollowed food and vegetables, foams and air bubbles, layered cocktails, and even cotton candy. Molecular mixology today, is mostly looking at the physical properties of the drink and finding ways to work with it using vaporization, the appropriate glass, making foams, gels and mists.

References:
Images from:
http://www.slashfood.com/2010/05/28/molecular-mixology-lenell-it-all/
http://runninginheels.co.uk/articles/molecular-cocktails/

Molecular Mixology. (n.d.). Retrieved from Molecular Recipes.com: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/molecular-mixology/molecular-mixology/

O'Neil, D. (2010, December). Introduction to Molecular Mixology. Retrieved from Art of Drink: http://www.artofdrink.com/archive/research/introduction-to-molecular-mixology/

Vapor and its various uses

In order to complement dishes which we have made, we can disperse aroma in the atmosphere. This technique has been used by various well-known chefs all around the world in order to make their food taste better. This is because some believe that most of what we taste when we consume our food is actually the aroma itself. Molecular Gastronomy chefs make use of smoking, vaporization, direct burning of an element such as rosemary or a cinnamon stick using either a simple atomizer or dry ice "vapor".

Using this particular technique, chefs add a mixture of desired oils or aromatic ingredients over dry ice in a container at the table. Since dry ice is merely carbon dioxide, when we heat the ice, it will evaporate back into its gaseous form and then disperse the aroma contained within it on the food itself.

Some examples of the use of this interesting technique is in Heston's Flaming Sorbet where the waiter pours a mixture of oak moss essential oil, hot water, and alcohol which carries the aroma of damp wood to complement the dish itself.

Vaporization on the other hand, is much simpler and uses a simple vaporizer which is an appliance used by many molecular gastronomy chefs in order to bring out the desired aroma. However, vaporizers may also be used to infuse flavour into liquids and not just solid food itself and filling bubbles with aroma as well thus, making it a very handy appliance for any creative chef!

Images from:
http://www.molecularrecipes.com/molecular-gastronomy/vaporization-flavoring-food-pure-aromatic-vapor/
http://www.vaporizersftw.com/why-a-vaporizer-and-vaporizer-reviews-are-important/

References:

Dispersing Aromas with Dry Ice Vapor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Molecular Recipes: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/techniques/dispersing-aromas-dry-ice-vapor/

Vaporization: Flavoring Food with Pure Aromatic Flavor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Molecular Recipes: http://www.molecularrecipes.com/molecular-gastronomy/vaporization-flavoring-food-pure-aromatic-vapor/

Meat... and the science behind it

Hello dear readers! Welcome to another entry on Food Tech and this time around we will be talking about one of our favourite and most popular food sources, meat! Meat is one of the main components of our daily diet (excluding vegetarians of course) and hundreds of dishes all around the world are based around it as the main star of a dish or a supporting ingredient for another dish. However, most people don't really know what it really is. Meat is mostly the muscle tissue of an animal which is made up of mostly water, protein, fat, carbohydrates and assorted proteins.

When an animal is slaughtered, blood circulation will stop and the muscles will use up the oxygen supply of the animal's body. After death, it is imperative not to freeze the animal's carcass immediately as it will bunch up all the proteins together making the meat itself tough. However, if one allows the carcass to age a little, it will allow the enzymes in the muscle cells to break down the overlapping proteins to make the meat tender.

The muscles of the animal are made up of actysin and myosin which are fibres. For example, when cooking a steak we need to look at the tissues at certain temperatures. Between 130 - 155 F, the myosin fibre within the steak will begin to unfold itself. Thea Actin however, has not begun to unfold just yet making this a rare medium steak. If a steak is cooked, some of the protein in it is denatured or has unfolded itself which makes it less chewy or contains less texture. If the steak is cooked till it is well done, some people will complain that it is too dry and tough which suggests that it has reached the stage where almost all of the protein has been denatured in the cooking process and become insoluble which makes it unable to retain its moisture. Therefore, achieving a state whereby some of the protein is denatured is more suitable as compared to having it being completely denatured. So remember, dear readers, never overcook your steak!

References:
Images from:
 http://foodsafety-ta03grp2.blogspot.com/2011/03/think-that-medium-rare-steak-is-nice-it.html
http://foodslashscience.blogspot.com/2010/11/cooking-meat-thermodynamics-and.html

Priest, C. (2010, November 3). Cooking Meat: Thermodynamics and Biochemistry. Retrieved from Food/Science Better cooking through chemistry (and biology, and physics...): http://foodslashscience.blogspot.com/2010/11/cooking-meat-thermodynamics-and.html

Science of Meat. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Accidental Food Scientist: Science of Cooking: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/kitchenlab.html

Food Science Mysteries!

Dear Fellow Readers, Check out this video relating to food science which shows a nifty creative way of cooking! Enjoy!