Something old, something new: "Heston's Feast"
It’s been about three years since I’ve lived with a television, although I must admit: living without television today is much less of a sacrifice than it was 10 years ago. These days, I can catch lots of shows online, and DVDs now contain entire seasons of television programs, for long, uninterrupted, commercial-free viewing. None of these options were available back in 1999. Even something like YouTube, which has quickly developed into a mainstream entity today, was completely non-existent.
But even though I can now do reasonably well without cable, I’m woefully [... read more ...]
I purchased a copy of Ferran Adrià’s “A Day at elBulli” today, although I wondered if I even had any business doing so. After all, Catalonia’s famed elBulli restaurant is at the epicenter of the molecular gastronomy movement, and Adrià’s culinary techniques often employ chemicals and equipment that would be very difficult to turn up, even in the most well-stocked kitchen. Liquid nitrogen? Surgical tubing? Sous vide rigs? I consider myself pretty far ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to culinary gadgetry, but I certainly don’t have any of these items at home. And who [... read more ...]
Although the term “molecular gastronomy” has been around for about two decades now, I have to wonder if such a movement can ever fully merge with the mainstream. Realistically, it will probably remain on the culinary fringe, although some of the more basic techniques may become commonplace over time. Foams, for example, seem to have already worn out their welcome in the realm of fine dining (I had certainly dealt with my share of them when I was cooking). Still, it is interesting to note the various ways that molecular gastronomy has continued to appear on my [... read more ...]
