Few weeks back, I attended a Molecular Gastronomy workshop conducted by Dr. Linda. Molecular gastronomy is a movement that incorporates Science and new techniques in the preparation, transformation and artistic presentation of food. It is the study of molecules, especially on how the physical and chemical transformation of ingredients that occur in cooking can affect the overall taste/texture of food.

Figure 1. Certain processes in food (taken from workshop slides)

I was introduced to certain terms regarding food processes (Figure 1). It was indeed fascinating to know how each of the different ingredients has an important role to play in food preparation.

In this workshop, there was also hands-on activities which involved making Chocolate Mousse and Ribena Sorbet!

Chocolate Chantilly 

The steps to making Chocolate Chantilly, also termed as Mousse, is relatively simple. It involves melting 100g of chocolate into 85mL of hot water, followed by stirring it vigorously while letting the mixture bowl sit on a bed of ice. The end result should be give an airy and creamy texture.

So what is the science behind making Chantilly?

When hot water is added to the chocolate, an oil-in-water emulsion is formed. The hot water acts as the continuous phase, whereas the melted chocolate (oil cocoa fat) is the dispersed phase. By whisking the mixture vigorously, air bubbles is introduced into the emulsion and the oil molecules subsequently coats the air bubbles. Then, cooling the mixture in an ice bath allows the oil molecules to solidify into fat crystals and further trap the air molecules. This can be observed by an increase in viscosity of the chocolate mixture, and subsequently forming the airy creamy texture.

Based on these simple steps, it can be seen how simple ingredients could work together to create an airy and creamy chocolatey chantilly! No other ingredients, such as egg white, which normally gives food a fluffier texture due to the formation of foam is required 🙂

     Figure 2.  Chocolate bar used (left) and my group’s failed Chantilly (right)

My group’s Chocolate Chantilly definitely did not turn out how it should be – airy and creamy 🙁 Instead, what we obtained was just a watery chocolate texture… Despite whisking long enough, the mixture did not turn viscous. This could be attributed by type of chocolate used. As the chocolate we used contained 0% sugar, it could have attributed to this undesirable outcome.

Ribena Sorbet

Unlike ice cream making which involves the use of milk to give that additional creamy texture, sorbet making does not involve the use of milk. Hence, it is much easier to prepare, which only requires 2 main ingredients. The fruit flavour (in this case Ribena) and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide).

Figure 3. Ribena sorbet

Crushing the dry ice into smaller pieces and pouring the Ribena juice, followed by intense mixing, Sorbet is produced 🙂

While making the sorbet, it is important to crush the dry ice into smaller pieces so that the resultant sorbet has a better mouthfeel, rather than larger crystals that will feel coarser and grittier in the mouth.

Another observation made is that the sorbet tasted slightly fizzy, which is attributed by the dry ice. As the dry ice would sublime into carbon dioxide gas, it causes the Ribena juice to be saturated with carbon dioxide bubbles and thus, provides that fizzy taste.

And that’s it, another fun and fulfilling workshop which involves food and science!

Readings

Through the readings, I learnt about the two different basic methods of cooking:

1) Dry heat cooking:

Some examples of dry-heat techniques involve roasting, stir-frying, and deep-frying. This method involves the circulation of hot air (radiation) or direct contact to fat (conduction) to transfer heat. Radiation is the transfer of energy with the help of electromagnetic waves, whereas conduction is thermal energy exchanged from one particle to another through collision.

2) Moist heat cooking

Some examples of moist-heat techniques involve braising, boiling and steaming. This method uses water, liquid or steam to transfer heat to food via convection, which involves the movement of fluids.

Another two important concepts I have learnt is Caramelization and Maillard Reaction. Caramelisation is a type of non-enzymatic browning reaction, which involves pyrolysis of certain sugars at high temperature. It is also known as the oxidation of sugars, which results in nutty flavour (initially sweet to some bitterness and acidity flavour) and brown colour.

On the other hand, Maillard reaction is also a form of non-enzymatic browning, but it is a chemical reaction which involves an amino acid and reducing sugar. Although Maillard reaction may be desirable as it gives browned food its distinctive flavour such as bread, it often results in a loss of protein nutritional value due to reaction of essential amino acids and sugar. Hence, to minimize Maillard reaction, temperature can be lowered as high temperature leads to more significant Maillard browning. Also, a reduction in the concentration of sugar can be used to slow down Maillard reaction.

Let’s get cooking!

This week, I attended a self-directed Pancake workshop. My group was tasked to make Japanese Souffle Pancakes. Compared to traditional Western pancakes, Japanese Souffle pancakes are lighter and fluffier in texture. You may be wondering, why is this so? Read on to find out! 😊

Figure 1. List of ingredients used

Through this workshop, I was able to further appreciate the role of certain ingredients after having read the readings.

An important ingredient in making pancakes is the use of baking powder. Baking powder is a leavening agent, which is often used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of food. It works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into the batter through an acid-base reaction, which causes bubbles in it to expand and hence, leavens the mixture.

But what makes Japanese souffle pancakes fluffier than Western pancakes? It is the use of egg whites and sugar to make meringue!! Fascinating enough, whipping egg white forms foam. Foam is produced by trapping millions of gas bubbles in the whipped egg white, which allows the final Japanese souffle pancakes to have a lighter mouthfeel.

Figure 2. How an actual Japanese souffle pancake should look like (left) vs the actual product made by my group (right)

However, our Japanese souffle pancake did not turn out the way it should be ☹. As we were not provided with a hand mixer to whisk the egg whites, we had to do it manually. Thus, we were unable to form a nice stiff peak of foam while whisking the egg white, resulting in a much less fluffy pancake. Additionally, it can be seen that the pancake made has a slight brown colour, which is attributed by Maillard Reaction (as explained earlier on).

Figure 3. Group shot!

Despite the failed attempt in making fluffy Japanese souffle pancake, it  still tasted good! I would definitely try out this recipe again at home, but this time ensuring that a good meringue is formed to give that desired fluffy and light texture pancake.