Cocktails in ice spheres. Caviar1） made of olive oil. Disappearing transparent raviolis2）. Sound cool？ Well， these are all examples of Molecular gastronomy. Molecular gastronomy blends physics and chemistry to transform the tastes and textures of food. The result？ New and innovative dining experiences. The term molecular gastronomy is commonly used to describe a style of cuisine in which chefs explore culinary3） possibilities by borrowing tools from the science lab and ingredients from the food industry. Formally， the term molecular gastronomy refers to the scientific discipline that studies the physical and chemical processes that occur while cooking. Molecular gastronomy seeks to investigate and explain the chemical reasons behind the transformation of ingredients， as well as the social， artistic， and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena.

Many modern chefs do not accept the term molecular gastronomy to describe their style of cooking and prefer other terms like \"modern cuisine\"， \"modernist cuisine\"， \"experimental cuisine\"， or \"avant-garde4） cuisine\". Heston Blumenthal from The Fat Duck restaurant says molecular gastronomy makes cuisine sound elitist and inaccessible， as though you need a degree in rocket science5） to enjoy it. In the end， molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine—or whatever you want to call this cooking style—refers to experimental restaurant cooking driven by the desire of modern cooks to explore the world's wide variety of ingredients， tools， and techniques. Molecular gastronomy research starts in the kitchen where chefs study how food tastes and behaves under different temperatures， pressures， and other scientific conditions.

The possibilities are endless

Molecular gastronomy experiments have resulted in new innovative dishes like hot gelatins6）， airs， faux caviar， spherical ravioli， and crab ice cream. Ferran Adria from El Bulli restaurant used alginates7） to create his system of spherification which gelled8） spheres that literally burst in your mouth. Heston Blumenthal discovered the ability of fat to hold flavor and created a dish that had three flavors—basil， olive， and onion—with each taste being perceived in sequence9）. The potential of molecular gastronomy is enormous. It is revolutionizing traditional cooking and transforming dining into a surprising emotional and sensory experience.

Is it safe？

When people hear the words molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine for the first time they often mistakenly view it as unhealthy， synthetic10）， chemical， dehumanizing， and unnatural. This is not surprising given that molecular gastronomy often relies on fuming11） flasks12） of liquid nitrogen， led-blinking water baths， syringes13）， tabletop distilleries14）， PH meters， and shelves of food chemicals with names like carrageenan15）， maltodextrin16）， and xanthan17）. My friend's first reaction when I surprised her with a liquid pea spherical raviolo was to say \"Can I eat this？ Is this safe？ Why don't you try it first？\" The truth is that the \"chemicals\" used in molecular gastronomy are all of biological origin. Even though they have been purified and some of them processed， the raw material origin is usually marine， plant， animal， or microbial. These additives have been approved by EU standards and are used in very， very small amounts. The science lab equipment used just helps modern gastronomy cooks to do simple things like maintaining the temperature of the cooking water constant （water bath）， cooling food at extremely low temperatures quickly （liquid nitrogen）， or extracting flavor from food （evaporator）. There is still some debate out there about the healthiness of molecular gastronomy but I personally believe there are far bigger health issues with the everyday food we consume. In the end， you are not going to be eating liquid pea spheres every day anyway.

Molecular gastronomy should be accessible to everyone

If you are not a professional chef with a fully equipped kitchen you can still enjoy molecular gastronomy at home without spending too much money. Many molecular cuisine recipes don't require special equipment or \"chemicals\". With as little as $50 you can get some basic molecular gastronomy substances to start making spheres， airs， and gels. Want to cook with liquid nitrogen？ That gets a bit more expensive but is a lot of fun. You'll have to spend about $500 and carefully follow some safety procedures.

凍成球狀的雞尾酒，橄欖油制成的魚子醬，會消失的透明意式小方餃，聽起來是不是很酷？這些都是分子料理的實例。分子料理把物理及化學(xué)手段結(jié)合在一起以改變食物的味道和口感。結(jié)果是什么呢？新穎而創(chuàng)新的飲食體驗。而“分子料理”這個詞通常被用來描述一種烹飪風(fēng)格——在該風(fēng)格的烹飪中，廚師通過借用科學(xué)實驗室的工具以及食品業(yè)的原料來探索烹調(diào)的可能性。正式來說，這一用語指的是一門科學(xué)學(xué)科，該學(xué)科旨在研究烹飪中的物理及化學(xué)過程。分子料理力圖研究和解釋導(dǎo)致原料轉(zhuǎn)化的化學(xué)原因，以及烹飪和美食現(xiàn)象中的社會、藝術(shù)和技術(shù)因素。

許多現(xiàn)代廚師并不接受別人用分子料理這個詞來描述他們的烹飪風(fēng)格，而喜歡用諸如“現(xiàn)代派料理”“現(xiàn)代主義料理”“實驗料理”或是“先鋒派料理”一類的其他名稱。英國肥鴨餐廳的主廚赫斯頓·布魯門瑟認為分子料理這一名稱使食物聽起來很高級、高不可攀，就好像你需要有個高深學(xué)科的學(xué)位才能享用這種美食一樣?？傊肿恿侠砘蚍肿用朗场蚴瞧渌魏文阆胗脕砻枋鲞@種烹調(diào)風(fēng)格的名稱——指的是現(xiàn)代廚師在探索廣闊世界的各種食材、工具和技術(shù)這一渴望的驅(qū)使下而做的實驗性餐廳菜肴。分子料理的研究就始于廚房，廚師們在那里研究食物在不同的溫度、壓力以及其他科學(xué)條件下的味道及狀態(tài)。

分子料理有無限可能

分子料理領(lǐng)域的實驗已經(jīng)創(chuàng)造了許多新式菜肴，例如熱明膠、氣態(tài)物、人造魚子醬、球狀意式小方餃和蟹肉冰淇淋。艾爾布利餐廳的主廚費朗·亞德里阿用褐藻酸鹽制作了一系列膠化成球狀的食物，它們真的能在你的嘴里爆開。赫斯頓·布魯門瑟發(fā)現(xiàn)了脂肪可以保存食材的風(fēng)味并借此創(chuàng)造出一道有三種味道的菜肴——羅勒、橄欖和洋蔥——并且讓每一種味道依次出現(xiàn)。分子料理的潛力是巨大的，它在改革傳統(tǒng)烹飪并把飲食轉(zhuǎn)變成一種驚人的情感和感官體驗。

分子料理安全嗎？

人們第一次聽到分子料理或分子美食這類詞時，總會誤以為這類食物是人工合成的、用化學(xué)制品制造的，不健康、不自然也不合人性?？紤]到分子料理常常需要用到盛有液氮的冒著氣的燒瓶、帶LED燈的恒溫水槽、注射器、桌面蒸餾室、酸度計再加上大量有著諸如角叉菜膠、麥芽糖糊精和黃原膠這類名字的食用化學(xué)品，人們對分子料理有這樣的誤解并不奇怪。當我拿著一個液態(tài)豌豆餡的球形水餃給一個朋友看時，她大吃一驚，第一反應(yīng)是問：“我能吃這個嗎？這個安全嗎？要不你先吃一個？”事實上，分子料理所用到的“化學(xué)品”都是純生物制品。雖然它們都被凈化了，其中有些還經(jīng)過加工處理，但原材料的來源通常都是海洋生物、植物、動物或微生物。這些添加劑符合歐盟的相關(guān)標準，用量也極其微小。而科學(xué)實驗室器材也只是被現(xiàn)代派料理的廚師用來輔助完成一些簡單的操作，如（用恒溫水槽）保持烹調(diào)過程中水溫恒定不變、（用液氮）在極低溫環(huán)境下使食物迅速降溫或是（用蒸餾器）從食物中提取味道。雖然關(guān)于分子料理健康與否仍有爭論，但我個人認為我們?nèi)粘Ｊ秤玫氖澄锼鶐淼慕】惦[患比分子料理大多了。再說了，反正你也不會每天都吃液態(tài)的豌豆球。

分子料理應(yīng)該平民化

如果你不是職業(yè)廚師，沒有設(shè)備齊全的廚房，你也可以不花大價錢就在家享受一頓分子料理。許多分子料理的食譜都不需要特殊設(shè)備或是“化學(xué)品”。只要50美元你就能買到一些分子料理的基本原料來開始制作球狀體、氣態(tài)物和膠狀體。想用液氮來做飯？這可有點貴，不過也確實很好玩。你得花大概500美元，還要認真遵守一些安全規(guī)程。

1.caviar [?k?viɑ?（r）] n. 魚子醬

2.ravioli [?r?vi???li] n. 意式小方餃（煮熟后澆番茄醬食用）

3.culinary [?k?l?n?ri] adj. 烹飪的

4.avant-garde： 前衛(wèi)的

5.rocket science： 高深的事；難以理解的事

6.gelatin [?d?el?t?n] n. 明膠

7.alginate [??ld???ne?t] n. 褐藻酸鹽；褐藻膠

8.gel [d?el] v. （使）成凝膠狀；膠化

9.in sequence： 依次；逐一

10.synthetic [s?n?θet?k] adj. 合成的

11.fume [fju?m] vt. 煙熏；冒（煙）

12.flask [flɑ?sk] n. 燒瓶

13.syringe [s??r?nd?] n. 注射器

14.distillery [d??st?l?ri] n. 蒸餾室

15.carrageenan [?k?r?'ɡi?n?n] n. 角叉菜膠

16.maltodextrin [?m?lt?u'dekstrin] n. 麥芽糖糊精

17.xanthan [?z?nθ?n] n. 黃原膠