On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 14

byorganizinganInternationalWorkshopon
MolecularandPhysicalGastronomyatErice,
Sicily,whereforthefirsttimeprofessional
cooks,basicscientistsfromuniversities,and
foodscientistsfromindustryworkedtogether
toadvancegastronomy,themakingand
appreciationoffoodsofthehighestquality.
TheEricemeetingcontinues,renamedthe
“InternationalWorkshoponMolecular
Gastronomy‘N.Kurti’”inmemoryofits
founder.Andoverthelastdecadeitsfocus,
theunderstandingofculinaryexcellence,has
takenonneweconomicsignificance.The
modernindustrialdrivetomaximize
efficiencyandminimizecostsgenerally
loweredthequalityanddistinctivenessof
foodproducts:theytastemuchthesame,and
notverygood.Improvementsinqualitycan
nowmeanacompetitiveadvantage;andcooks
havealwaysbeentheworld’sexpertsinthe
appliedscienceofdeliciousness.Today,the
FrenchNationalInstituteofAgricultural


ResearchsponsorsagroupinMolecular
GastronomyattheCollègedeFrance(its
leader,HervéThis,directstheErice
workshop);chemistThorvaldPedersenisthe
inauguralProfessorofMolecularGastronomy
atDenmark’sRoyalVeterinaryand
AgriculturalUniversity;andintheUnited

States,therapidlygrowingmembershipofthe
ResearchChefsAssociationspecializesin
bringingthechef’sskillsandstandardstothe
foodindustry.
So in 2004 there’s no longer any need to
explain the premise of this book. Instead,
there’s more for the book itself to explain!
Twentyyearsago,therewasn’tmuchdemand
forinformationaboutextra-virginoliveoilor
balsamicvinegar,farmedsalmonorgrass-fed
beef,cappuccinoorwhitetea,Sichuanpepper
or Mexican mole, sake or well-tempered
chocolate. Today there’s interest in all these
andmuchmore.Andsothissecondeditionof