Molecular mixology
Encyclopedia
Molecular Mixology is the term applied to the process of creating cocktails using the scientific equipment and techniques of molecular gastronomy
.
These methods enable the creation of greater intensities and varieties of flavour, flavour combinations and different ways of presenting drinks, for example using gels, powders, foams, atomised sprays etc., as well as affecting the appearance of the cocktail.
rotary distillation
setup, which allows the extraction of aromas, low temperature reduction of juices and the production of flavored spirits.
. They are, for the most part, adaptions of new techniques for food preparation, for example: airs
were originally created for food applications, but nowadays you can find aires on top of cocktails.
, a bartender who has collaborated with pioneering molecular gastronomist Heston Blumenthal
at the award-winning Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire
. Other names associated with molecular mixology are Eben Klemm, molecular biologist-turned-bartender, and Eben Freeman, a New York based mixologist.
Molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
.
These methods enable the creation of greater intensities and varieties of flavour, flavour combinations and different ways of presenting drinks, for example using gels, powders, foams, atomised sprays etc., as well as affecting the appearance of the cocktail.
History
The Art of Drink website suggests that the earliest example of what we now call molecular mixology is the long-established bartending practice of layering ingredients in cocktails. This experimentation with the density and viscosity of fluids uses the principles of scientific investigation that are fundamental to molecular mixology.Equipment
The equipment used in molecular mixology can range from comparatively simple items such as blowtorches (frequently used in restaurant cooking) to more specialised items such as a vacuum sealer, a device for combining and infusing ingredients in a vacuum and thus preserving their flavours and enhancing the finished product. These infusions allow unexpected combinations of flavours in cocktails, including flavourings from non-edible substances, such as tobacco and leather (found in the Smoked Old Fashioned cocktail) and perfume (as in the Champagne No.5).Another machine which is used by the best mixologists is the Rotavap. This is a vacuumVacuum
In everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
rotary distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
setup, which allows the extraction of aromas, low temperature reduction of juices and the production of flavored spirits.
Techniques
The techniques used by a mixologist are mostly bound to the new equipment which is provided by the molecular gastronomyMolecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
. They are, for the most part, adaptions of new techniques for food preparation, for example: airs
Ferran Adrià
Ferran Adrià i Acosta is a Catalan chef born on May 14, 1962 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. He was the head chef of the El Bulli restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava, and is considered one of the best chefs in the world.-Career:...
were originally created for food applications, but nowadays you can find aires on top of cocktails.
Prominent figures
One of the main proponents of molecular mixology is Tony ConigliaroTony Conigliaro (mixologist)
Tony Conigliaro is a bartender and a pioneer in using science to expand upon the boundaries of what a cocktail can be. Often linked to the molecular movement, Conigliaro prefers to disengage himself from the term molecular mixologist which he considers to be a misleading label.Conigliaro’s approach...
, a bartender who has collaborated with pioneering molecular gastronomist Heston Blumenthal
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal OBE is an English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire voted Best Restaurant in the UK by The Good Food Guide 2007 and 2009, and voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2005...
at the award-winning Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. Other names associated with molecular mixology are Eben Klemm, molecular biologist-turned-bartender, and Eben Freeman, a New York based mixologist.