molecular bar

Molecular cuisine arose because chefs wanted to create more advanced, spectacular and unusual dishes. With the help of technical innovations and experiments, such gastronomic miracles as liquid bread and swan liver soufflé were invented, and innovative methods and scientific technologies firmly took their place in cooking.


Over time, molecular cuisine suffered the fate of everything that comes into fashion - it became less and less popular, but found a new life behind the bar counter. The techniques turned out to be applicable for making cocktails, so the world saw amazing drinks to match amazing dishes.


It is worth noting that the molecular bar is rather a laboratory. Any molecular bar must have an accurate scale that can weigh fractions of a gram, because even a slight deviation from the recipe will change the taste and consistency of the drink. The arsenal includes many different devices and very cumbersome equipment, for example, a rotary evaporator for separating liquids, a centrifuge for separating liquids into fractions and decolorizing, and a blast freezing plate.


However, a bartender can count not only on technology, but also on small, invisible helpers - various additives and stabilizers.

For example, soy lecithin is used to mix immiscible liquids in a process called emulsification. When preparing cocktails from emulsion, you can get light foams or dense foamy espuma; the former are suitable for serving light tropical cocktails, the latter for rich and dense drinks.


Another molecular bar technique is spherification. It is made using gelling additives. Large spheres can be made using a siphon, but for caviar you need a whole set - the drink is thoroughly mixed with alginate and, using a pipette, dropped into a bath of calcium solution (or mixed with agar-agar and dropped into chilled oil): drops of liquid turn into jelly-like balls with a liquid center.


Well, since we are talking about gelling components, one of the most obvious and popular is, of course, gelatin. It is easy to find, inexpensive, easy to use, and retains its properties when combined with alcoholic formulations up to 40% ABV. Therefore, one of the most affordable ways to surprise guests is to gelatinize a cocktail using gelatin.

To summarize our short excursion: the big minus of molecular gastronomy methods is a rather long and labor-intensive process, as well as significant costs for equipment and additives, but the undoubted plus is an endless field for experimentation and a deep understanding of the chemistry of drinks, which is so important for development in the profession.