Molecular Gastronomy

Molecular gastronomy is the term that's been tied to the new culinary field involving new techniques like using liquid nitrogen and agar agar to change the shape or texture of foods. While I'm all for simple dishes using your usual oven, these new techniques bring surprise to food. 

Chefs can do so much with these new science tools. Alinea is one of the country's leading restaurants to use these. Click on the name for a behind-the-scenes video. 

Also in this field are two of my favorite chefs- Wylie Dufresne and Richard Blais. Who cares if I haven't ever eaten their food- their menus look awesome. Click their last names for their restaurants' sites. They're making foie gras milkshakes, powdered caramel that turns back into chewy caramel in your mouth, and crispy cream cheese. These chefs are taking flavors that seem to be a little odd, but that work remarkably well. 

Each dish looks to have a million different textures in it. I've yet to eat in any restaurant that uses these techniques, but just looking at the menu/photos makes me want to. I could go on forever talking about the "crazy" combinations they do. Just check this new cuisine out!

Wylie Dufresne's take on eggs benedict