My molecular recipe challenges

Well look what landed in my in tray this week – Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History) and Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection: Reinventing Kitchen Classics.

Having recently spent an afternoon in the kitchen with Robin Wickens, a local chef of a similar ilk, I’ve become quite interested in the whole idea of molecular gastronomy. I’ve decided to try a few experiments of my own – the first of which will be cooking a steak the traditional way versus the scientific way, something I’ve learned from Wickins.

One steak will be griddled and then left to rest. The other will be sealed in a ziplock bag and cooked until rare. I’ll then brown it briefly in the griddle. I really want to see the difference.

Of course, this experiment is easy compared with what I have planned for Heston Blumenthal. Following in the path of Julie Powell who spent a year cooking Julia Child’s recipes (and wrote a book about it) and closer to home Sarah who did a similar thing with Nigella Lawson I’m going to cook every recipe in his book.

That gives me eight recipes including Roast Chicken and potatoes, pizza, steak and a Black Forest gateau that involves a domestic vacuum cleaner (a journalist challenged this gateau in The Independent with hilarious results).

Easy huh?

Not exactly. After I source the correct steak it takes some 18 hours being cooked at 50C (122F). The chicken takes somewhere between four and six hours and requires a fairly efficient blow torch (not the namby pamby type used for desserts). I’d estimate that each recipe probably takes about three days to prepare.

Wish me luck.