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As proficient as I most certainly am in a lab setting --
handling substances of various viscosities, manipulating fine scientific
instruments -- you think I'd be a whiz in the kitchen. Not so. I just don't
have the patience to cook food carefully and lovingly. Besides, I still have
the Star Trek replicator I reverse-engineered for my seventh grade science
fair, which spits out everything from ham sandwiches to blowfish sashimi in an
instant. Though it does little justice to Klingon war grog.
 An interesting roundup in this month's Popular Science might
just change my ways. Evidently, those dishes prepared by the super high-end
gourmand establishments rely quite a bit on bleeding-edge technology and
appliances. It's called molecular gastronomy (really), and it's all about
bringing serious science to bear on food preparation.
Most of these gadgets could double in a science lab (some
do) and virtually all are prohibitively priced. But they sure are cool.
Consider the PacoJet ($3,450), a super-Cuisinart with a titanium-coated,
4.2-inch blade. Deep-chill your ingredients in the built-in freezer, then can
run it through the slicer, turning at 2,000 rpm. What comes out the other end
is a stacked, sorbet-like substance with layers less than two microns thick.
The PopSci guys made a frozen lobster bisque using the entire lobster, shells
and all.
Then there's the Anti-Griddle ($1,060) -- looks like a
griddle, but removes heat rapidly, giving liquids of creams a frozen crust in
seconds. The Gastrovac ($3,800; pictured) creates a low-pressure environment
which literally sucks all the air out whatever's placed inside. Drop that
vacuum-packed item into your broth and restore the pressure: You've got a
chicken-noodle infused grapefruit, or whatever.
The list goes on. Pretty fascinating, really. No wonder
these maestro chefs are so serious all the time -- they're like competing
research scientists. And with all those knives around, could get ugly.
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