The big trend in recent years has been foam. Well on its way out, this “food” has been appearing more and more frequently at all sorts of restaurants. You’re probably used to seeing foams in sweet format, as such:
soy vacherin with a raspberry foam
(morimoto nyc: no longer available)
Of course, even more common is simply whipped cream:
tall mint java chip frappucino with whipped cream and chocolate syrup
(courtesy of the starbucks on broad street near 1 chase manhattan plaza)
But in the past year, creative chefs have been using foam in savory format more and more often.
tilefish with a kabu cream foam
(morimoto nyc: special omakase bar, limited availability)
cuttlefish with a beet juice foam and a squid ink foam
(moto: chicago, ten)
This isn’t to say that sheer creativity wins you points. That last dish was, in my humblest of opinions, nasty. You eat a dish with your eyes first, and that one made many of us want to barf before we even dug in. Not a pleasant thought.
Along with the appearance of foam has come an increased interest in “molecular gastronomy” – the use of science to create new and more innovative dishes. My favorite, and my big prediction for the upcoming year, is carbonated fruit.
scallop with carbonated fruit (and a thicker cream foam underneath)- grapefruit, pineapple and mango
(moto: chicago, ten)
I’m especially eager for carbonated fruit to take off in NYC. I’m predicting that this will become a huge item on many menus – from the high end to mid range restaurants, as it is reletively inexpensive to create (using a regular cream whipper, “charge”/infuse fruit with CO2; especially citrus fruits or grapes/fruits with skins to retain the carbonation will hold the fizz nicely and taste amazing on the tongue) but impressive to sample.
Another molecular gastronomy trend that I do not predict taking off is nitrogen flash-frozen items. I don’t see this as becoming an extremely popular method for “cooking” because while it is impressive to behold, it is inconvenient. You cannot do these things ahead of time; while it only takes a split second to freeze items, liquid nitrogen is not that easy to obtain nor quite what I’d consider a safe kitchen item to keep around nor handle constantly. I do not imagine that liquid nitrogen is cheap to keep nor easy to obtain, either. It does work easily for both savory:
tom yum gong with flash frozen egg yolks (dropped in at the table)
(moto: chicago, ten)
and sweet:
flash frozen pomelo with a mango coconut puree (tasted just like ice cream overall)
(morimoto nyc: special omakase bar, limited availability)
Regardless, I just don’t think it’s a molecular gastronomic food preparation technique that will take off anytime soon.
One last trend note… I’m not sure if this is an actual trend. I’ve noticed that tartares are tending to be served “mix your own” instead of pre-mixed/seasoned for you.
steak tartare – egg yolk, paddle with fresh ground black pepper, mustard, kosher salt, onion, and rosemary
(Quality Meats)
toro tartare
(morimoto nyc: february, 6th day open)
I kind of like it this way- the chef suggests what s/he likes, but allows you to choose your own personal preferred ratio.
Next time: molten chocolate lava cakes with gratuitous food pornography. Until then… happy eating!!!
**food pictures all courtesy of me
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