Enzymatic Revolution: The next Gastronomy paradigm?
Food Alchemist Reflections #5. The new molecular-chef: enzymes.
In a world that has been built by words and words that have been created by humans, where does nature take the lead? It is time for a change, re-think what has been already established by our words, and create a new paradigm that includes us as part of nature. How? Through Food. Food is our common treasure, the best indicator of our planet’s health. These words represent an out-loud thought from The Food Alchemist Lab that endeavors to take you on a trip around general and specific food topics → proposing solutions, destroying myths, and waking up your interest through impactful recipes. Because your curiosity is our trigger and, once you’ve shot us, nothing will stop us from bringing a better food system, the one that listens to nature’s voice.
1. FIRST THINGS FIRST
We cook, we make history
Cooking is the word I want to use to begin this reflection. Simple right? So far, I have not said anything that would surprise you. But what is cooking?
The Cambridge Dictionary says: cooking is the skill or activity of preparing and heating food to be eaten (Cambridge Dictionary). Now let’s analyze this definition. I totally agree with the fact that cooking is a skill, an activity, and that it requires a subject (human) to interact with an object (food). However, following the flow of the definition, I start to disagree when we arrive at the word “and” together with “heating.” “And heating” food, not “or heating” food, does it mean that if I prepare a salad, I’m not cooking? And what if something else prepares it for me, such as microorganisms?
I guess this connection with “heating” is due to fire. Fire was the first technology we discovered, and, curiously at that moment, a piece of meat fell on top of it becoming brown but remaining tender. What a coincidence, right?
Since then, our teeth and stomachs began to evolve, along with our cooking techniques (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joim.12878, for more information related to this, check the Medium post of my nutritionist colleague, Paco Alvarez: https://medium.com/futurefood/food-alchemist-reflections-3-2a768a1750f3).
This fact represents one more issue in history, demonstrating the strong connection between us and food. Actually, we were and still are food for something or someone else. Anyway, apart from fire, we know hundreds of techniques that help us to “prepare” (I prefer the verb “transform”) food in ways that better respect the nutritional profile than fire or heating, or by any other energy. Therefore, should we reconsider the definition of one of the most important verbs in history?
Fine cuisine, industrialization, and other ways to sell food more expensively
A tomato is a tomato, whether here in Italy, Japan, Or Mexico. Despite this, its value, and consequently, the price might change considerably depending on many factors. One of these factors is how that tomato is transformed. We can make a sauce, a spherification, a foam… or even invent a new technique or method of transforming it.
The added value that these techniques contribute to a tomato can be measured, or in most cases, is measured by taking into account the final experience, the final organoleptic profile, without considering which technique most respects the nutritional profile. An example, what is more expensive? A tomato sauce or the equivalent amount of tomatoes in their raw state? Is the price aligned with the nutritional profile? Or just with the difficulty of the applied technique?
In this sense, we can see different examples within the food system and understand that the way we determine food value is, perhaps, not the smartest. We are putting more value into the “action,” the effort that a “subject” is making to transform the “object” instead of considering how beneficial that “object” is for us and our environment.
It is at this point where the enzymes could play an important role, turning complex nutrients into simpler ones that are more bioavailable for our digestive system, and doing this without compromising flavor or aroma. Why should we cook a stock down for hours until we get a thick sauce when we can digest it with naturally sourced enzymes without evaporating the water nor destroying all the nutritional benefits?
2. FERMENTATION: FARMING ENZYMES SUSTAINABLY
It is true that in most cases, cooking with enzymes might take longer, sometimes even months as with cheeses, soy sauce, misos, cured meat, kimchi, etc. But, it is also true that in most of these cases, all the work is done by the enzymes that mold, yeast, or bacteria produce, and other sources of energy are not needed. On the other hand, these enzymes help to accelerate processes while maintaining the same nutritional properties. In figure three, you can see a cashew-nut cheese that we aged with the enzymes of A. Oryzae in just five days instead of five months, keeping the properties and enhancing umaminess and aromas at the same level as that of traditional cheeses.
The understanding of how these microorganisms produce which enzyme is bringing a new world of possibilities to the food system for both HORECA (Hotellerie-Restaurant-Cafe) and the Food Industry. Better shelf-lives, more nutrients, and an explosion of new flavors are some of the values that this technique can bring, without forgetting that connection with nature mentioned in our previous Medium articles.
Of course, as with everything we do, humans can adeptly turn these benefits and connections with nature into a standardized and deadly technique. Microorganisms, and therefore the fermentation process, can be understood as a way of farming enzymes and shouldn’t be seen as a problem. Nevertheless, there is a thin line between creating a tight relationship with those microorganisms to take advantage of their enzymatic machinery and isolating those enzymes to use them as digesting powder.
Is it that bad, isolating enzymes? Well, the food industry has been doing just that for years, and let’s say, that is simply one more way of disconnecting from nature, losing the sense of life, and transforming a cocktail of molecules into one copy-pasted molecule. The purpose is to get enzymes while not forgetting that all the complexity that produces those enzymes is beneficial for us, enriching our diet and creating the chaos that life needs.
In conclusion, enzymes represent a potential technique of transforming and adding positive value to food which, for me personally, expands the definition of cooking. They can bring out the same intensity of flavors in plant-based ingredients as in meat, opening a new path and giving quality alternatives to reduce meat consumption.
3. RECIPE IN A NUTSHELL
Grandson & Grandfather
This is a recipe that we used to serve in our gastronomic experiences at the lab. We love the philosophy behind this dish, putting together lightly cooked or raw ingredients (grandson) with their aged, fermented, or cured versions (grandfather). For us, this dish represents the real definition of cooking, respecting 100% the raw materials, not just considering the flavor and aroma but also their nutritional profile and combining them harmoniously to deliver nutritional deliciousness that also respects the environment. My colleague and Nutritionist, Paco Álvarez, is taking the baton this week and we’ll coordinate a beautiful orchestra of ingredients, nutrients, and feelings:
4. REFERENCES
Online:
- Definition of cooking from: Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press, 2021.
- Paco’s Medium Post: https://medium.com/futurefood/food-alchemist-reflections-3-2a768a1750f3
Papers:
- James, W. P. T., Johnson, R. J., Speakman, J. R., Wallace, D. C., Frühbeck, G., Iversen, P. O., & Stover, P. J. (2019). Nutrition and its role in human evolution. Journal of internal medicine, 285(5), 533–549. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/joim.12878
The Future Food Institute is an international social enterprise that believes climate change is at the end of your fork. By harnessing the power of its global ecosystem of partners, innovators, researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs, FFI aims to sustainably improve life on Earth through transformation of global food systems.
By training the next generation of changemakers, empowering communities, and engaging government and industry in actionable innovation, FFI catalyzes progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Learn more at www.futurefoodinsitute.org, join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Or attend a program through the FutureFood.Academy!
