Food futurism

摘要

In the surge of recent books dealing with our food, our diet, and the way we cook, two stand out for highlighting radical, modernist avenues toward the future of food. The In Vitro Meat Cookbook and Note-by-Note Cooking are each based on simple and straightforward ideas. The first focuses on cooking with meat grown in tissue culture, whereas the latter book deals with food prepared from pure ingredients, such as hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, and flavor compounds (the resulting tastes and flavors are referred to as "notes"). In content and presentation, the two books are very different; however, the central idea of each is developed in the context of established and experimental scientific and technological approaches. Both, in addition, discuss aspects related to culinary creation, our emotional and cultural interaction with food, and food sustainability.