Gone nerding: Another trail in the (vacuum) bag

Last week I worked a two-day shift at Aldea, a “modern Iberian” restaurant in the Flatiron district run by George Mendes. I think it’s more modern and less Iberian, and while I took a day to warm up to it, I think the food is still pretty amazing.

I think I’ll always remember Aldea because it was my first foray into the world of nerd cooking. Or, more properly, molecular gastronomy, which merges mad science with classic culinary technique. Ferran Adria of el bulli fame is the godfather of the movement, but others like Wylie Dufresne and now Mendes have taken it and run apace.

The two molecular gastronomy techniques I saw firsthand at Aldea were sous vide, which is taking the process of vacuum-sealing food and cooking it in low-temp water, and spherification, which is basically the process of making everything into a water balloon.

First, sous vides. I was told by a line cook there that if they could, they’d sous vide everything on the menu. I must admit the vacuum bag machine was cool, and I’ve been told sous vide meat tastes pretty good (I didn’t taste any at Aldea). There are drawbacks to trying this at home, though, including massive amounts of botulism bacteria.

The second process is no easier for the home cook, but it is safer. It involves using chemical or natural emulsifiers like sodium alginate (seaweed and other stuff) or calcium chloride to “poach” a liquid, creating a thin skin around it. The result is a liquid that pops in your mouth when eaten like a rotten grape. Ok, it’s much better than it sounds.

At Aldea, they use this method to create little mushroom ravioli for a consommé dish. The flavor was okay if you like mushroom stock, and I didn’t taste it with the rest of the dish’s ingredients, but the texture was incredibly interesting and worth trying out. If I had an ample supply of sodium alginate handy, that is.

The best thing about the experience at Aldea is that it’s an open kitchen. So when I was sweating like a pig and had my dirty side towel at the ready, it was for all to see. A photographer from the Village Voice even came in before service on the second day to take some shots.

Good thing I wore my best chef’s coat and not the one I stained pink in the laundry a few weeks back.