13 th International Workshop
on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy  (IWMPG 13)

AgroParisTech, 22 place de l’agronomie, 91120 Palaiseau (France), Room B3.43

email: icmg@agroparistech.fr

16-17 May 2024

Organized by:

AgroParisTech-INRAE International Centre for Molecular Gastronomy : https://icmpg.hub.inrae.fr/international-activities-of-the-international-centre-of-molecular-gastronomy/iwmpg-workshops

Under the patronage of the Académie d’agriculture de France

Topic : Consistencies and Textures

Organization Committee:

Róisín Burke (Technological University Dublin, Ireland), Alan Kelly (University College Cork, Ireland), Christophe Lavelle (CNRS/MNHN, France), Hervé This vo Kientza (AgroParisTech-INRAE, France), Dan Vodnar (UAVSM of Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

• See the Program here

       See the presentations here

Purpose of the Workshop

« La gastronomie est la connaissance raisonnée de tout ce qui se rapporte à l'homme en tant qu'il se nourrit» (Gastronomy is the reasoned knowledge about man's nourishment)
Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin (1755-1826)

Writing about the application of the chemistry to the art of cookery:

« In what art or science could improvements be made that could more powerfully contribute to increase the comforts and enjoyments of mankind »
Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, (1753-1814)

« “Molecular gastronomy is the scientific activity consisting in exploring the mechanisms of phenomena occurring during dishes preparation and consumption.”
Hervé This and Nicholas Kurti, (1988)

The above quotations from the writings of two founders of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy express in a nutshell the spirit and the objectives of the Workshop: the emphasis will be on gastronomy rather than nutrition, on domestic and restaurant cooking rather than industry.

The object of this workshop will be to bring together a group of scientists to discuss collectively the science behind the practices carried out in the kitchen.

What is a workshop?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a workshop as “a meeting at which a group of people engage in intensive discussion and activity on a particular subject or project”.

Workshops, similar to seminars, are usually much smaller than conferences – a workshop can be an element of the conference structure.

Workshops typically tend to be:

• Interactive
• Educational
• Conversational

May we also point out that, as the name IWMPG « N. Kurti » indicates, this is a workshop and that participants are encouraged to show experiments.

Talks should preferably less than 30 min, so that discussion is promoted (of course, one can have more slides in order to be ready for the discussion).

The primary goal is not to make speeches, but to give the information that can make a basis for active discussion in all scientific directions: materials and methods, results, interpretations, consequences, scientific strategy.

Also, as workshops are more informal than conferences, we could keep the visio links open during the break and lunches, so that discussions can go on, and one  could discuss other questions than suspensions during such times.

Mind that the texts from talks can be submitted as manuscripts for proceedings in the International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy (https://icmpg.hub.inrae.fr/international-activities-of-the-international-centre-of-molecular-gastronomy/journal-of-molecular-and-physical-gastronomy).

Schedule

Wednesday Mai 15, evening:

After 17.00 and up to 19.45: Get together, and Cremant.

Metting point: Hervé This office E1.915, Campus Agro Paris Saclay, Palaiseau.

Dinner nearby: 19.30

Thursday May 16:

9.00-10.00 : Opening session

1. Hervé This: Introduction (MPG, the IWMPG, active workshops)

2. Roisin Burke:. A brief overview of the presentation topics.

3. Dan Vodnar: Organization of the workshop

4. Alan Kelly: Discussing the continuation of the Handbook of Molecular Gastronomy

5. Christophe Lavelle :

Presentation of the participants

10.00-12.30, Session 1 (Chairperson: Alan Kelly)

1. Paul Menut (Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France)

Consistencies and textures, as viewed by rheology

2. Rohit Srivastava (INRAE, CNRS, Institut Agro, Université Bourgogne, UMR CSGA, Dijon, France)

Potential of a newly developed biomimetic setup to better integrate the kinematic, mechanical and surface characteristics of tongue in oral tribological studies of foods

A growing body of research emphasizes on understanding the soft tribological phenomena that occur during food oral processing, and their contribution to sensorial perceptions pertaining to the texture. In this study, a biomimetic setup was developed to better accommodate variables like the surface roughness, the rigidity, the velocity and the applied load of the tongue when understanding the evolution of friction forces. Cottage cheese incorporated with microcrystalline cellulose particles of two sizes (20 and 200 μm) was used as model food for the tests.

The tongue mimicking systems (TMSs) considered for experiments were made of polyvinyl alcohol, with two different rigidities and surface roughness profiles. The set up facilitated the application of desired normal stresses and sequences of shearing motions between the TMSs and a rectangular aluminum plate mimicking hard palate. The procured results show higher friction coefficient values and higher capacities for distinguishing the different foods for rough TMSs as compared to the smooth ones. The deformability of the soft asperities leads to increase in contact area which could explain such tendencies. Values of friction coefficient were also found to decline with increments in applied normal stress, and to increase with increments in sliding velocity. Similar trends were found when the rigidity of the TMS was increased, but with higher levels of friction coefficient amplitude.

Q/A, Discussion

Coffee break

3. Christophe Lavelle (CNRS / INSERM / National Museum of Natural History / Sorbonne University, Paris, France)

Cooking for the elderly: it’s a matter of taste… but also size, and texture

There is an increased prevalence to use modified texture and/or finger foods due to longer survival of those who suffer from degenerative diseases which affects cognitive as well as chewing and swallowing abilities. This involves the mechanical alteration of the consistency of the original food and/or the size of the bites so that it is easier to consume: foods are chopped, minced, mashed or blended to compensate for chewing difficulties or fatigue and to improve swallowing safety; liquids are thickened to avoid aspiration of material into the airway and improve transit to the esophagus; some dishes might also be pre-cut enabling the customers to eat with their hands.

We will show some examples of preparations made for elderly people in nursing home and hospitals, using techniques/recipes mainly inspired by molecular cooking in order to obtain a desired taste and appearance and make the eating experience as enjoyable and nutritionally beneficial as possible. There is still many solutions required in order to improve the lives of the elderly people; diet being a big part of it which deserves the best efforts of the best chefs!

Lunch nearby

14.00-15.00 Session 2 (Chairperson: Roisin Burke)

1. Hervé This, vo Kientza (Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France)

Experimental demonstration: About chocolat seizure

References:

Report of the Seminar of Molecular Gastronomy, March 2024. https://icmpg.hub.inrae.fr/travaux-en-francais/seminaires/resultats

2. Bouju, C.^a*, Moussier, M.^a,b, Blumenthal, D.^a, Huc-Mathis, D. ^a

^a Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France ^b Ecole Supérieure des Agricultures

How to deal with the complexity of dispersed food systems? Solutions and challenges for a qualitative characterization of the phases and interfaces.

Several works studied the use and the better valorisation of by-products in food matrices to formulate dispersed systems (especially emulsions), particularly complex in structure and composition (i.e. water, dispersed phase(s), interfaces with soluble and/or insoluble components of different sizes and natures). A recent research project investigated and analysed the interfacial properties of vegetal uncracked by-products, looking at the synergies offered by the complex composition. It demonstrated the underlying emulsions stabilizing mechanisms, based on a multiscale characterisation, and multiparameters statistical modelling approach1-2.

Based on these results, a new project is expending the study to other dispersed systems, namely foams, multiple and foamed emulsions. One of the main challenges with the formulation of such diverse systems is to characterize finely their structure (Figure 1). Therefore, the first step relies on a qualitative characterization of the phases and interfaces organization and composition.

Figure 1 : Emulsion stabilized by rice bran wax and orange pomace micronized powders observed by confocal microscopy (scale bar: 100 μm)

Based on concrete cases and after listing all the potential components of the phases and interfaces of the systems studied, the presentation will aim to propose an overview of the qualitative characterizations (1) already identified (tested methods) and (2) still to be developed (remaining challenges) - with an opening for discussion. A specific focus will be done on confocal microscopy, favoured method identified to unveil some of the components of our complex systems.

References:

[1] Charlotte Hollestelle, Camille Michon, Nathalie Fayolle, Delphine Huc-Mathis, Co-stabilization mechanisms of solid particles and soluble compounds in hybrid Pickering emulsions stabilized by unrefined apple pomace powder, Food Hydrocolloids, Volume 146, Part A, January 2024, 109184

[2] Charlotte Hollestelle, Delphine Huc-Mathis, Camille Michon, David Blumenthal, Quantitative effects of formulation and process parameters on the structure of food emulsions stabilized with an unrefined by-product powder: A statistical approach, Food Research International, Volume 182, April 2024, 114150

3. Volker Hessel (School of Chemical Engineering and ARC Centre of Excellence Plants for Space, University of Adelaide, Australia)

Nanofood process technology, sustainability, and applications for human space exploration"

Nanofood products are an actively growing area for food research, but there is little information on the sustainability of processes used to make these products. In this Review, we advocate for selection of sustainable process technologies during initial stages of laboratory-scale developments of nanofoods. We show that selection is assisted by predictive sustainability assessment(s) based on conventional technologies, including exploratory ex ante and “anticipatory” life-cycle assessment. We demonstrate that sustainability assessments for conventional food process technologies can be leveraged to design nanofood process concepts and technologies. We critically review emerging nanostructured food products including encapsulated bioactive molecules and processes used to structure these foods at laboratory, pilot, and industrial scales. We apply a rational method via learning lessons from sustainability of unit operations in conventional food processing and critically apportioned lessons between emerging and conventional approaches. We conclude that this method provides a quantitative means to incorporate sustainability during process design for nanostructured foods. Findings will be of interest and benefit to a range of food researchers, engineers, and manufacturers of process equipment.

Q/A, Discussion

15.00-15.30 Break

15.30-17.00 Session 3 (Chairperson: Dan Vodnar)

1. Roisin Burke (School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, TU Dublin, City Campus, Grangegorman, Dublin 7).

3D printing foods which are suitable for those with dysphagia

Dysphagia is a condition associated with swallowing difficulties and affects 1 in 17 people in their lifetime. The texture-modified diets prescribed for this condition tend to be bland and visually unappealing and often contribute to malnutrition in patients. In 2013, the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) was founded with the goal of developing new international standardized terminology and definitions to describe texture modified foods and thickened liquids used for individuals with dysphagia of all ages, in all care settings, and all cultures. Since that time extrusion-based foods have successfully been printed according to the texture categories provided by the IDDSI. Three-dimensional food printing has been found to enhance the visual appeal and deliver greater consistency of the produced food. In this study a Procusini 3.0 3D food printer was used which operates with layer-by-layer technology. Recipes were developed and printed by culinary science students Results and discussion will be presented of the development and printing of a range of foods which are suitable for those with dysphagia.

2. Charlotte Dumoulin, Valérie Guenard-Lampron, Sophie Berland, Giana Almeida, Cassandre Leverrier (Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120, Palaiseau, France)

Looking for rheological criteria to predict the printing quality of food matrices.

3D food printing is an increasingly used technology, and it is particularly interesting to develop products for personalized nutrition. Until now, it has been difficult to predict the printing quality of newly formulated food matrices. However, we know that their rheological properties are very important to obtain a printable product and that the printing quality of matrices can be evaluated by their extrudability and their shape fidelity -that is to say how similar to the initial model the shape of the product obtained is. Our objective is to determine one or several rheological and/or texturometric criteria to predict the extrudability and shape fidelity of 3D-printed food matrices. To do so, we formulated a large variety of food matrices from flours (wheat, rye, soy, lentil) and vegetable and fruit purees (potato, chestnut, broccoli). We measured their rheological properties using rheometry and texturometry. The printing quality was assessed by using pictures of the printed products, graded by panelists according to 3 criteria (shape-fidelity, collapsing and continuity of the printed layers) and an image analysis protocol was developed for this study. The results show a linear correlation between the stickiness evaluated by texturometry and the grades given by the panel. The mean at the plateau measured by the back-extrusion tests -which gives us information about the capacity of the product to be extruded through the nozzle- increases linearly with the yield stress. These elements give us some leads to pursue our investigations and underline the difficulty to find relevant criteria to predict printing quality.

Q/A, Discussion

3. Hervé This, vo Kientza (Université Paris Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood 0782, 91120 Palaiseau, France/ Group of Molecular Gastronomy, INRAE-AgroParisTech International Centre for Molecular and Physical Gastronomy, 22 place de l’agronomie, 91120, Palaiseau, France).

Working in multidimensionnal spaces in order to analyse what is “well cooked”.

About culinary ideas, such as “doneness”, it can be useful to describe formally the phenomena. A formalism was introduced (This, 2004; 2009) about the “robustness” of culinary processes. It has been increased to better distinguish spaces of incredients, spaces of products, spaces of control parameters of processes. Particular cases are used in order to better appreciate how such multidimensional description can be useful. The derivation of the fundamental relationship of this formalism is proposed.

References:

This H. Molecular Gastronomy: a scientific look to cooking. Life Sciences in Transition, Special Issue of the Journal of Molecular Biology (Halldor Stefansson ed.), 2004, Academic Press, 150 p.

This H. Molecular Gastronomy, a chemical look to cooking. Accounts of Chemical Research, May 2009, vol 42, N°5, pp. 575-583, Published on the Web 05/19/2009 www.pubs.acs.org/acr, doi10.1021/ar8002078

Q/A, Discussion

Friday May 17:

09.30-10.30 Session 4 (Chairperson: Roisine Burke)

1. R. Lecanu, Y. Bugarin-Castillo, A. Geoffroy, P. Bou Fadel, C. Leverrier, V. Mathieu, G. Della Valle, A. Saint-Eve, M. Ramaioli 

From Rheology and Tribology to Consistencies and Texture

presented by Marco Ramaioli (Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France)

2. Hervé This, vo Kientza (Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120 Palaiseau, France)

Discussion about the results from monthly seminars:

- starch vs flour in genoise

- proportions of eggs in soufflés

- regular extension of puff pastries

- sugar effects refutes the existence of covalent bonds in doughs (experiment)

- lemon juice in whipped cream

- a strange batter with a wrong bearnaise name

- about the retraction of dough

3. Rodrigo Duarte-Casar, Leonardo Pinargote-García, Luis Balda-Valdiviezo, Marlene Rojas-Le-Fort (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador - Sede Manabí, Portoviejo)

Work in progresse about Oil and brine:frying Ecuadorian patacones - fried plantain slices

Abstract

Patacones are twice-fried plantain slices, very popular in tropical America. They are considered the basis of Ecuadorian coastal cooking. The recipe for patacones shares agreements and divisions, and is poorly documented from a quantitative perspective. This study evaluates the influence of the first frying temperature on the final product. The first frying was carried out for 5 minutes at temperatures of 120, 150, and 180 °C, and the second frying was held for one minute at 180°C. All samples were soaked in a 3% brine for one minute between fryings and evaluated by eight tasters. The preferred patacón is the one fried at 180°C the first time, which goes against the doneness criteria of patacones. There is virtually no difference between frying patacones at 120 or 150°C on the first frying.

Q/A, Discussion

10.30-11.00 Break

11.00-12.00 Session 5 (Chairperson: Dan Vodnar)

1. Bruno Moreira Leite, Paulina Mata (University NOVA, Lisbon, Portugal)

The use of hydrocolloids to mimic the texture of foods adapted for people with restrictive diets, intolerances and food allergies

The Master of Gastronomic Sciences (MGS), launched in 2010, has attracted students from diverse backgrounds eager to deepen their understanding of the multiple scientific fields related to gastronomy [1]. Increasingly, students are focusing on wellness, especially in areas like restrictive diets and food allergies, shaping coursework and dissertations. MGS’s students, mostly culinary-trained, bring unique skills like culinary techniques and gastronomic sensibility, enhancing their contributions to achieve specific research goals.

While hydrocolloids like agar or carrageenan have long been used in certain cultures, their utilization in home and restaurant kitchens was limited compared to the food industry. Chefs like Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal began experimenting with these ingredients to create innovative dishes, manipulating food texture through techniques like spherification, siphon foams and fluid gels [2].

The concept of science-based cooking, combining food science knowledge with gastronomic creativity, gained attention among students. This approach melds scientific knowledge with culinary artistry to optimize food preparation and innovate new formulations [3].

This presentation showcases creative solutions students have developed using hydrocolloids in their work carried out in the context of MCG. Hydrocolloids, being mostly pure compounds with structural roles in organisms, enable the creation of uniquely textured foods, aligning with the principles of different diets and the "note by note" cuisine [4], [5].

References:

[1] NOVA FCT, “Mestrado em Ciências Gastronómicas.” Accessed: Apr. 02, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.fct.unl.pt/ensino/curso/mestrado-em-ciencias-gastronomicas

[2] N. Myhrvold, C. Young, and M. Bilet, “Volume 4 – Ingredients and Preparations,” in Modernist Cuisine - The Art and Science of Cooking, 1st ed., in Modernist Cuisine. , Bellevue: Cooking Lab, 2011, p. 414.

[3] C. Vega and J. Ubbink, “Molecular gastronomy: a food fad or science supporting innovative cuisine?,” Trends Food Sci Technol, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 372–382, 2008, doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2008.01.006.

[4] H. This, “Molecular gastronomy is a scientific discipline, and note by note cuisine is the next culinary trend,” Flavour, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 1, 2013, doi: 10.1186/2044-7248-2-1.

[5] G. O. Phillips and P. A. Williams, Handbook of Hydrocolloids, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2009. doi: 10.1533/9781845695873.

Q/A, Discussion

13.30-14.30 Session 6: Erasmus + Tradinnovation Initiative (Chairperson: Roisin Burke, Reine Barbar)

14.00-14.30 :

Presentation on A3 activity of the Tradinnovation European Project by Reine Barbar and Roisin Burke, with a focus on step-by-step guideline activity

14:30-15:00:

Discussion with the participants in the workshop for their ideas/inputs on precise topics to be communicated on the spot

15.00-16.40 :

Students presentations (10 minutes of presentation followed by 10 minutes of questions & discussion)

- 15:00-15:20:

Niamh Condon, Dining with Dignity, https://diningwithdignity.ie/about/
Impact of the meal texture and consistency on the stakeholders (i.e dysphagia patients)

- 15:20-15:40:

Tradinnovations 2024 edition from Lebanon: Sweet Lebanese dessert for people with disabilities by Tia Farès, Jude El Ahel, Gaelle Sleiman

- 15:40-16:00:

Tradinnovations 2024 edition from Lebanon: Tradinnovations 2024 edition from Montpellier: Food engineers working with Alzheimer patients and Visual impaired people, by Reine Barbar and the French team

- 16:00-16:20:

Tradinnovations 2024 edition from Lebanon: Falafel revisited for population having down syndrome, autismm and mental disabilities, by Maria Nassour

- 16:20-16:40:

Tradinnovations 2024 edition from Lebanon: Red bean purée for elderly people, by Yasmina Nakhoul, Elary Khoury, Christelle El-Khoury, Christina Hawat

17.00-17.30

Session 7 (Chairpersons: Hervé This, vo Kientza, Roisin Burke, Alan Kelly, Christophe Lavelle, Dan Vodnar)

General discussion about:

- Discussion of the next topic

- International Journal of Molecular and Physical Gastronomy, with members of the Editorial Board