Recipes inspired by Taste Buds and Molecules

As you know, I have been hard at work creating simple recipes stemming directly from aromatic experiments with my research published in Taste Buds and Molecules.

Subsequently, with the great support of Chef Stéphane Modat, we published the recipes of Taste Buds and Molecules (only available in French for now: Les Recettes de Papilles et Molécules). A number of recipes were also published in the 15th Anniversary Edition of my wine buying guide La Sélection Chartier 2011.

Make these recipes for your friends and family, or simply for yourself. I am happy to share the product of our work and I hope you will have as much fun making these as we have had creating them! Enjoy!

François Chartier

Recipes:

*American-style cocktail peanuts: maple syrup, cinnamon, orange peel and smoked chipotle

*Apple, curry and maple syrup butter

*Apple, marshmallow and maple syrup butter

*Concentrated paste of green bell peppers and mint

*Concentrated paste of roasted red bell peppers and toasted sesame oil

*Creamy lemon with siphoned rosemary meringue

*Lapsang souchong molten chocolate cake

*Marinated white turnips and cloves

*Mc2_Confipote “for red wine lovers”: black plums with star anise

*Mc_2 Cracker Jack: popcorn, curry and maple syrup

*Mc2_Mister Maillard emulsion: a red wine lover’s vinaigrette “without vinegar”!

*Parsnip puree with Thai basil

*Rutabaga puree with star anise

*Sandwich of duck confit, nigella and arugula

*Smoked salmon without the smoke!

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By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

I have always delighted in upgrading every day sandwiches, concocting gourmet versions deserving of even the finest of wines.

The path we followed here is that of the power of attraction between duck meat and nigella seeds.

To experience the exceptional strength of this power of attraction, I invite you to sprinkle a few pinches of nigella seeds on the skin side of a duck breast (magret) and roast in the oven. Nigella, primarily used in Indian cuisine, also serves to soften wine tannins.

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

The molecular structure of the root vegetable rutabaga, also known as yellow turnip, contains anise-flavoured volatile compounds.

Because rutabaga and star anise both contain molecules from the anise-flavoured family, cooking them together enhances their anise flavour. As the molecules merge, the flavour is amplified.

This opens the door to both red and white wines. For whites, you should choose one from the Sauvignon Blanc family, and for reds, opt for anise-flavoured wines such as Syrah/Shiraz.

Never will your fish and meats have been in such wonderful harmony with your wines!

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

There is nothing simpler, or more fun, than smoking salmon cold, without any smoke, using only a marinade with Lapsang Souchong smoked black tea. And that’s all it takes folks! If you would rather have a milder, more subtle taste, you can replace the powerful Lapsang Souchong by a Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong smoked tea. The taste will be more delicate and the fish, slightly cooked. It’s all a matter of taste!

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

To create an American profile for peanuts, whose volatile compounds belong to the pyrazine family, we went down the aromatic path of foods complementary to capsaicin, the fiery molecule in hot peppers, to give the peanuts spiciness and smokiness, with a bit of Hispanic zest. The maple syrup harmonizes the flavours in this recipe with brio, as it is complementary to hot peppers, as well as to the aromas of barrel-raised wines.

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

The idea for this incredibly simple but delicious spread stems from our recipe for concentrated red bell pepper paste (see recipe for Concentrated paste of roasted red peppers and roasted sesame oil), as well as from the power of aromatic attraction between foods of the same family. For example, foods with a “taste of cold” (see the eponymous chapter in the book Taste Buds and Molecules), the vegetal notes from some types of wines, but especially those from the Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc families.

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

In February 2008, Stéphane Modat and I started on the path to this recipe, originally a sphere of charred red peppers, during a molecular tasting with the oenologue Pascal Chatonnet, for his wines Lalande-de-Pomerol and Saint-Émilion.

Although this recipe has evolved tremendously since and has taken different forms, such as this one, it remains a concentrated paste that should only be spread right before serving.

Simple, delicious and in perfect harmony with a multitude of red wines!

This recipe taken from the book Les Recettes de Papilles et Molécules, has been revised and corrected.

Although this is based on my recipe for a “siphoned” rosemary and lemon meringue pie from Volume I of Taste Buds and Molecule, Stéphane and I decided to push the idea even further.

The terpenic flavours of rosemary and lemon are at the heart of this creation. My tastebuds first discovered the aromatic universe of terpenes through the rich terpenic aromas emanating from a late harvest Riesling.

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

For my book À table avec François Chartier, I created, based on intuition, a recipe for a chocolate pie flavoured with Lapsang Souchong tea.

My recent research on the volatile compounds of this strongly smoked black Chinese tea has confirmed the very close link between it and dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. In Volume 2 of Taste Buds and Molecules, an entire chapter will be dedicated to the harmonic world of Lapsang Souchong.

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

Any sommelier worth his salt would banish the thought of ever serving red wine with turnips that have been marinated in wine vinegar and honey…and yet!

One must know that this vegetable, from the family of anise-flavoured molecules, is naturally comfortable with red wine.

However, to overcome the presence of sweet and sour, which usually does not fair well with the tannins of red wines, you need only add cloves. The great power of the aromatic attraction between them suffices to create a harmonious link with red wines. This will allow you to reach a certain comfort zone, and even nirvana!

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste buds and Molecules

Plums and star anise, along with numerous wines, all share dominant volatile compounds. With this recipe, we wanted to demonstrate that the aromatic attraction between these compounds was strong enough, beyond the sweet taste, to attain the harmonic comfort zone with red wine. This recipe, half way between jam and compote, will surely delight you.

Moreover, you should note that other foods which are complementary to plums (smoked black tea, clove, cinnamon, lavender, pepper, basil, rose water, cranberry, blackcurrant and scotch) are all great leads to help you create your own versions of the Mc2_Confipote.

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

The volatile compounds that are triggered when coffee and smoked black Lapsang Souchong tea are heated, or when meats and vegetables are charred or strongly browned, are from the same aromatic universe as wines that were raised in oak barrels. Coffee is a flavour enhancer that creates a synergy between foods of the same family.

The browning reaction that occurs when we cook various foods is called the “Maillard Reaction”. Stéphane Modat and I created this recipe as a tribute to the chemist Louis-Camille Maillard (1878-1936).

By François Chartier & Stéphane Modat, Recipes from Taste Buds and Molecules

This recipe was inspired by our Mc2_Puree for red wine lovers, made with celeriac (celery root) and clove, which was published in our recipe book Les Recettes de Papilles et Molécules.

Among all the herbs, Thai basil possesses the highest concentration of eugenol, the principal aromatic molecule of clove.

Like most root vegetables, parsnip is a member of what I call the anise-flavoured family (see the eponymous chapter in Taste Buds and Molecules).

When we think star anise, we should think clove: both are also from the same molecular family and therefore have a great power of attraction when cooked together.

SOTOLONE CHAPTER

The idea of amusing ourselves by reinventing the very American Cracker Jack of our youth came when we were working on the “Mc2_Chocolate/Soyable Ganache” (see page 166 in the book Les Recettes de Papilles et Molécules), for which a little something crunchy was missing to give texture to the smoothness of the ganache. Given that the original Cracker Jack has a caramel base, we opted instead for maple syrup. As the latter is in the same aromatic family as curry, which is sotolone, the road was already paved for us to dust-off this great old snack. The wonderful thing is that you can save your “Mc_2 Cracker Jack”, paired with a delicious red or copper beer, for the uncontrollable munchies you are bound to get during those long evenings of movie marathons, hockey or football games, the Super Bowl, or while reading the weekend paper.

Ingredients

1/3 cup (75 g) corn kernels for popping
1/4 cup (60 ml) clear maple syrup
1 tsp. (5 ml) of vegetable oil
1 tsp. (5 g) of Madras curry powder
1 pinch of salt

Method

1. Heat a large, heavy bottom pot. Pour in vegetable oil and kernels.

2. Place lid on immediately and shake vigorously to prevent the kernels from burning.

3. When the kernels have all popped, place them in a mixing bowl or on a work surface, and pick through them to remove any unpopped kernels.

4. In the same warm pot, pour in the maple syrup and reduce for a short while before placing the popcorn back in. Stir the popcorn, coating it with caramel.

5. Place on a work surface and sprinkle with curry powder and a pinch of salt before separating the popcorn with a wooden spoon.

6. Let cool and enjoy!

Serve with or without, it is up to you, the “Mc2_Chocolate/Soyable Ganache” (see page 166, Les Recettes de Papilles et Molécules).

Liquid aromatic paths

With our « Mc2_Cracker Jack », you will have to follow the same aromatic realm as wines that are marked by the aromatic identity of sotolone, as we propose with the “Mc2_Chocolate/Soyable Ganache”.

We reached perfect harmony while creating this recipe with:

Beer (delicious red or copper beer): Boréal Cuivrée, Les Brasseurs du Nord, Blainville, Quebec