Season One: Season 1 : gourmet.com

Science of Deliciousness

Episode 11

Did your mother tell you not to play with your food? Meet some innovative chefs who didn’t listen. In this episode, we look at how some of the world’s top culinary experts are using molecular gastronomy—the application of scientific principles to food preparation—to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the kitchen.

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RECIPES
Bacon-and-Egg Ice Cream
Brown-Rice Flour Mix
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Crema Catalana Foam
Five-Herb Ice Milk
Lemon Layer Cake
Pizza Crust
Purple Potato Chips

Zen and the Art of Cooking

Episode 12

What is the true path to culinary enlightenment? In this episode, we’ll look at how some chefs achieve inner harmony from cooking. From a California cheese maker to a New York chocolatier, food artisans show us how they find their Zen through their relationship with food.

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RECIPES
Braised Duck Legs with Shallots and Parsnips
Buttered Polenta
Chicken Stock
Crispy Pigs' Tails
Dashi
Miso-Marinated Salmon with Citrus and Shitakes
Pork Dumplings
Rabbit Ragu
Zen Roast Chicken with Mustard Butter

Salt and Pepper

Episode 13

Salt and pepper: The most important mineral in the human diet, and the most widely used spice. In this episode, we’ll take a close look at the ubiquitous most renowned duo. Join us as we learn why salt and pepper are earning a newfound respect from chefs in the know.

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RECIPES
Chinese Celery Strips
Melon, Arugula, and Serrano Ham with Smoked Paprika Dressing
Ribboned Zucchini Salad
Salt-Baked Potato
Salted Caramels
Scrambled Eggs with Green Chiles
Slow-Baked Salmon with Avruga Caviar Sauce

Delicious Indigenous

Episode 14

What happens when indigenous ingredients meet passionate food lovers? In this episode, we’ll meet a Peruvian chef who transforms local fruits and vegetables into haute cuisine, and then learn how an Aboriginal community keeps its Outback traditions alive and thriving. We’ll also visit a French-born chef as he forages for seaweed on the Irish Coast, then hop over to Seattle, Washington to dig for geoduck, a large saltwater clam that can live for up to 140 years and weigh up to 10 pounds. Join us as we learn how these indigenous foods make for rich traditions and delicious cuisine.

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RECIPES
Asian Sauteed Geoduck
Buffalo Tenderloin with Cranberry Blueberry Sauce
Mashed Yuca with Garlic

Noble Rot

Episode 15

Cheese is the most famous example of foods that rely on the development of mold. But did you know that there are many other products that depend on the process of decay? Carefully cultivated through the centuries as a way to preserve food, mold and rot are used throughout the world to make products such as botrytis (wine made with rotten grapes) and Mexican huitlacoche (made from moldy corn). We’ll meet the experts who turn what would be considered “food gone bad” into creative and exceptionally great cuisine.

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RECIPES
Huitlacoche Quesadillas
Salt-Rising Bread
Spinach with Sesame Miso Sauce