So even something as
simple as scrambling an egg
is essentially a scientific
manipulation of an ingredient
by exposing it to both heat and
movement and incorporating air.
You're making it behave--
an egg behave--
in a desired way.
It reminds me-- this
is an obscure analogy.
But it reminds me of when
medicine became modern,
it did so because,
in part, it looked
to see what sort
of folk remedies
existed around the
world in cultures.
Oh, you chew on this bark and
that gets rid of your headache.
Well, what got rid
of your headache?
So you find out
what's in the bark.
Right.
And there's this
molecule that becomes
what we today call aspirin.
And so you extract
the active ingredient.
And then you can exploit
that to a great gain.
And so, it seems to me, if
you knew exactly the moment
and why a sauteed
onion becomes sweet,
you can possibly hone
in on that and exploit
that fact with other foods.
And that's what
chefs are doing--
some chefs are doing--
every day.
I have friends who are
rotting all varieties
of things in some dark
corner of their cellar,
experimenting, talking
to microbiologists
from major universities,
talking to them late at night,
working with them in kitchens,
discussing, you know,
the wonders of fermentation.
What can you ferment?
What can you-- what's
going on in miso?
How could I apply that
to something else?
Kimchi
I love miso.
So much of food is
not about freshness.
It's what's called
that sweet spot--
the precise moment in its
decay where it is best,
sushi being the best example.
Anyone who goes and
tells you that, you know,
I went to a sushi bar last
night, it was the best,
the fish was so fresh, had no
understanding at all of sushi.
It's not-- sushi's not
about freshness at all.
First of all, even
the best places
deliberately cure their fish
by freezing it, sometimes
out of necessity to kill
the critters-- others
because it makes it better.
But it's almost never
about the freshest fish.
Fresh fish is right
out of the water.
It's still in rigor.
And it's often
rubbery and unpleasant
and without much
flavor, which is why
in Iceland, they rot it
sometimes, because you
get more [inaudible].
You're looking for the perfect
point in the decay of the fish.
Same with meat.
Almost everything
we eat and like--
cheese, meat, fish--
they're all aged.
Wine.
So it's really about decay and
rot, cheerful as that sounds.
[laughing]
[stammering] I never knew.
Thank you.
[laughing]
