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Harvard Lecture Series: Science and Cooking

douglas_bd

Thought this might appeal to the crowd here. There's a Harvard lecture series online or via itunesU. Typically it's 5-10 minutes of theory, followed by an hour or so of a chef talking about applications. I've been watching it on the treadmill during my lunch hour and love it. @chris got a couple shout outs in the lecture I watched today which made me think to post it here. I regularly get ideas for things to try. Chef Dufresne's shrimp noodles, Chef Achatz' cocktail In the Rocks, etc. etc. Other lectures have been from Harold McGee, Ferran Adria, Joan Roca, Jose Andres, David Chang, Dan Barber, the list goes on and on. There's about 3 semesters worth now. If you geek out about science and food like I do, it's a great investment of your time.

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Brendan_Lee_56950

I've watched the one with Wylie and meat glue and the one with ferran. Sometimes I throw them on in the background when I am writing reports at work. You should also check out the cooking issues podcast by Dave Arnold tons of useful info there too!

seijoed

@Brendan? His mind to me seemed like a string of tofu, it was made of peanut butter

Brendan_Lee_56950

who's mind?

seijoed

Whatever report you wrote.

Brendan_Lee_56950

haha oh ic, i'm sure there's a random line or two about a rotovap in there somewhere

seijoed

Hahaha

Would benefit from a quick pulse in the blender.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I would recommend that if i could, some of these kids need a real shake!

seijoed

I can only imagine...

tuckatodd

@Brian Douglas Nice Find! I can see myself watching a lot of this. Thanks!!!

michaelnatkin

Have they improved the a/v quality of the Harvard series now? I've tried to watch some of the first year and it was a bit excruciating, even though the content was fascinating.

tuckatodd

I'm watching it on my iphone right now and it seems fine!

prince_of_porcelain

@Michael - It varies. I think it has improved somewhat over time, though the production value is admittedly fairly low. (Nowhere near the video quality you guys do here!) Despite that, I do find it fascinating to listen to the chefs speak. Another option are the MAD symposium lectures. I'm not as deep into these, mostly because I haven't figured out how to get them onto my ipod to watch remotely, but the ones I've watched were great. http://madfood.co/video2012

dpietranczyk_49940

I've watched every video from the Harvard lecture series. It's incredibly fascinating. I'm currently reading The kitchen as laboratory. Fan-friggin-tastic!

Mason_Perry_34060

Im totally hooked, sad I didn't know about this earlier, glad it's on Youtube as I don't use Itunes or any apple product for that matter, and it looks great in HD on my phone, I know what I will be watching before bed now!

Thanks @Brian_Douglas big thumbs up!

prince_of_porcelain

@dpietranczyk - Great book! I want to make the fox testicle ice cream.

Brendan_Lee_56950

@Brian that sounds interesting. You get some decent money for killing foxes around my area, I will keep the ice cream in mind next time! haha

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Brian, thanks for the info, can't wait to check it out!

susan_fox_33805

Only on ChefSteps will you see someone exclaim

@dpietranczyk - Great book! I want to make the fox testicle ice cream.

Glad I'm a woman ;-)

prince_of_porcelain

The recipe in the book is actually for faux fox testicle ice cream. Dondurma? I think? It's uses an extract from an orchid in Turkey called fox testicle, but the real stuff is endangered. The book has directions for recreating the texture with more sustainable ingredients. Makes a stretchy taffy / ice cream hybrid that's all the rage in Turkey. Unfortunately it's not an ice cream made from gonads of a fox, though that might be delicious as well.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Ohhh ok so it's a recipe for turkish delight. Haha i was confused for a second. You ever had the ice cream at cold stone, it has sort of a pudding texture that is stretchy, that's kind of what this is like but to an even more stringy degree. I had it a few times growing up, never really liked it.

rsantayanajr

Love the Harvard Science & Cooking lectures. Watched along the last 2years. Didn't make it thru this last years' series yet (new baby)... working on it. Some of it repeats but I learn something new each time. I actually think back to a lecture sometimes and wish I had taken notes... would make a helpful cheat sheet when experimenting in the kitchen.

I didn't see any links to the lectures above, so here it is for anyone else interested:

http://www.seas.harvard.edu/cooking

Youtube links:

2010 Lectures

2011 Lectures

2012 Lectures

Enjoy.

andrea.feldman

I had no idea these were ALL online! Fantastic.

matthew.snyder77

The coolest demo from the lecture series, imo, is the one where Dave Arnold shows what happens to eggs cooked in a water bath when you raise the cooking temperature in 1°C increments. Once you get to like 63° - 64°, there are practically visible differences in color and texture with each degree up you go. Fascinating.

(I think that lecture is co-presented by Harold McGee)

andrea.feldman

I was in a class where Chris and Grant did that and passed all the eggs around so we could SEE the differences — sometimes very subtle, other times quite dramatic, depending. Oh, and we got to eat the results. I think my favorite was 64º, but I'd have to check my notes.

reub_50398

The lectures are also often open to the public for anyone who finds themselves available and nearby. I was able to catch Dave Arnold and Howard McGee's cocktail lecture a while back. Very neat stuff.

rg46236

I have watched most of those lectures and the one that blew me away was the Grant Achatz lecture on texture and flavor, amazing stuff. If I make it to ChiTown, I WILL eat at Alinea. But first, the wife and I are heading to New Orleans in May. @Andrea Feldman I like the creamy 63 degree yolk. Had it on an AMAZING beef tartar at The Admiral in West Asheville, NC

matthew.snyder77

RGChef , NOLA is an amazing city. Was just there two weekends ago for my 40th b-day, and I've never had so much fun in such a short period of time. Can't swing a dead rodent without hitting someone playing great music or offering great food. Go to Felix's for the char-grilled oysters.

Mark_Kalynchuk_34927

Thanks @Brian I'll definitely check these out!