A meal from the future

Being in your 40's is always fun. 40 is the new 20, they say, and given our current life expectancy, it is not too far from the truth. Only in the early 20's century, the average life expectancy was between 30 and 45 years. Today, in the first quarter of the 21st, it's shot all the way up to 75. Advances in science, medicine, nutrition and genetics have allowed us to get this far.

Nutrition... the buzz word of the new century. We have been told of a "war" on obesity and about how it is an "epidemic", and yet, the CDC determined that the studies claiming obesity kills 400,000 Americans a year was fundamentally flawed. We get more and more evidence suggesting that, while obesity does play a role on cardiac diseases and diabetes, underlying conditions and hereditary traits trump fat cells. It has been demonstrated time and time again that vegetarian diets are unable to provide all of the nutrients that the body requires, and substitutes such as tofu and other soy products have proven to be inadequate at best, since they contain components that can cause poor growth, digestive distress, malnutrition, and other assorted health problems.

One week before the writing of this article, I went to one of those "technoraunts" that are all the rage nowadays. I find it surprising how molecular gastronomy went from an amusing curiosity to bona fide business in just a little over 10 years. From the edible menus to the bizarre main courses, such as a steak served to look like a chocolate pudding to the mind blowing desserts, like a rock of nitrogen-frozen material that once placed into your mouth literally explodes with the taste of cotton candy.

Sure, the daughter was intrigued by her edible pictures of sushi and the wife loved the bowl of green slush that tasted like a salad, down to the croûtons and her beloved ranch dressing. Of course I loved my floating cube of ice cream covered in yellow, edible glass shards that tasted just like a banana split. And I think that is part of the appeal that has made these places so popular. The experience is so out there and so extreme that it appeals to our childish sense of wonder. I mean, how often can you say that the "mango wine" you had with your "steak pudding" was great? How many times can you see the face of a surprised and smiling girl announcing a cotton candy just exploded in her mouth as you see frozen steam flow out of her nose?

However, as much fun as these places can be, and for all the exciting science and creativity behind them, me and my family always find our way back to the farmer's market for some naturally grown and healthy foods. For all the amusement and excitement these "technoraunts" can bring, sometimes you need to wonder how much nutrition you actually get out of them. And sometimes, it really bothers me that the same people who will ramble on about nutrition and inaccurate/unrealistic weight charts will frequent these molecular gastronomy joints without a second thought. Sure, all of this looks safe enough, but the truth is: we do not know how these food alterations affect us, or what the chemicals introduced in these process actually do to our bodies.

Yes, these places are great and a lot of fun, and that is why their popularity has increased so much. But the familiar tastes and textures of a nice, home cooked meal with properly grown produce will never lose their appeal nor their proven nutritional safety, and that is precisely why we stick to farmer's markets even to this day. Because we do care about our nutrition without having to preach others about it or being hypocritical about the wh*** thing.

By all means, do give me the cutting edge stuff for amusement, and also give me the real thing for nourishment. But please, whatever you do, do not preach stale and debunked nutritional "facts" to me when you are not preaching by example or don't have all the facts. Much less when you are living off frozen meals.

Rant off and bon appetit.