From the past to the future: innovation in the cuisine

What awaits us in the world of the food in the near future? What role will artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies play? Will we use robots only as mere helpers or will they be able to take the place of the Chefs, coordinating the staff, inventing new recipes?
A combination, tradition and technology, which involves all kitchens, from domestic to high end.

From the alembic to the Rotavapor. The distillation is an ancestral technique, already known by the Egyptians and the Persians, traditionally used for the production of medicines and therapeutic remedies, is known above all for the production of grappa, whiskey, gin, tequila, and many other distillates. Thanks to the support of new machinery such as the Rotavapor, a new type of distiller, which by reducing the pressure inside the system lowers the boiling temperature of the liquid to be treated. Today this technology is also used in the kitchens of the best restaurants in the world for the extraction of aromas: one of the most curious is the distillate made from loam signed Joan Roca, Chef Patron de El Celler in Girona (Spain). An ancient technique that brings innovation to the kitchen: concentrating the flavors, the organoleptic and beneficial properties of many ingredients, making edible even what is not, extracting only its essence.

Without fat. Accessible to everyone and already present in many domestic kitchens, the air fryer is appealing to most health-conscious guests who do not want to give up gastronomy. The crunchy effect of traditional frying is not given by the oil, but by the very high temperature it reaches (eg 180 ° peanut oil). The air fryer, reproduces the same effect without the use of oil, the food inserted inside the cooking chamber undergoes a thermal shock (reaching 200 °) thus obtaining the desired effect, the heated air is circulates at a high speed to achieve uniform cooking of the food.
This technique maintains the food healthy, reproducing the consistency of fried food: reducing the amount of fat it reduces the risk of heart disease and inflammation.

Will Artificial Intelligence enter the kitchen? The creation of a new dish starts from the knowledge of the ingredients: years of experience, in which you never stop learning, can lead to new culinary approaches. Artificial intelligence can allow us to shorten these times, thanks to an algorithm developed by IBM technicians, a machine capable of storing decades of food knowledge and recipes in a short time and on the basis of what has been learned is able to create new dishes. Is this the true turning point of food processors? Or will chefs prefer to keep control of their work, using robots as mere assistants or consultants?
Perhaps it is easier for us to imagine it as a more advanced descendant of the Thermomix in domestic kitchens, a new robot that chooses the ingredients from the fridge of the house and prepares dinner on its own.

New Robot assistants. On the occasion of the KBIS 2019 in Las Vegas, Samsung presented its new food processor with artificial intelligence. Bot Chef is a collaborative assistant who helps human beings prepare lunches and dinners, literally two more hands. The robot is in fact made up of two mechanical arms that can be hung on the top of the kitchen so as to be able to work on the worktop, they are also equipped with pliers to grasp the different equipment, from the spoon to mix the ingredients to the sponge to clean the table.
It is possible to interact with your helper through the use of voice commands, thanks to a machine learning algorithm it will be possible to program the activities and the robot with time will be able to increase its “capabilities”.

The garden in the fridge. Attention to health in the cuisine is seen as a priority also from the point of view of innovators. Fewer and fewer people have the ability to grow vegetables and aromatic plants in the garden, so Samsung has come up with a small, high-tech solution that could solve this problem. Chef Garden is a device integrated with the new generation of Samsung Family Hub, capable of producing vegetables all year round, relying on an agricultural platform based on artificial intelligence, a refrigerator compartment that manages to independently cultivate the desired products, while maintaining monitored all the factors that affect agriculture: temperature, exposure to light and atmospheric agents. A way to have vegetables that are always fresh and ready to use. The platform is also able to recommend some recipes based on the products grown. To grow their plants, users can choose from a wide variety of seed capsules and place them in the growing area, which applies fogponics technology to create a nourishing mist that supplies water and nutrients to the plants as needed.

Eating is one of man’s primary needs and where there is a need there must be innovation. Keeping up with the times, incorporating new technologies into the various stages of the culinary process, does not mean denying tradition but bringing it to new horizons.

By Lisa Tanozzi