Gastrophysics (gastronomical physics) is an emerging interdisciplinary science that employs principles from

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

to attain a fundamental understanding of the worlds of

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gastr ...

and

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

. Gastrophysical topics of interest include investigations of the raw materials of food, the effects of food preparation, and quantitative aspects of the physical basis for food quality, flavour, appreciation and absorption in the human body.

Definition and aim

Gastrophysics is a scientific discipline that focuses on investigations of aspects of

and

that relates to phenomena, which can be described and explained in a frame of

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

, and associated sciences. The inspiration for gastrophysics is gastronomy and cooking. Gastrophysical studies has a gastronomic observation as its starting point, and aims at unravelling the scientific nature of the observations on many different macroscopic and microscopic scales, including explaining physical and chemical aspects of the raw materials, of their transformations during the preparation of food, as well as of the sensory response while eating. The chemical and physical composition, as well as properties of raw food materials, are important for the transformations that occur in the food during preparation (heating, cooling, mixing, beating,

fermenting Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

, salting,

drying Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be considered ...

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

souring Souring is a food preparation technique that causes a physical and chemical change in food by exposing it to an acid. This acid can be added explicitly (e.g., vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, etc.), or can be produced within the food itself by a ...

etc.). Flavour (

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

and smell),

mouthfeel Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. Mouthfeel is ...

chemesthesis Chemesthesis is the chemical sensitivity of the skin and mucous membranes. Chemesthetic sensations arise when chemical compounds activate receptors associated with other senses that mediate pain, touch, and thermal perception. These chemical-induc ...

astringency An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian plant ...

are all determinants for the sensory evaluation of food, and these characteristics are also related to the chemical properties and the physical texture of the food, and to how the food is transformed in the mouth. Gastrophysics deals with each of these components and aims at uncovering their mutual relations, i.e. how the sensory input relates to the material composition and properties of food, and the absorption in the human body. Gastrophysics is a scientifically inspired approach to gastronomy, but it is a science in its own right, and not a discipline to service chefs in creating new dishes. Gastrophysics focuses on gaining fundamental scientific insight to gastronomy and understanding general phenomena, without removing any of the craft, creativity, and art characteristics of cooking. The relation between gastrophysics and gastronomy can be seen as analogous to the relation between

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Astronomers An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

observe planets and stars, and describe where they are and how they move.

Astrophysicists The following is a list of astronomers, astrophysicists and other notable people who have made contributions to the field of astronomy. They may have won major prizes or awards, developed or invented widely used techniques or technologies within a ...

explain why the planets and stars are where they are, and how they got there. In the same way, gastrophysics aims to explain the general scientific nature of gastronomy.

Methodology

Whereas gastrophysics is a relatively new discipline within the physical sciences, the foundation for exploring the kind of soft matter that food is, is already well established in other areas of modern physics. The methodology of gastrophysics greatly overlaps with e.g. (molecular)

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

, soft matter physics, material physics,

analytical chemistry Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

etc. This holds for experimental, theoretical and phenomenological approaches. Gastrophysics leans on state-of-art technologies both experimentally and computationally.

History

It is unknown when the term gastrophysics was first coined, but it appears to have been independently proposed as a physics approach to gastronomy in the labs of the physicist

Nicholas Kurti Nicholas Kurti, ( hu, Kürti Miklós) (14 May 1908 – 24 November 1998) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian-born British physicist who lived in Oxford, UK, for most of his life. Career Born in Budapest, Kurti went to high school at the Minta G ...

Peter Barham Peter Barham (born 1950) is emeritus professor of physics at the University of Bristol. He was visiting professor of Molecular Gastronomy at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Early life Peter Barham was born in 1950. He received his BSc fro ...

, and . In order to conceptualise the term "gastrophysics", the first international symposium on the topic—"The emerging science of gastrophysics"—was held in Copenhagen in 2012, bringing together key actors. One conclusion of the symposium was that gastrophysics could significantly impact gastronomy and tomorrow's food sciences, and how both develop in the 21st century. In addition to the aforementioned Nicholas Kurti, Peter Barham, and Ole G. Mouritsen, other popular gastrophysicists include Charles Spencer, Mathias Porsmose Clausen and Eneko Axpe.https://www.corriere.it/cook/news/cards/50-next-ecco-leader-futuro-mondo-gastronomia/eneko-axpe-usapaesi-baschi-spagna.shtml

Definition and aim

Methodology

History

References

Further reading