May 16, 2004

» Molecular gastronomy again, but this time industrial-strength

Some tastes are harder to synthesise - 'a good coffee flavour is tough,' Hefti admits - but he relishes the challenge. In the meantime, there are always newly discovered natural tastes and smells to reproduce, thanks to Givaudan's international expedition programme. In hot-air-balloon missions over Madagascan rainforest, botanists seek out highly flavoured 'new' molecules from plants and tree bark. Its laboratories have already copied some examples for use in children's lollipops.

But do we really need 300 varieties of factory-manufactured strawberry flavouring? You might expect your strawberry yoghurt or premium ice cream to contain at least a smidgen of fruit derivatives, but that would be to underestimate the skills of the professional flavourist (not forgetting his peers specialising in colourings and preservation). Not that the catch-all term 'flavouring' on the label is designed to arouse any suspicions about the synthetic formulations within.

[...]

Manuel Marquez-Sanchez, too, has big hopes for nanotechnology. By manipulating ingredients at the nano level, and storing them in 'nanocapsules', he believes that Kraft will be able to devise such treats as an interactive, customisable drink. 'The idea is that everyone buys the same drink, but you'll be able to decide its colour, flavour, concentration and texture,' he explains enthusiastically. 'Once you have a technology to design nanocapsules, based on food-grade materials, you can offer products that put the consumer in control.' Although the industry, one presumes, will wish to retain control of everything from labelling requirements and costs to the degree of prior safety testing.

Dr Marquez-Sanchez, who works from Kraft's labs in Illinois, will not say which brands of drink he is working on, but he admits that Kraft is certainly looking to bring the resulting products to market. 'It's definitely possible,' he says. To show how serious he is, he mentions a 'shake gel' that he has developed - a drink which becomes thicker or more watery according to how hard it is shaken. 'You can choose how thick you want it - and the beautiful part is that if you change your mind it's reversible.' The tiny polymers that cause the effect are not yet food grade, but that hurdle, he says, could be overcome within two years. And by using ultrasound or radio frequencies to trigger these nanocapsules, we could determine the colour, fragrance or taste of our fruit drink or wine.

» What's the point of Thunderbirds without puppets?

Nevertheless, two films were made — with puppets. Thunderbirds Are Go cost £250,000 and flopped in 1966. Thunderbird 6 cost £300,000 and flopped in 1968. The omens don't seem good.

Except that, this time, it's real people. But lose the strings, the fixed expressions and the shiny skin — in short, the puppets — and what do you have?

A somewhat daft story about International Rescue, a charitable but secret organisation set up by a wealthy widower, Jeff Tracy. His sons keep flying around rescuing people in odd vehicles and there's a blonde It girl named Lady Penelope with a pink Rolls-Royce and a chauffeur called Parker. Somehow it made sense when they were puppets, but real people?