“Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation.”

“Any good music must be an innovation.”

At Humphrey Slocombe ice cream, it is all about interesting flavors and unusual combinations.  Tucked in a corner of the Mission, they make all of their ice cream in the small store. In the dipping cabinet were tubs with such pairings as Bourbon and Cornflakes, Guinness and Gingerbread, Chocolate and Ancho Chile, and Vietnamese Coffee, using coffee from Blue Bottle, a local coffee roaster. After I had walked around the city all morning and consumed four cups of coffee at different cafés, a dish of their ice cream was the perfect way to relax.

Smooth and creamy, the flavors worked well. Spicy chocolate can be overpowering if too much chile is added, but this one had enough flavor to give added zip to the chocolate but not so much heat as to overwhelm the taste buds. The Vietnamese Coffee was creamy and mild, making me think about iced Vietnamese coffee I had tried in Ho Chi Minh City.

The store is small, with about a half dozen stools at a counter in the window. When I walked in, I was the only customer. While I was seated at the counter, finishing my cup, the store became suddenly packed, with a line extending out the door onto the sidewalk, like all of the other places I visited this morning. I wanted to try the Limoncello sorbet to cleanse my palate before I left, but I didn’t want to stand in line again. But now I have an excuse to return and try some more interesting combinations.

“An innovation is one of those things that society looks at and says, if we make this part of the way we live and work, it will change the way we live and work.”

Molecular Gastronomy is a fast-growing part of the culinary world and one I enjoy. The idea is to understand the science of cooking and be able to use commercially available products such as gums and gels that are normally incorporated into food processing in a culinary, restaurant setting. Using these products allows chefs to create food that they would normally be unable to make. One of the most memorable meals I have ever had was at the holiday party that Mont Blanc hosted several years ago, where the chef incorporated molecular-gastronomy techniques into the different dishes using such ingredients as liquid nitrogen to create ice cream tableside in about sixty seconds. One of the highlights of that evening was working with the chef to make the ice cream, pouring the nitrogen on our hands and watching the “smoke” rise from our skin. Check out the pictures and story on my blog.

One of the co-founders of molecular gastronomy is Herve This, who has written a book called “Molecular Gastronomy.” It is a fascinating introduction to thinking about cooking in a scientific fashion. The book is composed of short chapters, each one detailing a new product or dish to be created. The chapters range from appetizers to entrees to desserts and drinks. One of my favorite chapters was on creating Chantilly Chocolate, a foamy chocolate dessert that is light and airy. It is made by combining chocolates and water, something not normally done since chocolate has a tendency to seize up, and whisking the mixture so that the ingredients are incorporated and assume the foamy texture. Reading this book offers a fascinating introduction to molecular gastronomy and will make you think about cooking in a very different way.