ATOMA
A project using molecules to spice up gastronomic experiences
A collection of spices that create flavour through nothing but pure molecules. After reading ‘no artificial flavouring’ on a jar of yoghurt, I wondered why added flavour should be negatively perceived. I started researching the subject and found that we can taste 11,000 molecules, so why can’t each molecule be a spice? Each molecule has an individual flavour and can be added to a dish by rasping, like we do with nutmeg. Strawberries have up to 200 flavour compounds, but we can taste only 24 of them. I used these 24 molecules to make 24 spices, employing the molecular shape as a guideline. To produce strawberry flavouring, however, you have to mix all 24 together, just like nature does.