‘Cooked with Cannabis’ proves molecular gastronomy is not the only way to the future of food
What seemed like the ‘next generation’ in eating, cooking, and creating foods is already here and that future is now as we know it! If you thought that lab-made ingredients and incorporating molecular gastronomy will be the only things dominating the future of foods, then you might want to reconsider your thoughts and catch up on this all-new culinary show titled ‘Cooked with Cannabis’.
Netflix’s latest food reality show is all about using marijuana in cooking. Using its different extracts, strains, oils, and more, professional chefs and cannabis experts create delectable, innovative dishes and take the hosts and judges on a high that could be easily called a combination of good food and a lot of weed. But hold onto your excitement about the potent herb for a minute
This show is essentially about cooking great food and exploring unique ways of using cannabis. It is also about the fun of the entire experience.
Above and beyond that, the show is also about answering the most burning question — What does the future of food look like? This is a topic that foodies, culinary experts, chefs, and enthusiasts have been asking, answering, and debating on, for a while and somehow, ‘Cooked with Cannabis’ gives you the answer, provided you see beyond the plate.
Let us start by fulfilling your curiosity and say “yes” to cannabis being a sought-after ingredient. Hemp has been in usage for a long time but only in the wake of legalization of this plant that we have started to explore various utilities. The same goes for the raw flower and leaf. THC and CBD oils are infused in cooking oils, butter, spreads, marinades, blends, cocktails, while the leaves can be used to smoke meat, soups, and a lot more.
Across the six episodes, professional cannabis chefs along with cannabis-based food expert and host Leather Storrs walk through some of the most flavorful and extraordinary dishes using the herb. And in the process, we learn that this could be where the future of food lies. Using an age-old, ancient herb and rediscovering its utility to not just induce intoxication but to add and enhance flavor and aromas, and elevate the taste of a dish.
In fact, in the episode ‘Futurist Food’, we explored recipes with mealworms, of course a touch of molecular gastronomy, and deconstructing traditional favorites.
But what remains as the key takeaway is that how this promising ingredient can alter the experience of a recipe when used in different forms and different dosages.
The future of food will not only be shrunken portions, lab-grown meat, and resorting to high protein worms as a protein source, but also infusing ingredients that were beyond our imagination.
Today, it might be marijuana, in another decade or so, with more research, we could start to see the culinary usage of other ancient plants which are tabooed today, like opium or coca plants for instance. The future, as ironical as it may seem, is going back to nature, but with a fresh perspective and ‘Cooked with Cannabis’ shows us the very first step.
‘Cooked with Cannabis’ is now streaming all six episodes on Netflix.
