Fernando Sapiña’s cuisine articles in the new book of the «Monografies Mètode» collection

Mètode collects articles published in the «Science at the table» section

For over ten years, the chemist and science communicator Fernando Sapiña (1964–2018) published a section on science and cuisine for Mètode, titled «Science at the table». His texts allowed us to discover the chemistry hidden behind food and cooking methods, while at the same time transmitting his passion for cuisine. Now, the journal Mètode, with the collaboration of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University of Valencia, brings together these articles in a new volume in the «Monografies Mètode» collection, edited by Juli Peretó.

The book contains 42 articles on the physical and chemical principles of food and its preparation, all accompanied by a recipe. The texts can be read independently, or by discovering the subtle threads that connect them through texture, colour, taste, smell or cooking transformations.

This book evidences Fernando Sapiña’s vocation for scientific communication, his texts brimming with literary references and everyday experiences, family and friendly anecdotes. A book, in short, to discover cooking and its science.

La ciència a taula counts with the collaboration of the artist Teresa Tomás, who in her laboratory Palomita de maíz has experimented in projects in which gastronomy is hybridised with her work. The book will also have an English edition: Science at the table.

The author

Fernando Sapiña (1964–2018) was a lecturer in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Valencia and a researcher at the Institute of Materials Science of the University of Valencia, which he directed between 2013 and 2015. His research focused on finding new ways to synthesise materials with controlled composition, microstructure, and properties. He promoted the Degree in Gastronomic Sciences and the Gastrolab at the University of Valencia, combining his teaching and research work with the dissemination of science. He was the author of Un futur sostenible? El canvi global vist per un químic preocupat (2001) and El repte energètic: Gestionant el llegat de Prometeu (2005), he coordinated several issues of Mètode, the first of which, in 2002, was devoted to global change, but also others on gastronomy and science, nanoscience, or materials science. Between 2005 and 2017 he was a permanent collaborator with his column «Science at the table», which has now been collected in this book. As a result of his interest in popularisation, Fernando Sapiña was advisor to the Chair of Scientific Dissemination – Unit of Scientific Culture and Innovation at the University of Valencia, and director of the popular science collections Sin Fronteras and Ciencias entre Letras. In addition, he was a regular contributor to the Science Space of the Octubre Centre de Cultura Contemporània, and actively participated in a multitude of activities, workshops, and informative talks, as well as in the creation of the association Piratas de la Ciencia.

The «Monografies Mètode» collection

Science at the table is the tenth volume in the popular science book collection “Monografies Mètode”, published by the journal Mètode since 2005. The collection includes books on different subjects such as the history of science, vulcanology, ethnobotany, science didactics, or literature. More information here.

 

© Mètode 2019