Mystery science eater

Photographs: Jeff Gurwin

THE FINE-DINING CREATION:
Of all the various agents (technically known as hydrocolloids) that chefs use to create gels and foams, methylcellulose is one of the more versatile. Derived from cellulose, the primary building block of plant matter, it gels when hot and melts when cold (making hot ice cream possible), and whips up into a shaving-cream–like foam. At Tailor, chef-owner Sam Mason tops coriander-fried sweetbreads with white beer foam.

THE INDUSTRIAL VERSION:
“A lot of companies use [methylcellulose] as a hot gelling agent, like in pie fillings, since the contents won’t leak out when the pie bakes,” says Mason. It’s also an effective laxative, a sexual lubricant, the main ingredient in the fiber supplement Citrucel, the special-effects slime in films like Ghostbusters and another kind of fake slime in pornos.

See the next trick: Transglutaminase