Harvard uses top chefs to spice up science

The students are learning about spherification, the gelling reaction that occurs when calcium chloride meets sodium alginate. It’s a technique that has been adopted by chefs to create melon “caviar,’’ “ravioli’’ filled with liquid, and more.

This is Science of the Physical Universe 27, the hottest course at Harvard this fall. Also known as Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science, it uses the culinary arts as a way to explore phases of matter, electrostatics, and other scientific concepts.

The class has drawn unprecedented interest, according to Harvard communications director Michael Patrick Rutter. About 700 students applied for the 300 or so spots. The university then held a lottery to determine who would be admitted; some students wrote essays and appeals in the hopes of aiding their chances.

The buzz surrounding the class is largely because of star power. It is being taught by Harvard professors in tandem with some of the world’s most famous chefs — people who have changed the way we think about food. Ferran Adria of Spain’s El Bulli, considered by many the best restaurant in the world (and slated to close next year), is chief among them. Adria gave a lecture at Harvard two years ago; its success helped spark the creation of this class.

He is one of several Catalan chefs involved in Science and Cooking, a collaboration between the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Spain’s Alicia Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to food and science. The course is part of the university’s program in general education, launched last fall to provide learning and teaching opportunities across traditional disciplinary lines.

Other lecturers include Jose Andres of Washington’s Jaleo, Wylie Dufresne of New York’s wd~50, Grant Achatz of Chicago’s Alinea, Dan Barber of New York’s Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, and food science writer Harold McGee.

Lingbo Li, an anthropology major, food blogger, and president of the Harvard Culinary Society, made the cut. Initially wait-listed, she chronicled her experience with the lottery in The Harvard Crimson.