Science of Cooking: Ask the Inquisitive Cooks! (2024)

FAQs

What is the science behind cooking food? ›

One of the most important chemical reactions that occur during cooking is the Maillard reaction. This is what happens when you heat food and it browns on the outside. In the Maillard reaction, the heat allows amino acids to react with reducing sugars.

The relevance of connective tissue to cooking is that collagen dissolves in hot water, so less tender cuts where connective tissue is well developed benefit from cooking with moisture. In contrast, fibers of elastin are not tenderized by moist heat, and therefore remain tough.

Any cooking you do involves chemistry. The use of heat, cold, and cutting changes the composition of foods. Even simply slicing an apple sets off chemical reactions that change the color of the apple's flesh. If you heat up sugar to turn it into syrup, you're using a chemical reaction.

While cooks and chefs don't need science or math degrees, they do need a working knowledge of the principles of numbers, chemistry, and biology.

Food science is about understanding food on a molecular level and using that knowledge to make food safe, nutritious, and delicious for everyone. So when you see a food scientist next time, please do not assume they are a great cook or can provide the needed diet advice.

Meat on bones, such as ribs, oxtail, wings, drumsticks and shanks, contains collagen-rich connective tissues and cartilage. These cuts require slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or roasting to break down the collagen and create tender, flavorful meat.

Fats are crucial to meat texture. Waxy when cold, fats start to melt around 130°F to 140°F, lubricating muscle fibers just as they are getting tougher and drier from the heat. Fat does not evaporate like water when you are cooking.

To keep track of a low and slow cook, you really need a thermometer, and you need a thermometer that you can leave in your food. Collagen dissolution really gets going starting at about 170°F (79°C). But as it takes a long time for those helixes of protein to unwind, it's better to get the temperature a little higher.

Chemistry and cooking go hand in hand – cooking is chemistry. Think about it: when you're heating up your food, you're killing harmful bacteria and microorganisms. When you add spices or transform ingredients in any way, shape, or form, this is a chemical process.

Why is it called gastronomy? ›

Etymologically, the term gastronomy (gaster – nomos) refers to the rules (nomos) of eating and drinking foods which goes in the stomach (gaster) (Ory, 2013).

Food scientists are technicians working in laboratories. A chef is a professional who manages the operation of a kitchen, sometimes the whole food service for restaurant or hotel chains.

Among the very basic principles that guide scientists, as well as many other scholars, are those expressed as respect for the integrity of knowledge, collegiality, honesty, objectivity, and openness.