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Culinary reactions [electronic book] : the everyday chemistry of cooking / Simon Quellen Field.

By: Field, Simon (Simon Quellen) [author].
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Chicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press [2012]Copyright date: ©2012Description: online resource (xv, 238 pages) : illustrations.Content type: text Media type: computer Carrier type: online resourceISBN: 9781569767061 (paperback); 9781569769584 (e-book).Subject(s): Food -- Analysis | CookingDDC classification: 664.07 Online resources: Access eBook
Contents:
Measuring and weighing -- Foams -- Emulsions -- Colloids, gels, and suspensions -- Oils and fats -- Solutions -- Crystallization -- Protein chemistry -- Biology -- Scaling recipes up and down -- Heating -- Acids and bases -- Oxidation and reduction -- Boiling, freezing, and pressure.
Summary: "When you're cooking, you're a chemist! Every time you follow or modify a recipe you are experimenting with acids and bases, emulsions and suspensions, gels and foams. In your kitchen you denature proteins, crystallize compounds, react enzymes with substrates, and nurture desired microbial life while suppressing harmful microbes. And unlike in a laboratory, you can eat your experiments to verify your hypotheses. In Culinary Reactions, author Simon Field explores the chemistry behind the recipes you follow every day. How does altering the ratio of flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, and water affect how high bread rises? Why is whipped cream made with nitrous oxide rather than the more common carbon dioxide? And why does Hollandaise sauce call for "clarified" butter? This easy-to-follow primer even includes recipes to demonstrate the concepts being discussed, including Whipped Creamsicle Topping (a foam), Cherry Dream Cheese (a protein gel), and Lemonade with Chameleon Eggs (an acid indicator). It even shows you how to extract DNA from a Halloween pumpkin. You'll never look at your graduated cylinders, Bunsen burners, and beakers -- er, measuring cups, stovetop burners, and mixing bowls -- the same way again"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Notes
eBook MTU Online eBook 664.07 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available MTU Cork Module HOSP6100- Core reading.
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When you're cooking, you're a chemist! Every time you follow or modify a recipe, you are experimenting with acids and bases, emulsions and suspensions, gels and foams. In your kitchen you denature proteins, crystallize compounds, react enzymes with substrates, and nurture desired microbial life while suppressing harmful bacteria and fungi. And unlike in a laboratory, you can eat your experiments to verify your hypotheses.



In Culinary Reactions, author Simon Quellen Field turns measuring cups, stovetop burners, and mixing bowls into graduated cylinders, Bunsen burners, and beakers. How does altering the ratio of flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, and water affect how high bread rises? Why is whipped cream made with nitrous oxide rather than the more common carbon dioxide? And why does Hollandaise sauce call for "clarified" butter? This easy-to-follow primer even includes recipes to demonstrate the concepts being discussed, including: Whipped Creamsicle Topping--a foam; Cherry Dream Cheese--a protein gle; Lemonade with Chameleon Eggs--an acid indicator; and more!

Includes index.

Measuring and weighing -- Foams -- Emulsions -- Colloids, gels, and suspensions -- Oils and fats -- Solutions -- Crystallization -- Protein chemistry -- Biology -- Scaling recipes up and down -- Heating -- Acids and bases -- Oxidation and reduction -- Boiling, freezing, and pressure.

"When you're cooking, you're a chemist! Every time you follow or modify a recipe you are experimenting with acids and bases, emulsions and suspensions, gels and foams. In your kitchen you denature proteins, crystallize compounds, react enzymes with substrates, and nurture desired microbial life while suppressing harmful microbes. And unlike in a laboratory, you can eat your experiments to verify your hypotheses. In Culinary Reactions, author Simon Field explores the chemistry behind the recipes you follow every day. How does altering the ratio of flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, and water affect how high bread rises? Why is whipped cream made with nitrous oxide rather than the more common carbon dioxide? And why does Hollandaise sauce call for "clarified" butter? This easy-to-follow primer even includes recipes to demonstrate the concepts being discussed, including Whipped Creamsicle Topping (a foam), Cherry Dream Cheese (a protein gel), and Lemonade with Chameleon Eggs (an acid indicator). It even shows you how to extract DNA from a Halloween pumpkin. You'll never look at your graduated cylinders, Bunsen burners, and beakers -- er, measuring cups, stovetop burners, and mixing bowls -- the same way again"-- Provided by publisher.

MTU Cork Module HOSP6100 - Core reading.

Electronic reproduction.: ProQuest LibCentral. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Field (Why There's Antifreeze in Your Toothpaste: The Chemistry of Household Ingredients) believes the kitchen is really a chemistry lab in disguise because cooks preparing dishes employ the same procedures as chemists. He argues that understanding the scientific principles behind these processes is the key to becoming a better cook. From the reasoning behind weighing and measuring ingredients to creating foams and emulsions, Field delves into a number of topics to give readers a basic grounding in the chemistry of the kitchen. A few recipes are included, but this title reads more like a chemistry textbook than a cookbook. VERDICT Field is not the first to tackle this subject. Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking is a classic, and Shirley O. Corriher's CookWise and BakeWise are more recipe-focused. Still, although Field's contribution is written for Mr. Wizard fans rather than Betty Crocker candidates, it is an engaging and entertaining guide to the science of cooking.-John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Simon Field is the author of Why There's Antifreeze in Your Toothpaste , Gonzo Gizmos , and The Return of Gonzo Gizmos , and is the creator of the popular Web site www.scitoys.com.