The Science of Cooking

The first textbook that teaches biology and chemistry through the enjoyable and rewarding means of cooking

The Science of Cooking is a textbook designed for nonscience majors or liberal studies science courses, that covers a range of scientific principles of food, cooking, and the science of taste and smell. It is accompanied by a companion website for students and adopting faculty. It details over 30 guided inquiry activities covering science basics and food-focused topics, and also includes a series of laboratory experiments that can be conducted in a traditional laboratory format, experiments that can be conducted in a large class format, and take-home experiments that can be completed with minimal equipment at the student’s home. Examples of these engaging and applicable experiments include fermentation, cheese and ice cream making, baking the best cookies, how to brown food faster, and analyzing food components. They are especially useful as a tool for teaching hypothesis design and the scientific process.

The early chapters of the text serve as an introduction to necessary biology and chemistry fundamentals, such as molecular structure, chemical bonding, and cell theory, while food-based chapters cover:

• Dairy products (milk, ice cream, foams, and cheeses)
• Fruits and vegetables
• Meat and fish
• Bread
• Spices and herbs
• Beer and wine
• Chocolate and candies

The Science of Cooking presents chemistry and biology concepts in an easy-to-understand way that demystifies many basic scientific principles. For those interested in learning more science behind cooking, this book delves into curious scientific applications and topics. This unique approach offers an excellent way for chemistry, biology, or biochemistry departments to bring new students of all levels and majors into their classrooms.

Dr Joseph J. Provost is a professor of chemistry at Minnesota State University Moorhead where he teaches biochemistry and conducts research in lung cancer. Provost is a long-time committee member and organizer for many of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and teaches a science of cooking class to over 125 students each semester.

Dr. Brenda S. Kelly has is a biochemist from Gustavus Adulphos College in southern Minnesota where she created a upper division kitchen chemistry class that incorporates many modules of food and cooking with hands on learning.

Dr. Mark A. Wallert is a Minnesota ?Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching MN Teacher of the Year and a professor of biology. Wallert has developed many hands on activities for majors and non-majors using inquiry as his focus.

Preface xi

About the Authors xiii

About the Companion Website xvii

1 The Science of Food and Cooking: Macromolecules 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Fundamentals of Food and Cooking 3

1.3 The Real Shape of Food: Molecular Basics 6

References 54

2 The Science of Taste and Smell 55

2.1 Introduction 55

2.2 The Physiology of Taste, Smell, and Flavor 55

2.3 Gustation: The Basics of Taste 58

2.4 Why Do We Taste? 63

2.5 The Diversity of Tastants 64

2.6 Gustation: Signaling—Receptors, Cells, and Tissue 66

2.7 Gustation: Membrane Proteins, Membrane Potential, and Sensory Transduction 70

2.8 Olfaction, the other Way to Taste: Basics of Signal Transduction 85

2.9 Texture, Temperature, and Pain 89

2.10 The Absence of Taste and Smell 90

2.11 Conclusion 90

References 91

3 Milk and Ice Cream 93

3.1 Introduction 93

3.2 Biology and Chemistry of Milk: Sugar, Protein, and Fats 96

3.3 Ice Cream 121

References 125

4 Metabolism of Food: Microorganisms and Beyond 127

4.1 Introduction 127

4.2 The Basics of the Cell 128

4.3 Introduction to Basic Metabolism 133

4.4 Catabolism of Glucose (Glycolysis or Fermentation): Glucose to Pyruvate 136

4.5 Fates of Pyruvate: Now What? 138

4.6 Aerobic Respiration: The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle and Oxidative Phosphorylation 141

4.7 The Electron Transport Chain 143

4.8 Metabolism of other Sugars 148

4.9 Metabolism and Degradation of Fats 149

4.10 Metabolism of Proteins and Amino Acids 152

4.11 Metabolism and Diet 154

4.12 Important Reactions in Metabolism: Oxidation and Hydrolysis 155

Reference 158

5 Cheese, Yogurt, and Sour Cream 159

5.1 Introduction 159

5.2 Milk Curdling and Coagulation 162

5.3 Casein 163

5.4 Whey 167

5.5 More Milk Curdling 168

5.6 Lactobacteria and Fermentation 172

5.7 Removing Moisture from the Cheese 178

5.8 Ripening or Affinage 182

5.9 Blue Cheeses, Molds, and Chemistry 185

5.10 The Smelly Cheeses: Muster and Limburger 188

5.11 Cooking with Cheese 189

5.12 Processed Cheeses 191

Reference 192

6 Browning 193

6.1 Introduction 193

6.2 Chemical Reaction Kinetics 195

6.3 The Maillard Reaction 198

6.4 Factors that Impact Maillard Reaction Browning: pH, Temperature, and Time 204

6.5 Maillard is Complicated 206

6.6 Caramelization: Browning Beyond the Maillard 209

6.7 Ascorbic Acid Browning 217

6.8 Enzyme-catalyzed Browning 218

References 225

7 Fruits and Vegetables 227

7.1 Introduction 227

7.2 Plant Parts and their Molecules 228

7.3 Plants are Comprised of Different Types of Complex Carbohydrate 232

7.4 Harvesting, Cooking, and Eating Plants 240

7.5 Cooking Plants 245

7.6 Colorful and Flavorful Fruits and Vegetables 254

References 271

8 Meat and Fish 273

8.1 Introduction 273

8.2 Muscle Motors: How Muscle Works 274

8.3 Muscle Organization 277

8.4 Tender Connections 279

8.5 Red or White Meat 283

8.6 Death and Becoming Meat 289

8.7 Flavor 296

8.8 Searing to Seal in the Flavor—Not! 300

8.9 Stages of Cooking Meat 300

8.10 Let it Rest 302

8.11 Marinating, Brining, Smoking, and Curing 302

References 309

Infographics

Plate 1 The science behind Cheese

Plate 2 The science behind Cookies

Plate 3 The science behind Bread

Plate 4 The science behind Green Beans

Plate 5 The science behind Hot Sauce

Plate 6 The science behind Lemon Souffle

Plate 7 The science behind Pot Roast

Plate 8 The science behind Great Gravy

9 Eggs, Custards, and Foams 311

9.1 Introduction 311

9.2 What is an Egg? 312

9.3 Inside an Egg 315

9.4 E gg Freshness 317

9.5 E gg Protein 318

9.6 E gg Fats 324

9.7 Cooking Egg Protein 325

9.8 Custards 329

9.9 E gg White Foams 333

9.10 E gg Pasteurization 337

9.11 Heating Egg Protein Causes Chemical Reactions 338

References 341

10 Bread, Cakes, and Pastry 343

10.1 Introduction 343

10.2 Wheat‐based Flour, Where it Comes from and its Components 344

10.3 Carbohydrates in Flour 346

10.4 Wheat Proteins and Gluten Formation 348

10.5 Yeast‐Raised Bread 351

10.6 Control of Gluten Formation 357

10.7 The Rising Bread 359

10.8 The Punch and second Rise 361

10.9 Baking 362

10.10 Other Ingredients in Bread 366

10.11 Gluten and Celiac Disease 367

10.12 Muffins and Batter Breads 368

10.13 Chemical Leavening Agents 368

10.14 Baking Soda 370

10.15 Baking Powders 371

10.16 Baking Soda versus Baking Powder 371

10.17 Cakes 372

10.18 Pastries: Flaky Pie Crusts and Puff Pastries 375

Reference 380

11 Seasonings: Salt, Spices, Herbs, and Hot Peppers 381

11.1 Introduction 381

11.2 Salt: Flavor Enhancer and a Driving Force of History 382

11.3 Herbs and Spices 390

11.4 A Closer Look at a Few Herbs and Spices 399

11.5 Medical Uses of Herbs and Spices 419

References 421

12 Beer and Wine 423

12.1 Introduction 423

12.2 Yeast: Metabolic Ethanol‐producing Factory 424

12.3 Ethanol 427

12.4 Alcohol and the Body 430

12.5 Malting 434

12.6 Mashing 435

12.7 Fermentation 441

12.8 Conditioning 444

12.9 Oenology: The Science of Wine and Winemaking 445

12.10 Sulfur, Sorbitol, and Oaking: Additives in Fermentation 452

12.11 Postfermentation Clarification 456

12.12 Flavor and Aroma 458

12.13 Small Organic Flavor and Aroma Compounds 459

12.14 Large Organic Polyphenol Molecules 462

12.15 Aging and Reactions 466

References 468

13 Sweets: Chocolates and Candies 469

13.1 Introduction 469

13.2 Sugars and Sweeteners 469

13.3 Properties of the Sucrose‐based Sugars and Use in the Kitchen 472

13.4 Inverted Sugars 473

13.5 Liquid Syrup Sweeteners 474

13.6 Chocolate 477

13.7 Chocolate Production 480

13.8 Fermentation 481

13.9 Cacao Bean Roasting: The Process 483

13.10 Flavors of Chocolate 484

13.11 Grinding and Milling: Cocoa Butter and Cocoa Powder 486

13.12 Conching 487

13.13 Tempering 489

13.14 Tempering Chocolate 492

13.15 Chocolate Bloom 493

13.16 Chocolate Bloom in Chocolate Chip Cookies 495

13.17 Cooking with Chocolate 495

13.18 Chocolate‐coated Candies 496

13.19 Different Types of Chocolate and Chocolate‐like Products 496

13.20 Different Types of Chocolate 497

13.21 Candy 498

13.22 Noncrystalline Candies: Hard Candies and Caramels 506

13.23 Crystalline Candies: Rock Candy and Fudge 508

13.24 Aerated Candies: Marshmallows 510

References 511

Index 513

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