Science of Cooking

Search Our Science and Food Cooking Pages

WHAT ARE THE FOUR BASIC FOOD MOLECULES	What are the basic sources for energy. What are the basic types of food?
WHAT ARE THE BASIC TASTES?	Salt, sweet, bitter, sour, Savouriness (Umami), and yes maybe now a sixth taste Read more
THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF TASTE -- TASTE MOLECULES	Latest research on taste and taste receptors. What are the molecules of taste...sweet molecules, sour molecules, bitter molecules, umami molecules, hot food molecules...
WHAT IS FLAVOR?	What goes into to making food flavorful? How do the combining of taste and smell work?
WHERE ARE FOODS DIGESTED	Your Digestive System and How It Works, Absorption and Transport of Nutrients; Movement of Food Through the System, How is the digestive process controlled?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SATURATED AND UNSATURATED FATS?	Are unsaturated fats healthier than saturated fats? What are the best fats to cook with? What are mono and poly unsaturated fats?
WHAT ARE TRANS FATS?	What are trans fats and why are they so unhealthy? Learn how to read labels to identify trans fats.
WHEN BAD FATS CAN BE GOOD	Myristic, Palmitic, and Palmitoleic Fatty Acids have been found to increase growth of hearts in Python snakes... read more
WHAT ARE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS (SUGAR SUBSTITUTES)?	What are sugar substitutes and how are they similar to sugar? Why is there so much controversy about these artificial sweeteners and health?
ANATOMY OF A CHICKEN EGG	What are the different parts of a chicken egg?
NAKED EGG EXPERIMENT	Here is a simple experiment that removes the shell from an egg. It is a good starting point for experiments on osmosis.
EGGS SAFETY	What you should know about safe handling of eggs.
BUYING AND STORING EGGS	Points to Consider, Nutritive Value, Quality and Weight (Size) Assurance...
EGG NUTRITION	Eggs are making a comeback these days and there are many reasons for it. Health and nutrition information about eggs.
HOW FRESH IS THAT EGG?	Here are some easy ways to tell if your eggs are still fresh.
WHY ARE SOME EGGS SO HARD TO PEEL?	Why is it that some eggs peel easy and others difficult? How to boil an egg.

WHY DO SOME EGGS CRACK WHEN BOILED IN WATER?

Find out why some eggs crack when put in boiling water, and how to prevent this.How to boil an egg.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HDL AND LDL CHOLESTEROL?

About LDL, HDL and Cholesterol levels

WHAT IS MSG AND IS THERE A NATURAL MSG?	Everyone has heard of MSG and Chinese food syndrome. But, did you know that the same substance is found in many common foods.
WHAT IS THE MAILLARD REACTION?	Or, Why food turns brown Pt. I. This is a complex poorly understood reaction that turns out to be a blessing for the culinary blessing.
WHAT IS CARAMELIZATION?	Why food turns brown Pt II. Caramelization is a complex, poorly understood process that produces hundreds of chemicals. Here is an overview.
EFFECTS OF THE MAILLARD REACTION	Why that steak tastes different? Why is it hard to reproduce the same dish each time... Can the Maillard reaction be the culprit?
THE UMAMI BUZZ	What is all the hype about Umami and Umami flavors? How to enhance cooking using Umami based foods.
WHAT CAUSES THE BROWNING OF FOODS?	Caramelization, Maillard Reaction, Enzymatic Browning
WHAT IS LACTOSE INTOLERANCE?	What are the symptoms of lactose intolerance? What causes lactose intolerance? Lactose Molecule Structure...
SCIENCE OF KNIFE SKILLS	Anatomy of the Chef Knife; science behind knife skills -- the chef knife as a lever -- Recommended Knife Skills Classes...
WHAT ARE HEIRLOOM TOMATOES?	How many different type of tomaotes do you know? You'll be suprised just how many are out there and how different they look and taste.
WHAT IS CURING?	Historically, peoples around the world have cured meat, in order not to waste valuable food. Many foods we are familiar with are cured such as: gravlax, prosciutto and bacon...
WHAT IS BRINING?	Brining makes meat and fish moister and adds flavor. What is the science behind brining? What causes the water uptake into muscle fibers? Just how much salt is really needed in a brine?
NITRITES OR NITRATES --WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?	Both are used in food preservation... but one is more dangerous, which one... And, now one of these chemcials is being studied for use with several chronic diseases... read more
WHAT ARE THE BEST ONLINE COOKING VIDEO SITES?	Learn to cook by watching online videos of professional chefs... Edinformatics reviews the best sites to learn cooking... read more
IMPORTANT TEMPERATURES IN COOKING	Why does chicken get tough when cooked? At what temperature does collagen break down? What temperatures do different foods caramelize? At what temperature is E.coli and Salmonella killed?
WHAT IS SOUS VIDE COOKING	What is Sous Vide Cooking? How is it used in Restaurants... Can it be performed at home? Are there any safety issues in Sous Vide Cooking? click for more info See also: Cooking Eggs Sous Vide
WHY FOODS STICK TO PANS?	Why do some foods stick to stainless steel surfaces? How to prevent food from sticking to stainless steel pots and pans.
SCIENCE OF CULINARY FOAMS-	Cooking foams have been all the rage lately in restaurants... read more
SCIENCE OF MASHED POTATOES	Why do mashed potatoes get gummy? Why does too much water kill the potato recipe? Why do you need a dairy product to make a good mashed potato? read more
COOKING CHICKEN SOUS VIDE-	Chicken is one of those proteins that do very well with sous vide cooking. But, what is the best temperature to use? And, how does one get around safety concerns? read more
WHAT ARE THE BEST ROAST CHICKEN RECIPES?	How do the top chefs in the world cook their chicken? See a comparison of techniques, temperature etc... read more
SCIENCE OF SLOW COOKING	Explaining the science of slow cooking... read more
HEALTH BENEFITS TO COOKING WITH DUCK FAT	Duck fat contains many of the healthy fats found in olive oil... it appears duck fat is a good alternative to butter... read more
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DUCK USED IN COOKING?	There are four main breeds of duck: Pekin, Moulard, Muscovy and Mallard read about how they are different
FOOD THICKENNG AGENTS	Flour and Cornstarch are the most popular food thickeners. But, there are many other ways to thicken a soup or sauce... read more.
SCIENCE OF CAST IRON SKILLETS	Why are cast iron skillets so efficient, how to season a cast iron pan or skillet, what foods cook best in a cast iron skilletl... read more.
SCIENCE OF PRESSURE COOKING FOOD	There are a new line of pressure cookers which are safe and very efficient. They will allow many meals to be cooked in under 30 minutes... and yes they save a lot of money in fuel... read more.
WHAT IS DIETARY FIBER AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?	What is dietary fiber? Why is it so important to health -- read more - See a K-12 activity in Dietary Fiber.
SCIENCE OF FOOD AND WINE PAIRING	Why pair food with wine. History of Wine.. The Science of Taste .. The basic wine pairing rules.... read more.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRUCTOSE AND SUCROSE?NEW	Although fructose and sucrose are both sweet sugars there are many differences between them that will affect how they taste and how they behave in cooking... read more