Science of Food and Cooking: Physics, Chemistry, Mechanics

Description

Being an engineer, chemist and physicist, many of us have never thought about science of food and cooking. Honestly, I did not enjoy cooking and previously, I have found meals challenging to make. I could cook only a few simple dishes. Then, I realized that similar to learning experimental science in the lab (it is not enough only to read recipes) -- one can learn new science by doing culinary experiments in the kitchen. For example, one can achieve different outcomes by changing parameters such as physicochemical and thermodynamic properties. A myriad of chemical reactions and the Brownian motion of molecular species occur in food all the time. Proportional combinations of ingredients are combined in a specific order, and external parameters, such as freezing, heating, and mechanical mixing, are used to achieve the desired outcomes in the kitchen and laboratory. Food science studies biochemistry, chemical, thermal and mechanical engineering of molecules comprising soft deformable materials. For example, after the steak is cooked (e.g., rare, medium rare, medium well, well-done), the texture analyzer can be used to test how the material responds under an applied force. It will help to undertake a mechanical assessment of properties, such as food compression, stretching, cutting, shearing, and chewing. I sincerely hope this course will inspire you to learn more about chemistry, physics and mechanics of food and cooking processes.

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