CONTENTS
Introduction
1. Measuring and Weighing
Variations in Recipes
Why Sifted Flour?
Density and Good Eggs
Calorie Estimation
2. Foams
Egg Foams
Chemistry Lesson: How to Read Structural Formulas
Fat Foams
Gluten Foams
A Bread Recipe
Leavening Alternatives
Chemistry Lesson: Ionic Bonds
Gelatin Foam
Chemistry Lesson: Covalent Bonds
Sugar Foam
Recipe: Whipped Creamsicle Topping
A Note About Xanthan Gum
A Note About Nitrous Oxide
3. Emulsions
Why Some Things Don’t Mix
Emulsifying Agents
Chemistry Lesson: Hydrogen Bonds
Gum Stabilizers
Shortcuts and Aids
Hollandaise Sauce
Other Emulsifiers
4. Colloids, Gels, and Suspensions
Water-Based Colloids
Starches
Agar and Agarose
Pectin Gels
Protein Gels
Recipe: Cherry Dream Cheese
A Holiday Variation
How to Make a Cheese Press
5. Oils and Fats
Chemistry Lesson: Different Ways to Look at Molecules
Saturated Fats
Monounsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated Fats
Chemistry Lesson: Kinky Molecules
Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fats
Trans Fats
6. Solutions
Seltzer and Temperature
Syrups, Broths, and Other Solutions
Candy
Liquors
7. Crystallization
Sugar Crystals
Controlling the Size of Crystals
8. Protein Chemistry
Amino Acids
Chemistry Lesson: Four Kinds of Protein Structure
Denaturing Proteins
Milk
Eggs
Meat
Enzymes
Shortening
Glutamate
Cheese
Recipe: Thanksgiving Turkey
9. Biology
Yeast
Sourdough
Yogurt
Sour Cream and Cultured Buttermilk
Bleu Cheese
Wine and Beer
Preserving
Salt and Drying
Heat Sterilization and Smoking
Alcohol Sterilization
Antimicrobials in Herbs and Spices
Acids
Microbial Competition
Recipe: DNA from Your Halloween Pumpkin
10. Scaling Recipes Up and Down
Surface-to-Volume Ratios
Heat Flow Rates
Solving the Surface-to-Volume Problem
Drying
Timing
Gravity
Equipment
11. Heating
Browning Reactions
Protein Denaturing
Volume Reducing and Drying
Flavor Producing
Carcinogens
Color Changes
Nutrition Changes
Leavening
12. Acids and Bases
Effect of Acid and Heat on Sugar
Effect of Acid on Proteins
Cooking with Acid
Cooking with Alkali
pH-Sensitive Colors
Sour Sensing
Recipe: Lemonade with Chameleon Eggs
13. Oxidation and Reduction
Apples, Avocados, and Lemon Juice
Vinegar from Wine
Oxidation of Oils and Fats
Chemistry Lesson: How Oxygen Forms Molecular Bonds
Free Radicals
Antioxidants
14. Boiling, Freezing, and Pressure
Altitude
Raising the Boiling Point
Pressure Cookers
Vacuum in Canning Jars
Lowering the Freezing Point
Making Ice Cream
Index