In the kitchen
How ingredients develop flavor, change texture and hold together.
- Why does toast taste different from bread? Heating lets certain sugars react with amino groups in bread, producing new aroma and flavor compounds. This branching chemistry is known as the Maillard reaction.
- Why does sugar turn brown when heated? Heat can break down and rearrange sugar molecules, creating new substances with brown colors and different flavors. This chemical transformation is caramelization.
- Why does egg white turn solid when cooked? Heat changes the shapes of proteins in egg white. They can then join into a network that holds water, turning the runny liquid into a gel.
- Why does mayonnaise stay mixed? Mayonnaise contains tiny oil droplets dispersed in a watery phase. Substances in egg yolk help stabilize the droplets, slowing their tendency to merge and separate.
- Why does bread dough rise? In yeast dough, fermentation produces carbon dioxide. Gas held within the dough expands it before baking; in sourdough, acid-producing bacteria also help shape the result.