the kitchen as laboratory arts and traditions of the table: perspectives on culinary history the kitchen as laboratory reflections on the science of food and cooking Edited by César Vega, Job Ubbink, and Erik van der Linden Foreword by Jeffrey Steingarten COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu Copyright © 2012 Columbia University Press All rights reserved E-ISBN: 978-0-231-52692-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The kitchen as laboratory : reflections on the science of food and cooking / edited by César Vega, Job Ubbink, and Erik van der Linden. p. cm. — (Arts and traditions of the table) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-231-15344-7 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Food—Analysis. 2. Food—Composition. 3. Cooking. I. Vega, César. II. Ubbink, Job. III. Linden, Erik van der. TX541.K55 2012 664’.07—dc23 2011029237 A Columbia University Press E-book. CUP would be pleased to her about your reading experience with this e-book at [email protected]. References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the editors nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. The use of recipes, preparation of food, testing of scientific concepts, and application of techniques described in this book must be done by only qualified people, and all possible safety precautions should be followed. CONTENTS Foreword by Jeffrey Steingarten Acknowledgments Introduction: The Case for Science Inspired by the Kitchen CÉSAR VEGA, JOB UBBINK, AND ERIK VAN DER LINDEN I one The Science of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich JENNIFER KIMMEL two Sound Appeal MALCOLM POVEY three Mediterranean Sponge Cake CRISTINA DE LORENZO AND SERGIO LAGUARDA four Spherification: Vaux Caviar and Skinless Ravioli CÉSAR VEGA AND PERE CASTELLS five Konjac Dondurma: Designing a Sustainable and Stretchable “Fox Testicle” Ice Cream ARIELLE JOHNSON, KENT KIRSHENBAUM, AND ANNE E. MCBRIDE six Stretchy Textures in the Kitchen: Insights from Salep Dondurma TIM J. FOSTER seven Moussaka as an Introduction to Food Chemistry CHRISTOS RITZOULIS eight The Sticky Science of Malaysian Dodol ALIAS A. KARIM AND RAJEEV BHAT nine The Perfect Cookie Dough AKI KAMOZAWA AND H. ALEXANDER TALBOT ten To Bloom or Not to Bloom? AMELIA FRAZIER AND RICHARD HARTEL eleven Bacon: The Slice of Life TIMOTHY KNIGHT twelve Scandinavian “Sushi”: The Raw Story PIA SNITKJÆR AND LOUISE M. MORTENSEN thirteen Maximizing Food Flavor by Speeding Up the Maillard Reaction MARTIN LERSCH fourteen Lighten Up! The Role of Gases in the Culinary Experience MATT GOLDING fifteen The Meringue Concept and Its Variations PETER WIERENGA, HELEN HOFSTEDE, ERIK VAN DER LINDEN, SIDNEY SCHUTTE, AND JONNIE BOER sixteen Why Does Cold Milk Foam Better? Into the Nature of Milk Foam JULIA MALDONADO-VALDERRAMA, PETER J. WILDE, AND MARÍA J. GÂLVEZ-RUIZ seventeen Ice Cream Unlimited: The Possibilities of Ingredient Pairing ELKE SCHOLTEN AND MIRIAM PETERS eighteen Egg Yolk: A Library of Textures CÉSAR VEGA nineteen Ketchup as Tasty Soft Matter: The Case of Xanthan Gum THOMAS VILGIS twenty Taste and Mouthfeel of Soups and Sauces JOHN R. MITCHELL twenty-one Playing with Sound: Crispy Crusts PAULA VARELA AND SUSANA FISZMAN twenty-two Baked Alaska and Frozen Florida: On the Physics of Heat Transfer ADAM BURBIDGE twenty-three On Superb Crackling Duck Skin: An Homage to Nicholas Kurti CHRISTOPHER YOUNG AND NATHAN MYHRVOLD twenty-four Sweet Physics: Sugar, Sugar Blends, and Sugar Glasses NATALIE RUSS AND THOMAS VILGIS twenty-five Coffee, Please, but No Bitters JAN GROENEWOLD AND EKE MARIËN twenty-Six Turning Waste into Wealth: On Bones, Stocks, and Sauce Reductions JOB UBBINK twenty-seven Restructuring Pig Trotters: Fine Chemistry Supporting the Creative Culinary Process JORGE RUIZ AND JULIA CALVARRO twenty-nine Innovate: Old World Pizza Crust with New World Ingredients THOMAS M. TONGUE JR. twenty-nine Eating Is Believing LINE HOLLER MIELBY AND MICHAEL BOM FROST thirty Molecular Gastronomy Is a Scientific Activity HERVÉ THIS thirty-one The Pleasure of Eating: The Integration of Multiple Senses JUAN-CARLOS ARBOLEYA, DANIEL LASA, OSWALDO OLIVA, JAVIER VERGARA, AND ANDONI LUIS-ADURIZ thirty-two On the Fallacy of Cooking from Scratch CÉSAR VEGA AND DAVID J. MCCLEMENTS thirty-three Science and Cooking: Looking Beyond the Trends to Apply a Personal, Practical Approach MICHAEL LAISKONIS Contributors Index FOREWORD