Whether you know it or not, you become a chemist any time you step into a kitchen. As you cook, you oversee intricate chemical transformations that would test even the most hardened of professional chemists. Focussing on how and why we cook different dishes the way we do, this book introduces basic chemistry through everyday foods and meal preparations. Through its unique meal-by-meal organisation, the book playfully explores the chemistry that turns our food into meals. Topics covered range from roasting coffee beans to scrambling eggs and gluten development in breads. The book features many experiments that you can try in your own kitchen, such as exploring the melting properties of cheese, retaining flavour when cooking and pairing wines with foods. Through molecular chemistry, biology, neuroscience, physics and agriculture, the author discusses various aspects of cooking and food preparation. This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the science behind cooking.

Author: Matthew Hartings
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Published: 11/30/2016
Pages: 329
Weight: 1.1lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781782623137

About the Author
Matthew R Hartings is an Assistant Professor at the American University, where he runs a chemistry of cooking class that is very popular with non-science majors.