On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 17

differentforcesthatruletheirbehavior.But
scientistsalwayssimplifyrealityinorderto
understandit,andwecandothesame.Foods
aremostlybuiltoutofjustfourkindsof
molecules—water,proteins,carbohydrates,
andfats.Andtheirbehaviorcanbeprettywell
describedwithafewsimpleprinciples.Ifyou
knowthatheatisamanifestationofthe
movementsofmolecules,andthatsufficiently
energeticcollisionsdisruptthestructuresof
moleculesandeventuallybreakthemapart,
thenyou’reveryclosetounderstandingwhy
heatsolidifieseggsandmakesfoodstastier.
Mostreaderstodayhaveatleastavague
ideaofproteinsandfats,moleculesand
energy,andavagueideaisenoughtofollow
mostoftheexplanationsinthefirst13
chapters,whichcovercommonfoodsand
waysofpreparingthem.Chapters14and15
thendescribeinsomedetailthemolecules
andbasicchemicalprocessesinvolvedinall
cooking;andtheAppendixgivesabrief


refreshercourseinthebasicvocabularyof
science.Youcanrefertothesefinalsections
occasionally,toclarifythemeaningofpHor
proteincoagulationasyou’rereadingabout
cheeseormeatorbread,orelsereadthrough
themontheirowntogetageneral
introductiontothescienceofcooking.

Finally, a request. In this book I’ve sifted
through and synthesized a great deal of
information, and have tried hard to doublecheck both facts and my interpretations of
them. I’m greatly indebted to the many
scientists, historians, linguists, culinary
professionals, and food lovers on whose
learning I’ve been able to draw. I will also
appreciate the help of readers who notice
errorsthatI’vemadeandmissed,andwholet
me know so that I can correct them. My
thanksinadvance.
AsIfinishthisrevisionandthinkaboutthe
endlessworkofcorrectingandperfecting,my