Questions tagged [food-science]
All about the scientific theories behind food. Cooking myths debunked here.
517
questions
2
votes
0
answers
48
views
Hot holding brisket elote/cream corn
So we serve on our food truck a awesome brisket elote cup creamed corn with a Mayo/sour cream base. On the truck we smoke the corn put a dollop of the dressing in the bottom of the cup top that with ...
- 21
2
votes
2
answers
98
views
Resealing canned food in Aluminum bags?
I'm a person who goes on long outdoor expeditions and there are many canned foods that I would like to bring with me but the weight of the can is just too much. I would like to be able to open a can ...
- 23
1
vote
0
answers
39
views
Waterbath canning chow chow
I waterbath canned some chow chow on Wednesday. It was cabbage, cauliflower, red pepper, green peppers, and (was suppose to add green tomatoes and forgot) can I open them, add tomatoes and can again?...
0
votes
0
answers
71
views
Packaging/Bottling and Uncooked Hot Sauce
Forgive me for the post being long! I make a buffalo sauce/marinade that all my friends and family rave about. I’d love to be able to give some to them to keep in the pantry, especially the ones that ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
73
views
salt added to fat acts as a binding agent?
I made maseca dumplings. Maseca is the flour obtained by soaking corn in lime. Maseca needs to be mixed with water to make a dough. The dumplings are added to gently boiling water. When I used only ...
- 197
4
votes
2
answers
202
views
Should you stream sugar into French meringue?
I’ve heard several opinions on preparing French meringues:
stream sugar into fluffy egg whites
-or- combine sugar and egg whites ahead of time (e.g. the day before)
-or- dump all sugar into egg ...
- 143
1
vote
1
answer
104
views
Trying to make my own gummy bears with monk fruit erythritol. Can I substitute a box of jello with plain gelatin powder?
I have a recipe for cannabis gummies that yields the perfect texture I am after (exactly like a maynards gummy bear and stays at room temperature).
I'd like to replicate that exact recipe and swap the ...
- 11
3
votes
0
answers
54
views
How to remove skin from field corn
I'm trying to nixtamalize field corn. The kernels swell but the skins don't come off even with vigorous rubbing. What am I doing wrong?
- 51
4
votes
4
answers
277
views
Alkaline foods with a pH higher than 8
I wonder if there is any common food with a pH higher than 8? Or is it simply that we humans don't eat anything alkaline because the taste would be soapy/bitter?
I searched around the Internet only to ...
- 43
1
vote
1
answer
154
views
Why can I cook well but not identify flavours? [duplicate]
I'd like to say I'm good at cooking. I understand each element of the cooking process well, I can imagine flavours and how ingredients will alter the flavour of a dish. I believe I can put together ...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
107
views
what about peanuts that makes them more nut like than bean like?
As we all know, peanuts are actually legumes and not nuts. But they taste and function much more like nuts. They can be cooked quickly like nuts while beans take a long time to cook.
What about their ...
2
votes
1
answer
257
views
Why does spatzle dissolve in water?
We've made spatzle a bunch of times with great success. Tonight, we put it in the boiling water like many times before, and it completely dissolved, resulting in cloudy water rather than anything ...
- 21
-1
votes
1
answer
110
views
How does bacterial contamination grow on food, and is the standard advice to cook your food to a high internal temperature wrong?
The standard advice, for both steak and fish is to cook them to an internal temperature of 160 degrees to kill any bacterial contamination. Is this overly simplistic advice that's mostly incorrect? ...
- 153
15
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Why is churro dough created with boiling water?
Every recipe I have found for making traditional Spanish churros or porras calls for adding the flour to boiling or near-boiling water (or, less commonly, milk).
These are very simple pastries, ...
- 5,495
7
votes
1
answer
383
views
Are there other foods that are known to be not your taste based on genetics?
It is pretty widely known that cilantro tastes bad for some people only because of a gene that makes that herb taste like soap.
But are there other foods/herbs that are known to be your taste or not ...
- 357
0
votes
1
answer
152
views
Why are halal carts so much more prevalent in nyc than taco carts? [closed]
I expressed surprise to a friend that halal carts are so prevalent in nyc, whereas taco carts seem nearly non-existent, and he confidently told me that this is due to the halal foods being easier to ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
134
views
What is the methology for developing seasonings in the food industry?
I was wondering how large-scale snack food producers are coming up with ingredient proportions that have the desired flavour profiles.
I understand that developing a certain flavour profile is a ...
- 13
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Why does mixing the salt and yeast sometimes work?
I've always learned that DO NOT mix salt with yeast. Because the salt kills the yeast, and the sugar actually helps. You should always put the salt.
So what is the "magic" of this recipe (...
- 171
2
votes
1
answer
161
views
What causes a food to become tough as opposed to crispy or flaky when pan frying or baking?
When making dosa or pizza, I like to try to get the dosa or pizza crust to be crispy, so I often cook or bake a bit longer. I can achieve crispiness, but it seems to come at the expense of making ...
- 173
0
votes
1
answer
75
views
Marinade tenderizing process
This article is trying to explain some of the science behind marination, but I don't really understand what they are trying to say here.
As far back as pre-Columbian Mexico, cooks found that wrapping ...
- 103
2
votes
1
answer
137
views
Maillard Reaction at Higher Pressures
The Maillard Reaction requires temperatures of 140 to 165 Degrees Celsius; hence "browning" cannot be achieved with water when cooking under normal conditions since the boiling point of ...
0
votes
0
answers
45
views
I am concerned that some cooked food I left out overnight on the counter could contain botulism [duplicate]
I accidentally left some cooked summer squash and red peppers lightly coated with olive oil in a pan wrapped loosely in foil on the stove overnight. My boyfriend didn't notice it and set a cookie ...
13
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Does 'Non-cold/warm ice-cream' exist?
Is there a food that resembles the texture and consistency of ice cream but is not cold/does not have to be kept cold?
- 131
6
votes
1
answer
432
views
Why does sweetness reduce sourness?
I hope I'm not using the wrong word here, since I know the "acidic" quality to a food does not change by adding sugar (same amount of free hydrogen ions).
But it's known that adding ...
- 163
1
vote
2
answers
97
views
Can I measure solids-not-fat using nutrition facts only?
My first time to ask here.
I'm trying to formulate my own recipe of vegan ice cream and am following a certain proportion/percentage for each component (fat 17%, sugar 14%, solids-not-fat (SNF) 11% ...
- 11
0
votes
3
answers
127
views
Why does milk and white chocolate have different tempering temperatures?
So my understanding is that to temper chocolate, it requires manipulating the heat to form the ideal crystal structure (i.e., beta V) that has the ideal properties for chocolate. These temperatures ...
- 197
3
votes
2
answers
241
views
Do different "regions" really have a "general common taste"?
I have now numerous times heard things such as:
In the final step, the factory adds custom spices for the specific region for which this batch of hotdogs are supposed to be sold.
It is strongly ...
- 31
6
votes
1
answer
154
views
How do egg whites help to keep fats inside a cake?
Recently I tried to bake a cake (Caprese) from:
ground almonds
butter
dark chocolate
sugar
eggs
I melted chocolate and butter, mixed all of this with whipped sugar yolks, and then... totally screwed ...
- 63
7
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Products that can be microwaved and "pop" just like popcorn
What makes corn pop and is it possible to microwave any other type of food into the form of pop-something just like sweetcorn?
- 73
1
vote
3
answers
315
views
Is there any food ingredient that tastes like diesel smells?
I like the smell of diesel, and other heavy oils.
Are there any food ingredients, i.e. safe to eat, that have a taste similar to diesel.
I think it would be an interesting experience to eat or drink ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
170
views
Cooking a Lean Cuisine frozen pizza in a toaster oven or regular oven instead of microwave
I know it says in the directions to use microwave only. But I am more curious than anything else. Is it a food safety issue perhaps? I generally put olive oil around the crust of any frozen pizza to ...
- 496
4
votes
1
answer
138
views
Are the oats in overnight oats processed differently by milk than by milk substitutes?
I've read some recipes/blogs that say that overnight oats can be made with milk substitutes such as almond milk. Other recipes/blogs I've read say that enzymes found in milk help to break down the ...
- 409
-1
votes
1
answer
126
views
What determines if something is easy to chew? A lot of liquid or totally dehydrated?
On one hand, we have foods like jelly or melted cheese which are primarily liquid and seem very easy to eat and swallow. On the other hand, we have astronaut food or some pastries (or cotton candy?) ...
- 167
1
vote
2
answers
174
views
How to decrease sticking during frying without adding fats
Are there ways to introduce anti-sticking food additives for frying batter like substances and very high protein solutions without introducing excess fats into the recipe? With some of my experiments ...
- 357
0
votes
0
answers
62
views
Date bars are too sticky
I am making date bars very similar to nakd bars but keeping running into the same problem when making them.
The bars are way too sticky!
I used the following ingredients
Dates
Freeze dried ...
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
188
views
Which emulsifer to use for low viscosity emulsions of 10-20% fat and water
I'd like to create low viscosity emulsions of between 10% to 20% fat and ~80% water, the hope was to have a viscosity somewhere around that of milk or cream. Slightly thicker could be ok as well but ...
- 163
2
votes
1
answer
111
views
Sugar content of food
This appears to be the most relevant site to post my question about the sugar content of foods. For the various sugar products that I have come across recently, it appears that typically one teaspoon ...
- 141
5
votes
2
answers
361
views
Scientific results on which oils to use for pan-frying
I am trying to find out which oils are suitable for pan-frying at high temperatures (when frying steaks or pancakes where smoke points are typically reached). Since there seems to be no agreement and ...
- 59
3
votes
1
answer
610
views
Cake not rising - too many wet ingredients?
I've tried making this three layer cake twice in the past two days. I think the issue is too many wet ingredients. It’s from a cookbook I trust for the most part, but after two failures, I’m not sure ...
- 33
3
votes
1
answer
190
views
Why use both milk and cream in a waffle recipe?
I live in Europe and use a lot of European recipes. Here, traditional waffle recipes generally use a mixture of cream and milk as the liquid. The recipes include melted butter, so I don't understand ...
- 403
8
votes
3
answers
306
views
How does the flavour from aromatics actually get into food?
I've always wondered what the exact mechanism is which allows flavours from aromatics to permeate food. For instance, I bake chicken with sliced lemon, sliced garlic, and parsley (each in hefty ...
- 244
1
vote
4
answers
196
views
With few items, it easier/safer to use the fridge for everything, are there trade offs?
I don't keep much food in the house, and generally use the fridge as a general purpose store for all kinds of food, as a way to slow down chemical reactions and lifeform growth alike, as well as ...
- 155
1
vote
0
answers
207
views
How do I use Carnauba or Beeswax for Candy?
I am trying to make gummies and I want to use either Carnauba wax or bees wax to make a coating, anyone got any idea WHAT Carnauba or bees wax to use and how to apply it? I know they use a tumbler but ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
336
views
For microwave hot chocolate, why pour the hot milk into the chocolate rather than mixing the milk with chocolate then heating?
I read on the back of the unsweetened Hershey's cocoa powder box that I should first heat milk in a microwave and then pour into another cup with the powder, salt and sugar. This tasted much better ...
user84641
3
votes
1
answer
269
views
Does boiling water deactivate malt enzymes?
Will mixing boiling water with malt flour deactivate the malt enzymes?
I’m trying to adapt a recipe for mämmi that involves mixing mixing a combination of malt+regular flour with boiling water in a 1:...
- 443
2
votes
1
answer
245
views
Why does salt and seasoning stick better to hot foods?
In every recipe I see for fries, popcorn, churros, and other foods where I normally want to add the salt/sugar/seasoning at the end, everybody says to make sure to do it while the food is still hot so ...
2
votes
1
answer
192
views
Do yeast pancakes contain alcohol?
I fed my 2 year old pancakes that required yeast: yeast, mashed banana, warm water, whole wheat and buckwheat flour, and salt. I left the batch in the fridge overnight, and in the morning added a ...
- 21
2
votes
3
answers
421
views
What do you get from boiling dough
I was wondering about what happens to bread dough under various cooking conditions.
More explicitly: what do you get when you boil dough?
I know baking gives you bread and frying gives you donuts. And ...
- 23
4
votes
1
answer
357
views
What are the main flavours/aroma compounds of the Scottish soft drink "Irn-Bru" (Iron Brew)?
Those familiar with the Scottish soft drink Irn-Bru may be familiar with the marketing slogan: "made from girders." This is due to the drink's taste which some describe as having a metallic ...
- 824
1
vote
2
answers
246
views
Does steak from a supermarket cook quicker than steak from a butchers?
I've recently made the jump from buying steaks at the grocery store to buying whole cuts of steak from an online butcher and breaking them down into steaks myself.
One thing I have noticed is the ...
- 121