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Starch and Gelatinisation in Everyday Cooking: The Science of Thickening
Learn how starch gelatinisation and retrogradation work in cooking. Discover how amylose and amylopectin ratios affect sauce thickening, roux browning, and leftover texture. Continue reading
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The Science of Pasteurisation: Raw Milk Safety vs. Health Claims
Is raw milk safer or healthier than pasteurised milk? Explore the history of dairy hygiene, germ theory, and what the latest scientific studies actually say about raw milk risks vs. health claims. Continue reading
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The Science of Milk: Emulsions, Lactose, and Casein Chemistry
Discover the complex chemistry of milk—from fat globule emulsions and lactose intolerance to casein micelles and how dairy behaves in the kitchen. Continue reading
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Quick bite: A cooks tour of fats and oils, the good, the bad and the ugly
In my last post on emulsions I was a pretty loose with my terminology when referring to fats, oils, lipids, cholesterol etc. In this Quick Bite I just want to explain some of the terminology and start getting a bit more precise about what I mean when I say ‘fat’ (or an oil which is… Continue reading
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Mastering the Science of Sugar: From Simple Syrups to Caramel
Learn the science of sugar in cooking. Discover how solubility, supersaturation, and crystallisation transform simple syrups into rich caramels and fudge. Continue reading
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The Science of Chilli Burn: Why We Love the Pain of Capsaicin
Ever wondered why eating chillies hurts so good? Discover the neuroscience behind capsaicin, the TRPV1 heat receptor, and why humans love spicy food. Continue reading
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Quick bite: The secret life of vegetables
As Harold McGee points out in his book, On Food and Cooking, plants are essentially chemical factories. Plants are famously stationary and lacking any motive power must interact with the external world, for the most part, through a dazzling array of chemicals that they synthesise from basic chemical elements. The same plant will simultaneously produce… Continue reading
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Quick bite: A cooks tour of protein chemistry
If you have read any of the posts on this blog you are probably starting to realise that when we are talking about chemistry in cooking a lot of the time we are actually talking about proteins. For this reason it is important that we have a clear idea of what a protein is, how… Continue reading