Food Science

The aim of this book is to teach you how to cook, not simply how to read recipes.

Unlike Home Economics, the high school class about cooking food, the aim of this book is to use a hopefully illustrative style to teach about the basic chemical and physiological composition of food.

Health and Safety

1. Proper Utensil technique
2. Heat
3. Ingredients
4. Design Of Cookware materials

What you need to do first to make sure you're safe.

Table of Food Elements

1. Proteins - Basically your meats, fish, eggs and dairy; plus (somewhat) legumes (beans, lentils, etc.).
2. Lipids (Fatty Acids) - From corn oil to olive oil on the plant side to Lard, Tallow, Schmaltz, Duck Fat, etc. on the Animal Side
3. Carbohydrates (Starches and Sugars) - Grains (Ground-up and Whole) and Sweet Stuff
4. Fiber (Leafy Greens, Fruits, and Vegetables) - What your mother made you eat

1. Emulsifiers - Make water and oil the best of friends (or at least a little more friendly)
2. Thickeners - Make liquids flow slower
3. Solvents - Dissolve flavors, colors, binders, proteins, and more
4. Herbs and Spices - Make Stuff Taste Better

Areas of the Food Kingdom-explanation of what they are

1. Chicken - Perhaps the most used ingredient
2. Beef/pork - Also another common ingredient
3. Soup - Wholesomeness is just a pot away
4. American - A blend of popular American foods.
5. Sauces - Sauces

Food Preparation methods-in generality How size might affect other processes

1. Marinades
2. Brines

Hot Methods

(The Range-history

1. Boiling-Using water and other ingredients to heat it with water
2. Braising-cooking an item in a liquid, usually a sauce
3. Frying-Use a fat/oil to give a crisp texture
4. Steaming-Use water vapor to cook vegetables
5. Sauteing-Induce caramelizing or browning
6. Sweating-Decrease the amount of moisture
7. Sous-vide-Slowly cooking an item by placing it in a plastic bag which is immersed in warm water

The Range

1. Baking

The grill

1. Grilling-get that charcoal or propane taste.
2. Smoking-Use of low heat and temp to cook and flavor foods

Other heating methods (without equipment)

1. Roasting-The likely most common way to cook while camping

No-Heat Methods

If you kill the microbes, everyone is happy.

• Liming

Lime is an acid which kills microbes.

• Salting

Salt kills microbes by making an inhospitable environment.

• Pickling

The acidic nature of pickling, combined with antimicrobial herbs & spices keeps the food free of microbes, as well as preserving it for long periods of time

Makeshift Kitchen Gadgets

When You can't afford the actual thing, make it yourself.

1. Barbecue smoker Using a garden pot and others, smoke food
2. Food Drier Dry Food with dehydrators
3. Make Vinegar Make Vinegar
4. Flour Sift Sift Flour like a pro
5. Cheese Cutter cut it easily
6. Nut breaker a vise is all you need
7. Ice Cream Maker make ice cream without an ice cream maker

Links

-Good Eats -Molecular Gastronomy