An Appleless Apple Pie, Brought to You by Science [View all]

[HuckleB]

http://www.newsweek.com/appleless-apple-pie-brought-you-science-398401

"Nearly every great chef will say that cooking is an artform. But many fail to mention the craft also relies on some pretty well-established hard science. Few know this better than Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks, a book for those looking to improve their culinary skills through a richer understanding of exactly how stuff works in the kitchen.

This is why Potter, a self-proclaimed food and science geek, will be the first to report that a pie isn’t just a pie. The dessert you’re about to eat is chock-full of lessons in chemistry, physics and neurobiology. And whether or not your holiday guests ask for second slice depends on how well you master the basics of science.

...

The only thing better than a slice of warm pie is one accompanied by ice cream. “Ice cream is actually really complicated,” says Potter. “You could teach an entire lesson on ice cream.” One thing to know about the sweet creamy stuff, says Potter, is the role of colloidal dispersion, when a compound of certain substances, in this case individual ingredients, are evenly distributed as fine particles. “Colloids are a combination of different types of matter,” says Potter. “Foods are almost never one state of matter. There's usually something in them that causes them to be multiple states of matter—solid, liquid and gas.” To the naked eye and your mouth, that ice cream may seem like a perfectly blended mixture, but it’s not. “Ice cream is a complex colloid—multiples types of colloids at once—being water-based liquid containing pockets of air (foam), chunks of ice crystals (suspensions) and fats (emulsions) all at the same time,” Potter wrote in his book.

...

Once you understand how science plays on the palate, you can work all sorts of magic. Take one of Potter’s favorites: A mock apple pie doesn’t contain any apples. Instead, it uses crackers—and a keen sense of science—to manipulate the mind of anyone who reaches for a slice.

..."


---------------------------------------------


This story wins the Internet today, at least it gets my award!