Find out how well you know the scientific principles involved in cooking and storing food.QUESTIONS
1. The microwave is least suited for preparing which food?
a) Chicken
b) Carmel
c) Soufflé
d) Fish
answer
2. Which fruit yields the best jam?
a) Strawberries
b) Blackberries
c) Grapes
d) Apricots
answer
3. What is the secret to combining tea and milk?
a) Add milk to hot water, then add tea
b) Add milk to tea after letting it steep for a few seconds
c) Pour milk first, then add hot tea
d) Add milk to tea after letting it steep for a few minutes
answer
4. Where is the best place to store a banana?
a) On the counter
b) In the refrigerator
c) In the freezer
d) Outdoors if the temperature is below 50 degrees
answer
5. In bread-making, flour how old makes the best bread?
a) A year
b) 2 months
c) 1 week
d) A couple days
answer
6. Which is not necessary when making yogurt?
a) Milk
b) Heavy cream
c) More yogurt
d) Heat
answer
7. When should the sugar be added to meringue?
a) Before beating the eggs
b) Immediately after beating the eggs
c) After having let the beaten eggs set
d) Throughout the entire process, in small amounts
answer
8. When placing a sorbet mixture into the freezer, what temperature should the mixture be?
a) Cold
b) Room temperature
c) Warm
d) Hot
answer
9. In what kind of bowl should egg whites ideally be beaten?
a) Ceramic
b) Steel
c) Plastic
d) Copper
answer
10. When should salt be added to beef stew if you want to emphasize the flavor of the meat?
a) Immediately
b) A while into cooking
c) Towards the end
d) At the very end
answer
1. A
Microwaves never go above 212 degrees C, a temperature too low to thoroughly cook meat. Eggs, fish, and caramelized sugar, however, do not require very high temperatures to cook.
2. C
In order for the jam to solidify, the fruit must have a sufficient amount of the gelling molecule pectin, which is most abundant in fruits like grapes and apples.
3. C
When milk is added to hot tea, the proteins in milk are denatured by the high temperature of the tea. But when tea is added to milk, the proteins remain intact and mask the tea's bitterness.
4.A
Bananas, and other tropical fruits and vegetables, cannot withstand the cold. The cold damages the banana's enzymes, which turns its skin brown.
5. B
Good bread requires elastic dough. Disulfide bridges are bonds that activate the springs that give dough its elasticity; when aged, the bridges are better reformed, and the dough is more elastic.
6. B
When a spoonful of yogurt is placed in warm milk and heated, heat activates the bacteria in yogurt, which in turn releases lactic acid from milk, thus coagulating the milk and allowing all the ingredients to form a single mass.
7.C
Sugar dehydrates the proteins in meringue, thus fighting the meringue’s ability to form its stiff peeks.
8. D
Hot water freezes before cold water; the gas that is present in cold water, but boiled out of hot water, prevents it from cooling quickly.
9. D
A protein found in egg whites—conalbumin—bonds with the metallic icons in copper, and stiffens the egg whites upon contact.
10. A
Salt captures flavor—if salted immediately, the flavor of the meat is preserved. But if added later, salt instead retains the flavor of the entire mixture, after the meat has already given up its flavor.
If you got:
0-3 Correct: Culinary Novice
4-7 Correct: Competent Cook
8-10 Correct: Kitchen Guru!
To find out more about the science of cooking, check out Hervé This's new book, Kitchen Mysteries!