Cooking Stack Exchange
Cooking Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [chemistry]

Questions about the chemical composition or properties of ingredients and dishes.

186 questions
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When you try to "catch" yeast from the air: is it normal for the flour and water to split

I'm trying to "catch" wild yeast for the first time. 36 hours ago I mixed a cup of flour and a cup of water and left it out on a shelf with a paper towel over the top. It's been between 45 and 70 degrees here over that time. Since then, the water…
bernie2436
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Why use citric acid and sodium hexametaphosphate in cheese sauce?

I was watching a YouTube video from ChefSteps on how to make cheese sauce. They used sodium citrate and sodium hexametaphosphate. What are the reasons for including these in the recipe? What are the alternatives to using these ingredients?
CookingNewbie
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Food-safe rotary evaporator grease

For those of you who have rotary evaporators or other chemistry glassware in the kitchen, what do you use to grease the ground glass taper/ ball joints so that the lubricant does not either absorb or introduce flavors into the product? Thus far I…
RudyB
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Estimating the fat content of homemade chicken foot gelatin

I recently simmered a pot of chicken feet (including skin) for the first time and made an astonishingly gelatinous gelatin. It's clearly suffused with chicken fat, but I have no idea how much -- I don't think I could guess the fat % by weight or the…
octern
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PH and sour / acid taste

I had always thought low pH foods had a noticeable sour (acid) taste, and vice-versa. But when reading The Bread Builders by Daniel Wing & Allan Scott, on page 54, it says: The sour taste of especially sour naturally leavened bread comes more from…
J.A.I.L.
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Why does strata have to come to room temperature before baking?

I've made strata a few times before, usually for brunches where I have a number of guests coming over and don't want to spend all my time in the kitchen. I always follow instructions in the recipe; I assemble it the night before, refrigerate…
Laura
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Why might my fermented garlic purée have an incredibly bitter, ammonia-like smell?

I've made fermented garlic paste many times before. It's essentially a bunch of raw garlic cloves blended with 2% salt by weight, then left in a container to ferment at room temperature for 2-3 weeks before being stored in the fridge. The paste…
WackGet
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Mason jar silicone seal mystery

For food storage I mainly use mason jars with stainless steel lids and food-grade silicone ring seals to keep them airtight. Twice while storing different types of loose-leaf tea, the silicone seals became oily and swollen even though they were not…
Dan B
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Pudding vs. laundry starch - Add water gradually or all at once?

I recently watched a YouTube video "How to use old fashioned starch" by Constance MacKenzie about how laundry was starched in ye olde time. The only relevant information for my question is that you can use potato, wheat or rice starch and that it…
Elmy
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Is Manganese Violet suitable as a food coloring?

Can I use Manganese Violet as a food coloring? It's safe to use in cosmetics, and I've got some left over, so I was wondering. Is it toxic, edible or actually palatable? Does it have a certain taste? And if it can't be used, are there other…
Mat NX
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Separating gelatin from Jell-O powder

So I've been doing a bit more cooking while confined to my home and I wanted to make a recipe that calls for gelatin. I don't have any and I don't expect to be doing another grocery run for a few weeks. However, I have two things for sure: Jell-O…
cole
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What are food additives that help popsicles/shaved ice melt slower?

What are food additives that help popsicles/shaved ice melt slower? Simple popsicle ingredients: water, sugar, flavoring I used agar agar and gelatin before, but don’t want to: The texture is not the same, it feels like icy flakes, not like fluffy…
Besttee
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GIving that alcoholic taste to yeast-leavened cakes (panettones)

For the last 3 new year evenings I've tried to make panettones (both chocolate and fruit ones) and my recipe is getting better, with the last one being the first reasonably successful one. However I don't know much about yeast-leavening and there is…
Pedro V. G.
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What part of oatmeal cookies are making them soft / chewy?

I'd like to recreate the texture of an oatmeal cookie in very different flavor profiles, ie savory / umami. I'm tinkering with only the rolled oats for now, but I wonder if the chewiness could be coming from another ingredient, or a specific…
allad
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Physics/chemistry behind the observation

This is purely observation based. Any time I have cooking something on the stove, if I change intensity in any direction - reducing or increasing the heat, it seems like water vapor threads shoot out from the pot. I can understand if I increase the…
user871199
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