Cooking Stack Exchange
Cooking Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [food-science]

All about the scientific theories behind food. Cooking myths debunked here.

Questions in this tag usually begin with "why", although the tag may also apply to more experimental science.

If you're looking for a scientific explanation of why a particular technique works (or doesn't work), or why some food looks or tastes the way it does, or if some common bit of cooking wisdom has ever been proven or disproven experimentally, then this tag is for you.

If you just want to know why your recipe didn't turn out right, please don't use this tag.

Note that we also have a tag which should be used for applied science questions, especially those on the subject of food additives such as buffers and hydrocolloids.

543 questions
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Is "until juices run clear" a valid test for poultry doneness? Why or why not?

I've come across this particular recommendation many times in various recipes and cookbooks and probably even given it out myself once or twice. Poultry is sufficiently cooked when the juices run clear, not red or pink. In recent months and years,…
Aaronut
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What happened to my egg?

I was making a small batch of chocolate cake and decided to flavor it with peppermint extract (as a substitute for vanilla extract). Foolish me added the extract directly to the eggs (not beaten). A small portion of the white became opaque, as if it…
Adele- Nexus of Potlucks
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How can I tell if this is baking soda or powder?

Sure it'd be easier and cheap to just buy new soda and powder but I'm curious. I had a jar of either baking soda or powder. The marker with which I'd labeled it rubbed off during a house move and I do not recall which one it was. Is there an easy…
brenzo
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Do pan "pores" exist, what are they, and what are their effects?

There are a number of common cooking lore techniques which revolve around the idea of "pores" in the surface of a pan. Two of the ones I've heard most often: (1) When heating a pan where sticking is a concern, one should wait until the pan is hot…
Athanasius
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How does a Miracle Thaw work?

Miracle Thaws are utensils for rapidly thawing foods. Put an ice cube on one and it melts before your eyes, yet the whole thing stays cool to the touch. How do they work? (Inspired by this question: Utensil to thaw meat)
pabo
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Will spoiled food always make you sick?

Kind of a strange question, but say something has spoiled, i.e. smells bad, tastes bad, etc. Will it actually always make you sick? Like for instance spoiled dressing, let's say it tastes sour, smells nasty and you eat it, will it make you sick? If…
user17188
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How does soaking liver in milk work?

Soaking liver in milk is said to be a common technique that supposedly helps to remove impurities, softens flavour, and tenderises the liver. I tried it, and the liver turned out alright, but it got me wondering: how does this work? What's the…
SáT
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Why is it faster to reheat something than it is to cook it?

In my experience it takes less time to reheat a cooked item than it does to cook it. This is true for every single different "type" of cooked item I can think of. (Meat, soup, pasta, beans, etc etc). It's quite common for me to use the microwave to…
Pod
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How does a splash of vinegar help when poaching eggs?

What does splashing in a shot of white vinegar to the simmering water do when poaching an egg? Is it for taste or is it supposed to react in some way with the albumen?
Eight Days of Malaise
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How does the way that I cut my garlic affect the taste of my food?

I've seen recipes that called for coarsely chopped garlic and recipes that called for finely chopped or minced garlic. What affect does that cut have on the final taste of my dish? What about crushed garlic?
jessecurry
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What is that gooey stuff from okra?

When cooking okra in a bit of water, the water becomes gooey. What does the okra release that makes the water slimy? Would the goo have other culinary uses (as an additive to thicken sauces or improve the texture of ice-creams)?
papin
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Does microwaving destroy nutrients in food?

After answering this article, I did some research on microwaving killing vitamins and nutrients in food. I very quickly learned that this is a touchy subject, even among nutritionists, and nobody (at least, nobody I saw) seems to have a "this is the…
stephennmcdonald
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What happens when you reduce stock all the way?

If you have fully filtered stock or broth, and you boil it until all of the liquid evaporates; what would you be left with. If you boiled only until a bit before that point would you have super compact flavor?
Bertrand Einstein IV
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Flavour combinations - structural analysis

Without neccesarily going into molecular cooking (although we could): does any literature / website / theory provide information on flavor / flavour combinations that go well together? (ignoring texture at this time: I'm sure it's a contributing…
Tobias Op Den Brouw
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Can one eat a balanced diet if one only cooks once a week?

Is it possible to have a balanced (healthy) diet if one only cooks once a week? I am talking about batch cooking, not eating lots of costly pre-made foods. ”Pre-made food” refers to pre-prepared salads, microwaveable dinners, and other similar…
Demi
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