I guess it's bc phenols evaporate at a higher temp.

But if you're doing a steam bath, how does it smell nice if phenols evaporate at a higher temp than water? Is it because they're degrading, and the other compounds are reaching your nose?

I don't even know how smell works... I'm lost y'all...

I remember reading "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" cbd it was a game changer in helping me in how to think about cooking. I would love to have the ability to reason about flavour pairings (and other elements of cooking and mixology) in a similar way. I have the flavour thesaurus, but that seems more of a reference book that you consult regularly, more than an explanation of how the world of flavour pairings works. Are there any books like this out there?

The basic ingredients of a custard are egg yolks, milk, and sugar. My question is, is the sugar affecting the chemistry of the custard or just making it sweet? If it is affecting the chemistry, Is there something else that can achieve the same effect? My ultimate goal is to make a savory custard.

The title question, i like indian cooking but i live in midwest USA and banana leaves are not abundant. I heard that serving hot food on banana leaves is actually more nutritious than serving hot food on just a platter with no leaf.

Do grape leaves share similar properties? Obviously they're vastly different plants (tree/vine, etc) but im curious, is it chemically OK to eat, say rice and lentils off of a grape leaf?

Dear chefs/chemists,

Why is chopped garlic sticky? I chopped fresh garlic and that sh*t is sticky. Why? What’s the science behind that??

Sincerely, Me

How can I enhance the corn taste in a corn ice cream? I used frozed corn partially thawed on a french ice cream base. The corn taste is faint. adding salt didn't do the trick

I asked this question under /AskCulinary but haven't received any answer. Trying again. I recently saw commerical water-oil fryer like aqtas or sapidus, and was wondering about the oil temperature gradient of home fyrers with immersive heating element, like T-Fal easy clean. How colder is the oil below the heating element? The convection will heat the oil on top, but conduction and fluid movement will heat the bottom oil as well. If the heating element is raised by an inch, would it make a difference in the temeprature of oil below the heating element? Low enough temperature in the bootom will prevent the crumbs from burning and polluting the entire oil. Has anyone tried to measure the temperature of oil in the fryer in different depths, especially T-fal ease clean? I would buy it if there is enough temp gradient.

I've been getting into meal prepping so I've had a few boxes of prepped veggies sitting in my fridge. I cut these bell peppers about 4 days ago (with nothing added) so I could have a few slices raw every now and then as a snack. I opened the box yesterday and was surprised that they smelled really fragrant and tasted sweeter than usual. I ate a few and they tasted almost "restraunt like" and I did not get sick afterwards. There seems to be a little liquid pooling at the bottom of the box. Anyone know why this is happening and if I should be concerned? Is it due to enzymes in the peppers or some kind of unintentional fermentation? Seems almost like a good hack.

As I sit here eating a breakfast burrito I made with fries because I ran out of tots....I realize it's.....extremely disappointing to say the least compared to my usual.

Which lead me to wonder, why do reheated after refrigerated fries get mightily unpleasant unless they're refried?

I've not had this happen with my beloved tot burritos, nor things like kielbasa & potatoes, homefries, basically anything in a different potato form that isn't a form of fry.

For a bit further, these particular fries were done in the air fryer, just like I do tots, if it makes a difference (which I doubt).

I don’t know if I”m imagining it or there is something different. I make beef stew in both the instant pot and on the stove. I _swear_ the stovetop stew is better than the same stew done in the instant pot. Both texture-wise and flavor-wise.

Am I nuts or is there a scientific reason why pressure cooking the same dish would taste and feel different from a real slow cook using the same recipe.

Will omitting starches & adding agar instead do the trick? How will it effect the final results? not so sure how the texture will turn out, I assume not too different rather than being sticky? my experience working with agar is limited

Edit: I just remembered that agar is used as a substrate to culture microbes & mycelium, so that's probably not the best idea

I'm making a winter ratatouille using - potato, sweet potato, tomato, beetroot and courgette.

1. should i salt all the vegetables a day before assembling and cooking?
2. What will it do to the vegetables?

Is it possible to overcook chicken in a way that it can no longer come up to a safe temperature?

Because some of the moisture in the chicken obviously turns to steam and helps cook the chicken but if someone who's "chicken paranoid" and leaves it for ages and then checks the temperature, could it have got to a point where there's no moisture left to come up to the safe 75°C (167°F)?

I love to make Great Northern Bean soup. My recipe varies wildly sometimes, for variety’s sake, but there are always two constants:

• Soak them first (which is the insanely obvious thing, sorry if I sound patronizing.)

• After cooking them, put ‘em in the fridge overnight, which is where my query comes in:

I’ve found that if I eat the beans right away, they’re not so great. But if I cool them, then refrigerate them overnight, they turn in to the most beautiful buttery things I’ve ever had from something that didn’t include butter or fat.

PLEASE, someone explain to me what’s going on during that first night.

Thank you for your time, everyone! 😊

does anyone know the difference btwn arabic gum, pectin and do you have any other recommendations of a vegan ingredient to use when making a jelly like sweet/pate de fruit?

I make balsamic or sherry vinaigrettes almost weekly. I have been thinking about when and how they stay in emulsion vs separating in the fridge.

Usually they separate. My typical recipe is 1/4 cup vinegar, 3/4 olive oil, garlic from microplane, salt, pepper, dab of mustard, squeeze of honey. I just stir everything but the oil, then shake in a jar.

I got a salad from a restaurant and it was still emulsified the next day, and I started to think about how that happens. Is it because it is mixed in a robocoup or blender?

Then I got a new slightly thicker balsamic (aged longer) and cut the ratio to 1/4 vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, and it is staying in emulsion! I also left out the garlic because I need to get to the grocery store.

Does any of that make sense? Thanks science people. I love that my dressing now stays in emulsion because I can use it straight out of the fridge, vs it needing to warm up and be reshaken.

The ones on the bottom of the container I peeled with my hands are normal (there was no colour change). I’m just wondering has this turned mouldy hence the change of colour? Would you use this regardless?

I recently bought some vanilla beans and since I bought more than I needed, I was looking into other uses. I fell down a rabbit hole about making homemade vanilla extract by putting vanilla beans in vodka. Can anyone explain the science behind this? How does it make vanilla extract and not just vanilla flavoured vodka?

Is infrared gas stove radiation dangerous to health?

At a wedding I recently had the pleasure of eating the best vegan “crab” cakes I’ve ever had. The texture and taste of the zucchini was so close to crab that I was blown away. I asked the chef for the recipe but she wouldn’t give it away (unsurprised), but she did say that the process takes about 3 days. It’s definitely more intensive than just shredding a zucchini with a cheese grater.

Do you have any idea what process would make zucchini like that? Could it be frozen? Left to soak in something? I need to know!!

Wanting to make garlic chili oil, but concerned about botulism. Sometimes, liquid is added, which prompted the question — is there a way to determine if a mixture has enough oil to be anaerobic?

Hi!

In a bartending word there's this thing called Phosphate Acid. But you can order it only in Canada and the USA. The producer says (not only, other bartenders too) that it's very neutral acid, without citrusy aroma etc. Just acid, no additional taste.

Can I substitute it with a phosphoric acid solution? As we can read, the phosphate acid is a "partially neutralized solution made with salts of calcium, magnesium and potassium". I know that a phosphoric acid solution is not the same, but is it similar enough to substitute this?