Kitchen Mysteries

Revealing the Science of Cooking

Hervé This

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9780231512039
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

"This's molecular gastronomy is garnished with [his] own rich philosophy of food and flavor" in a book that reveals the science behind everyday cooking (Nature). In Kitchen Mysteries, Hervé This—international celebrity and founder of molecular gastronomy—offers a second helping of his world-renowned insight into the science of cooking, answering such fundamental questions as what causes vegetables to change color when cooked and how to keep a soufflé from falling. He illuminates abstract concepts with practical advice and concrete examples—for instance, how sautéing in butter chemically alters the molecules of mushrooms—so that cooks of every stripe can thoroughly comprehend the scientific principles of food. By sharing the empirical principles chefs have valued for generations, Hervé This adds another dimension to the suggestions of cookbook authors. He shows how to adapt recipes to available ingredients and how to modify proposed methods to the utensils at hand. His revelations make difficult recipes easier to attempt and allow for even more creativity and experimentation. Promising to answer your most compelling kitchen questions, Hervé This continues to make the complex science of food digestible to the cook. "Cooks who want to learn more about the chemistry and physics that make their efforts possible will discover useful things here."—Booklist "This has made invisible processes visible, revealed the mysteries, and the bread has risen, baked, and been enjoyed."—Appetite for Books "[An] eye-opening book."—Portsmouth Herald " Kitchen Mysteries is another tour de force for the French scientific chef... Highly Recommended."—Choice

Index

acetic acid. See also vinegar

acidity; and discoloration; and milk; in sauces; and vegetables; and vinegar; in wine

acids; acetic; and alcohol; ascorbic (vitamin C); aspartic; and cheese; citric; and cooking eggs- ; in emulsions; and gels; in jams; lactic; in leavening powders; and meat; and proteins; in soufflés; in tea; in wine

aïoli

alcohol; in bread; in cakes; distilling; and drunkenness; ethyl; and osmazome; and preservation; and vinegar. See also wine

aldehydes

Ali-Bab

Allais, Alphonse

Almanach des gourmands (Grimod de la Reynière)

amino acids; in braising; and gels; and Maillard reactions; in milk; and nitrites; in roasting; in sauces. See also proteins

ammonia

amylase

amylopectin

amylose

anthocyanins

Anton, Marc

Apicius

Appert, Nicolas

apples

Archestratus

Aristotle

aroma. See odors

aromatics

ascorbic acid (vitamin C)

aspartame

aspartic acid

aspics

dp n="225" folio="212" ?

aspirin

astaxanthin

atoms. See also molecules

Avicenna

Bacon, Francis

baking powders

balsamic vinegar

barbecue

Barham, Peter

basting

beans; dried

béarnaise sauce; salvaging of

Beccari, Giacomo Bartolomeo

béchamel sauces

Berchoux, Joseph

Bernouilli effect

beurre manié

bicarbonate of soda

bitterness; of aspartame; in tea; in wine; in wood

blanching

blood

boiling

Botrytis cinerea fungus

bouillon

bouquet garni

braising

bread; baking of; fermentation of; kneading of; sourdough; stale

bread crumbs

Brillat-Savarin, Jean-Anthelme; on bouillon; on excess; on osmazome; on pheasants; on roasting; on taste

brioche

Brochet, Frédéric

bromelain

Brouillard, Raymond

butter: in cakes; clarified; in deep-frying; and oil; in pastries; reheating in; in sauces; and whipped cream

cakes; base for; vs. soufflés

Camembert cheese

canard à la Brillat-Savarin

canard à l’orange

capillarity

capsaicin

caramel

caramelization; in deep-frying; in grilling

carbohydrates

carbon dioxide

Carême, Marie-Antoine

carotenoids

Carslaw, Horatio Scott

casein: in butter; in cheese; in cream; in milk; in wine; in yogurt

cauliflower

cellulose

champagne

cheese

chemical reactions: cooking with; vs. physical reactions; and pressure. See also Maillard reactions

chestnuts

dp n="226" folio="213" ?

Chevreul, Michel-Eugene

Cheynieréronique

China

chlorophyll

cholesterol

citric acid

citrus fruits. See also lemon juice; lemons

coles (cauliflower, broccoli, etc.)

collagen; in boiling; in braising; and gels; in marinades; in roasting; in steaming

color; changes in; of egg whites; of fruits; in microwave cooking; of milk; and preservation; in salads; and taste; of tea; of vegetables; of wine

conalbumin

conduction

consistency. See viscosity

convection

cooking; with chemicals; expansion and concentration in; methods of; objectives of; times for; in vacuum; of vegetables. See also particular methods

copper

cream; in ices; and sauces; whipped

crustaceans

The Curious Cook (McGee)

Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Sailland)

custard

deep-frying

deglazing

Diderot, Denis

dihydrogen sulfide

disulfide bridges

Djabourov, Madeleine

Dubois, Urbain

duck à l’orange

Dumas, Alexandre

egg whites; and bouillon; in cakes; and copper; in soufflés; in wine. See also meringues

egg yolks; in aïoli; and flour; in mayonnaise; in meringues; in pastries; in sauces; in soufflés; in sponge cake

eggs; baked; in deep-frying; and flour; fried; and gels; hard-cooked; in mayonnaise; microwaved; odors of; poached; proteins in; raw vs. cooked; in sauces; and silverware; and soufflés

electrolysis

emulsions: acids in; failure of; mayonnaise; and milk; in sauces; vinaigrettes as; whipped creams as

Encyclopedia (Alembert and Diderot)

England

enzymes; and bread; in coles; and color change; digestive; in marinades; and preservation

Escoffier, August

ethylene

Etiévant, Patrick

evaporation: and alcohol; in deep-frying; and freezing water; in jams; in sauces; of soup

fats; in cakes; in cheese; in deep-frying; and egg whites; harmful; and Maillard reactions; in meat; in milk; in pastry dough; in roasting; in sauces; in sautéing; skimming of; in soufflés; and vegetables; and viscosity; in whipped cream

Faurion, Annick

fermentation: of bread; and vinegar; of wine

ficin

Fick law

fig juice

fish. See also seafood

flatulence

flour: in bread; in cakes; corn; in deep-frying; and eggs; in pastries; in sauces

freezing

fructose

fruits; citrus; color of; in jams; and jellies; and microorganisms; preservation of; and vinegar; wine made from. See also lemons

frying. See deep-frying; sautéing

garlic

Gastronomie pratique (Ali-Bab)

gastronomy: definitions of; molecular

Gauducheau, A.

Gay-Lussac reaction

gelatin; in meat; and milk; packaged; in sauces; in wine

gels; and eggs; and jams; making of; physical vs. chemical; and sauces; and starch; in yogurt

génoise

glazes

gliadins

glucose; in bread; in sauces; in yogurt

gluten: in bread; in pastries

glutenins

glycerine

glycerol

Goodman, Murray

gourmand vs. gourmet

Goutefongea, René

Graham, David

Grand dictionnaire de cuisine (Dumas)

gravies. See also sauces

grilling

Haldane, John Scott

Henning, Hans

dp n="228" folio="215" ?

Hippocrates

hollandaise sauce; making

honey

hydrocolloids

hydrogen bonds; in bread; and gels

hydrogen peroxide

ice crystals. See also freezing

ices

ignosic acid. See vitamin C

Jaeger, John Conrad

jams; and gels; strawberry

Japan

jellies

jelling process. See also gels

Keller, Joseph

kneading: of bread; of pastries; of pie dough

Kurti, Nichol...