ABSTRACT

This book provides a playground for the readers to practice and develop scientific thinking, by exploring the world of food in a fun way. The authors take the role of someone trying to find interesting questions to ask about familiar, though often hidden, phenomena. Claims (or myths) on everyday cooking provide numerous cases for this. Using popular cooking myths as a springboard, this book discusses these riddles, interweaving a scientific rationale for the phenomena with a culinary or craftsman explanation. This book covers not only science (physics, chemistry, biology) but also cultural aspects (tradition, history, emotion), of what food/cooking is all about.

chapter 2|11 pages

Boiling an Egg from the Inside Out

chapter 3|10 pages

In the Beginning There Was an Egg

chapter 4|7 pages

Mussels on Acid

chapter 5|11 pages

Sausage Engineering

chapter 6|9 pages

Mustard—Fiercely Yours

chapter 7|11 pages

The Potatoes that Refused to Become Tender

chapter 8|8 pages

Gravlax and a Pinch of Salt Chemistry

chapter 9|11 pages

The Art of Heating

chapter 10|7 pages

Cold Skillet—Juicy Fish

chapter 14|10 pages

Taking Stock of Broth

chapter 15|8 pages

Salt Shapes the Pasta

chapter 18|8 pages

Physics Takes the Cake

chapter 19|12 pages

The Great Norwegian Porridge Feud

chapter 20|5 pages

Doing the Dishes