Ever wondered why/how a banana browns, how a piece of meat gets those classic grill marks, why a broccoli is green (and can turn yellow or mushy green), why an orange is orange or how yeast ferments? All of those are questions that can be answered using food chemistry.
Food chemistry studies and analyzes molecules and their transformations/reactions in food.
However, before you can start doing these more complex analyses on your food, it’s useful to have your basics sorted. The articles you will find here do just that.
Considering doing a mini course on food chemistry? We’re offering one right here!
If you think of chemistry, you might be thinking of a lab, with people wearing white lab coats, where lots of complicated, maybe even dangerous chemicals are being mixed and tested by experienced chemists. You might almost forget that your…
You might be familiar with the brightly colored version on a stick. Or you might regularly use it as a core ingredient in your (savory) Asian recipes. Or, you might use it to sweeten your tea. Rock sugar, or rock…
Whenever making caramel, marshmallows, honeycomb, or most other sugar candies you’ll need to bring a sugar syrup to the boil. Often, you’ll find very detailed instructions on just how to boil that syrup. You may be told to cook until a…
Would you buy a raw brown steak? What about a blue apple? Green coconut flakes? Or a grey orange? Probably not. If the color of food isn’t ‘right’ consumers won’t buy it anymore, even if it is perfectly safe and…
The ‘secret’ behind that yellow dal, yellow rice, or beautifully colored curry? A decent chance that it’s turmeric. A mere teaspoon can help color a sauce or dish and it’s not just used in savory dishes. In some countries it…
Have you ever made a beautiful pesto blend, full of basil flavour, with a vibrant green colour, that didn’t look all that vibrant anymore the day after? Or left that peeled banana or sliced apple for a few hours to…
Red cabbage juice changes colour when you add a squirt of lime juice or a spoonful of baking soda. Baking powder causes your cake to rise beautifully in the oven. You can ‘cook’ fish by adding lemon and lime juice,…
Only a few centuries ago, European (and likely many others) seamen died by the dozens during months long sea voyages to the East. Trips to the East, essential for European traders to get those beloved spices, fabrics and other trading…
Ever forgot to add the baking powder or baking soda to your recipe? Or used baking soda and baking powder in your cake, only to discover it resulted in a flat cake? Baking powder & baking soda have a crucial role…
Have you ever noticed how fruits and vegetables have a wide variety of colours? The spectrum goes from orange to purple to green to bright red. It’s amazing how nature has developed all these bright and beautiful colours in order…
Once you’ve peeled your banana, you’d better eat it. If you forget about it and return a few hours later it will have turned an unappetizing brown. Same goes for leaving an unpeeled banana on your counter top for a…
Ever tried to make a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar? Noticed that it’s impossible to keep these two mixed without continuously stirring or adding something like mustard? Wondered how food manufacturers are able to do this? If…
