Category - Food Chemistry Basics

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.

fresh fruits on the cheesecak, ready for the last bake
Food Chemistry Basics

Colours in fruits & vegetables

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...

May 31, 2018
9 min read
rock sugar kandijsuiker

Rock sugar, Bastognekoeken & Sugar crystallization

In the Netherlands we have this one cookie type that’s used for a lot of different dishes. They’re popular for use in cookie pie crusts, ice cream and a bunch of other recipes. Their name: Bastognekoeken...

December 30, 2017
6 min read
chocolate and peanut butter dessert pouring over caramel sm

Sugar cooking & Temperature stages

Whenever making caramel, marshmallows, honeycomb or just about any other sugar candy you’ll often find that recipe either tells you to boil a sugar syrup to a certain temperature. Or, they’ll tell you to...

December 10, 2017
11 min read
Food chemistry basics - what are emulsifiers

What are emulsifiers (in food)?

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...

September 25, 2017
7 min read
Food chemistry basics - hydrophobic vs hydrophilic

Understanding hydrophilicity vs. hydrophobicity for food

Sometimes a term might be so familiar to you that you use it all the time, whereas another person, who doesn’t know that term, has no idea what you’re talking about. When talking about science that can be...

September 20, 2017
5 min read

Drawing molecules & structural formulas for food components

Imagine having the pages of a book, but having no clue in which order they should go. Or having a recipe with only an ingredient list, no instructions on how to make the food. Or having an IKEA cupboard, with all the...

August 18, 2017
7 min read
vanilla-extract-ready-for-ripening
sous vide

What is extraction? – The theory & Food

After writing about making your own extracts (vanilla & orange/lemon) and how to use these it is time we start talking more hard core science. What is extraction from a chemists perspective? And is there something...

May 26, 2017
8 min read