Cooking for Geeks, 2nd Edition

6Playing with Chemicals

Chapter Contents

Food Additives

E Numbers: The Dewey Decimal System of Food Additives

Mixtures and Colloids

Preservatives

Flavorings

Liquid Smoke, a.k.a. Water-Distilled Smoke Vapor

Thickeners

Arrowroot and Cornstarch

Methylcellulose

Maltodextrin

Gelling Agents

Pectin

Carrageenan

Agar

Sodium Alginate

Emulsifiers

Lecithin

Enzymes

Transglutaminase

Recipes

Marshmallows

Salmon Gravlax

Preserved Lemons

Bread-and-Butter Quick Pickles

Citrus Marmalade

Candied Orange Rind

Vanilla Extract

Infused Oils and Herbed Butters

S’mores Ice Cream

Oven-Cooked Barbecue Ribs

Hot Marshmallows

Powdered Brown Butter

Gelled Milk with Iota and Kappa Carrageenan

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Clarified Lime Juice

Mayonnaise

Fruit Juice Foam

Scallops Enzymatically Wrapped in Bacon

Interviews

Carolyn Jung’s Preserved Lemons

Hervé This on Molecular Gastronomy

Ann Barrett on Texture

Benjamin Wolfe on Molds and Cheese

Harold McGee on Solving Food Mysteries

Labs

Making Ice Cream with Salt and Ice

How to Make Liquid Smoke

Make Your Own Pectin

HUMANS HAVE BEEN ADDING CHEMICALS TO FOOD FOR MILLENNIA. Salt preserves meats and fish, vinegar turns vegetables into pickles, and egg yolks form emulsions to create sauces like mayonnaise and hollandaise. The last few centuries have brought modern compounds, from alginates to vanillin, that are useful for both commercial and creative applications.

Food itself is made up of chemicals. Corn, chicken, and ice cream cones are just big piles of well-structured ...