Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science - Week 2

As I posted in my October 13th blog entry, I've enrolled in an on-line course about the relationship between science and cooking. Still haven't had the chance to try any of the recipes, still trying to a get a better grasp of the science portion of the lessons. Not enough hours in the week, but no one ever said taking a Harvard on-line course would be easy.

Here's what went down on the second week.

• This week's guest lecturer is Dave Arnold. Week 2's focus is on energy, temperature, and heat, so naturally we begin with a recipe to carbonate a cocktail to show what happens when you mix ethanol and water. I knew I signed up for this class for a reason.
• Because they're scientists, the instructors like to make things quantitative, in the belief that when we start to make ideas quantitative, then we'll start to understand qualitatively better.
• The benefits of sous-vide cooking is then demonstrated in an example using eggs cooked at various temperatures in a very small window between 57 Celsius and 70. Accurately controlling the temperature can make a great deal of difference - something to keep in mind when you're trying to make the perfect Eggs Benedict or eggs on toast.
• Equation of the week:  equals mc sub p delta t. (Or heat equals mass x specific heat capacity x change in temperature). You can use that equation to calculate how much energy you have to put into heating a cup of  water.
• Start with water that's at room temperature, in this case, about 23 degrees Celsius. One cup of water is 237 grams. We are going to heat it to the boiling point, 100 degrees Celsius. The specific heat (c sub p). for water is 4.18 joules per gram degree Kelvin.
• How much energy do I have to dump in? Using the equation Q is equal to mc sub p delta t, put in that m is equal to 237 grams, that c sub p is equal to 4.18 joules per degree Kelvin, and that delta T is 77 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Celsius - 23 degrees Celsius, the final temperature minus the initial temperature) If we multiply all of these things out, we got 237 times 4.18 times 77. So that's how much energy it takes to boil a cup of water -76 280 joules.
• What does that mean? Think about it like this, how much wood would you have to burn in order to make this much energy? If you take the energy density of wood, 14 megajoules per kilogram, then you can calculate for yourself that the amount of wood that it takes is 76 280 joules divided by 14 megajoules per kilogram, which is 5.4 grams of wood.
• Just for fun!: Go look at the power output of your microwave, calculate how long does it take for you to generate the 76 280 joules needed to boil water. If you put water in a cup in your microwave for that amount of time, does it actually boil? If not, why not?
• NOTE: Most microwaves have a power output of about 400 watts.
  The watts to joules calculation is the energy E in joules (J) is equal to the power P in watts (W), times the time period t in seconds (s): E(J) = P(W) × t(s).
• I got 190.7 seconds, feel free to let me know if my math is off (scroll over to see).
• You really see how much you don't know about a topic when you answer all the week's pre-questions.
• The liquid nitrogen lecture reminds me of an experiment I've been meaning to try, and of a cool food truck I saw on an episode of Eat St. recently.
• Think of heat as the most used and the most mysterious ingredient in your kitchen --> Harold McGee
• Heat: the total energy that results in the temperature of a system
  Temperature: the measure of energy in the motion of molecules in the material
• Want a quick way to calculate the number of calories in what you're eating? Use the 449 rule.
• We end with a demonstration of the coffee-infused rum cocktail the cafe Touba being made, and some more fun with equations involving latent heat.

Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science - Week 1

As I posted in my October 13th blog entry, I've enrolled in an on-line course about the relationship between science and cooking. Here's what went down on the first week. I'm liking the course so far, I just wish I could manage my time better to get through all the labwork. Just like back at Algonquin - some things never change.

• The course starts with a welcome and an overview from some of the instructors Michael Brenne, Pia Sorensen, and Dave Weitz, an applied mathematician, a chemist, and a physicist, respectively. They talk about learning about the underlying scientific principles of food and cooking, and about some of the cooking labs we'll get a chance to do in the course.
• Ferran Adrià introduces himself in the next video, and talk about his background in cooking, and his new project, the El Bulli Foundation.
• The author of the textbook we're using, Harold McGee  talks for a bit about the place he did most of his research for the book, the Schlesinger Library for the study of women in history at Harvard. I was surprised to learn that people where interested in the science of cooking since the 17th century, and that the pressure cooker has existed since 1681 (thanks Denis Papin).
• In between the videos are a series of short-answer questions about what we've watch so far. Participation in the online exercises do not contribute to my grade, what counts are the homework assignments, the lab exercises, and the final project. I'm still not sure if I'm going to complete the course for the certificate, or if I'm just learning for the sake of learning yet...
• Next we see an example of spherification, a form of gelation first pioneered by Adria. 
• Lecture 2 get right into the science part of the course with a decision about the molecules that make the food we eat. We are then asked to calculate the number of molecules in a 250mL glass of water. Terms like grams per mole, atomic mass unit, and Avogadro's number are being thrown around. I now see why a knowledge of high school physics and chemistry was considered a useful prerequisite for this course. So if you thought this was going to be a bird course, you're either sadly mistaken, or a lot smarter than I am.
• I'm introduced to the practice of clapping when the Equation of the Week is introduced during the lectures as a way to get people excited about the science...sure. I'll just say I clapped while I watch the lectures.
• One of the tasks in the week 1 lab is calibrating your oven using sugar. Sugar melts at 366 F (186˚C). If sugar melts at 350 F (177˚C), your oven is running hot. I preheated my oven at 350 F for 10 minutes and placed in it half a teaspoon of sugar in an aluminum pan.
  
  Here's the result 15 minutes later.
  
  Looks like I'm running hot, I may choose to calibrate it better using a oven thermometer.
• The homework portion finally gets to some cooking, but I didn't get a chance to buy the required groceries. I'll keep you posted my efforts.

"A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt" - Review of a foodie documentary

Two years ago, I saw a trailer for a documentary about the driven chef Paul Liebrandt that I knew I wanted to see. "A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt" was playing at the Mayfair, but for whatever reason, I missed the showing, but I recently discovered it was available for rent at the Ottawa Public Library. The documentary follows Liebrandt over a ten year period, and documents the highs and lows of his career. Those include being the youngest chef ever to earn a three star review from the New York Times; to being unemployed after a dispute with the owners a restaurant he worked at (they preferred a menu of comfort food over his more avant-garde menu); to re-opening a restaurant at the request of a famous restaurateur. Liebrandt is worthy of all the hype that surrounds him, as he is as much an artist as he is a chef, and the documentary shows how focused he is at achieving the perfection he demands from his staff to prepare his food creations. The film concludes with the new restaurant's opening and the staff eagerly awaiting the review that can make or break a restaurant, the one that appears in the New York Times. If you're a fan of molecular gastronomy, or enjoy watching an artist perform in their element, you should seek out this film, as there is quite a lot to enjoy in a fast-paced 69 minutes.

• A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt [Import]