Mcgee, Harold J.;
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Scribner 1984 / Collier, Macmillan 1988, 684 pages, pbk [$21.00)
ISBN 9780020346210 / 0020346212
topics: | food | science | chemistry | reference
The utterly un-put-downable science bible for food afficionados... from meat to egges to vegetables to fruits, from grains to cereals to bread to pasta to sugars; from milk to wine to sauces, it leaves little uncovered. From the overt chemistry that we always suspected lay behind mayonnaise to the non-obvious chemistry of frying onions or making chocolate, everything is explained cogently, and in language engaging yet appropriate even for the non-chemist. Truly deserves its many honours. This review is from the 1984 edition, but I have recently gotten the 2004 edition which seems much expanded and partly corrected. Will be updating this slowly. Also of interest - the works by Herve This, food science guru of France.
"Homogenized" milk: developed in France around 1900 to prevent creaming and keep the milk fat evenly — homogeneously — dispersed. It involves pumping hot milk at high pressure through very small nozzles, where the turbulence tears the fat globules apart into smaller ones; their average diameter falls from 4 micrometers to about 1. The sudden increase in globule numbers causes a proportional increase in their surface area, which the original globule membranes are insufficient to cover. The naked fat surface attracts casein particles, which stick and create an artificial coat (nearly a third of the milk’s casein ends up on the globules). The casein particles both weigh the fat globules down and interfere with their usual clumping: and so the fat remains evenly dispersed in the milk. May be pasteurized before or simultaneously [2004 edn] old ed: The pasteurized milk is forced under high pressure through a small nozzle onto a hard surface where the fat globules are made to break up into smaller, more uniform blobs, so that they do not rise to the top. Cannot be done with fresh milk for then the fat-splitting enzymes in milk will quickly make it rancid; so the enzymes are inactivated by the high temperatures first [pasteurizn]. Autoxidation: Milk must be kept in the dark. Light (UV radiation) causes oxygen to invade the long regular chains of CH atoms in the fats - releasing various odorous molecules - oily, fishy, metallic. Frothing cream: Here the fat is stiff enough to hold up the air bubbles Condensed and evaporated milk - milk solids and fat. made by rapidly evaporating half the water - not by heating, but by putting it in a vacuum. It is then sterilized and homogenized so it will keep. Milk powder - without any volatile aroma molecules left, and also no fat, usu not tasty when mixed w water.
The word "fruit" long ago meant any plant used as food. Gradually came to mean the edible layer surrounding seeds. With systematization of botany in the 18th c., was defined as the organ that derives from the ovary and surrounds the seeds. The word "vegetable" as a plant eaten for food also comes from the 18th c. [FRUIT: L. fructus "fruit, produce, profit," from frug- "to use, enjoy". Originally in Eng. meaning vegetables as well. Modern narrower sense is from c.1225. VEGETABLE :: from M.L. vegetabilis "growing, [700-1500] flourishing," from L.L. vegetabilis "animating, enlivening," [300-600] from L. vegetare "enliven," Noun first attested 1582, originally of any plant; sense of "plant cultivated for food" is first recorded 1767. - Online Etymology Dictionary ] Tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, green-peppers, are all technically fruits. In the late 1800s, a NY importer claimed duty-free status for tomatoes, which he argued were "fruit" and hence exempt from a 10% tax on vegetables. The case went to the US Supreme Court: Constitution and statute offering no guidance on this question, the court decided on the grounds of linguistic custom. Tomatoes, held the majority, are "usually served at dinner in, with, or after the soup, fish or meat, which constitute the principal part of the repast, and not like fruits, generally as dessert." p p. 124-5
A classic tome of gastronomic science and lore, On Food and Cooking delivers an erudite discussion of table ingredients and their interactions with our bodies. Following the historical, literary, scientific and practical treatment of foodstuffs from dairy to meat to vegetables, McGee explains the nature of digestion and hunger before tackling basic ingredient components, cooking methods and utensils. He explains what happens when food spoils, why eggs are so nutritious and how alcohol makes us drunk. As fascinating as it is comprehensive, this is as practical, interesting and necessary for the cook as for the scholar.