Chemistry Behind Cooking
During the Food Truck Project we started to dive into the chemistry behind foods. This allowed us to understand what we were planning on serving to our customers. To do this, we learned through an EdX online course put on by Harvard called The Science Behind Cooking. We also conducted fermentation labs to further understand what was happening between different ingredients in food. You can see information on both below.
Fermentation Lab - creme fraiche
One of the best ways to understand what we were learning is through an experiment! Here you will see my complete lab write up on the fermentation of Creme Fraiche, a French cream.
Creme Fraiche originates from the dairy producing parts of Belgium, even though it’s considered to be a French delicacy. People would leave out milk over night, to bring it down to an “ambient” temperature to be used for butter. The natural lactose-fermenting bacteria worked overnight to thicken it. The flavor the of creme will depend on the time fermented, and the bacteria used to culture it.
Some people relate the taste to sour cream, but creme fraiche is less sour and has more tang to the taste. Creme Fraiche has both a sweet and savory taste, and can be served both hot and cold. Because of this, Creme Fraiche can top anything from deserts to soups.
Creme Fraiche ferments using lactic acid bacteria cocci such as lactobacillus, lactococcus, and leuconostoc. Coccus are bacteria that have spherical shapes. Lactococcus can adjust the PH balance in food, glucose concentration, and nutrients. Lactococcus also rapidly starts the process of acidification of milk, and prevents the growth of spoilage bacteria. When lactococcus is added to milk, the bacterium uses enzymes to produce energy molecule, called adenosine triphosphate. The bacterium also lowers the PH balance, which preserves the product from unwanted bacteria and mold. During this time, other metabolic products and enzymes are produced to create aromas and flavors.
This Creme Fraiche also has mesophile which is an organism that grows best in moderate temperatures. Mesophile occurs in dairies, and cheeses. This explains why people would leave out their milk out to bring down to room temperatures. In all, creme fraiche uses natural production of foreign proteins to help thicken, and change the taste of the dish.
Name: Juliet Lee
Date: 1/28/2014
Materials: - 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons of buttermilk
Procedure: Because my jar was pretty small, I decided to half the recipe.
1. Pour 1 coup of heavy whipping cream into your jar
2. Add 1 tablespoon of buttermilk into the mixture
3. Cover with towel for 16 hours
4. Put lid on and store in fridge
Immediate Observations: -mixture is very soft and runny
-smells like milk
-off-white color
*Only fermented for 16 hours*
Next Morning Observations: -mixture has turned into a solid, and you can flip it upside down without the mixture moving
-smells like cream cheese
-same off-white color
-think consistency
*In refrigerator for 24 hours*
Observations: -same off-white color
-solid and thick consistency
-smells sweeter
Final Summary: This experiment proved to be very successful because it turned out the way the recipe said it would. The taste was a bit new to me, but I could understand how it pairs nicely with other certain foods.
Final Observations: -off-white color
-thick consistency
-smells like cream cheese
-tastes like a mixture of sour cream and cream cheese
-low on flavor
Creme Fraiche originates from the dairy producing parts of Belgium, even though it’s considered to be a French delicacy. People would leave out milk over night, to bring it down to an “ambient” temperature to be used for butter. The natural lactose-fermenting bacteria worked overnight to thicken it. The flavor the of creme will depend on the time fermented, and the bacteria used to culture it.
Some people relate the taste to sour cream, but creme fraiche is less sour and has more tang to the taste. Creme Fraiche has both a sweet and savory taste, and can be served both hot and cold. Because of this, Creme Fraiche can top anything from deserts to soups.
Creme Fraiche ferments using lactic acid bacteria cocci such as lactobacillus, lactococcus, and leuconostoc. Coccus are bacteria that have spherical shapes. Lactococcus can adjust the PH balance in food, glucose concentration, and nutrients. Lactococcus also rapidly starts the process of acidification of milk, and prevents the growth of spoilage bacteria. When lactococcus is added to milk, the bacterium uses enzymes to produce energy molecule, called adenosine triphosphate. The bacterium also lowers the PH balance, which preserves the product from unwanted bacteria and mold. During this time, other metabolic products and enzymes are produced to create aromas and flavors.
This Creme Fraiche also has mesophile which is an organism that grows best in moderate temperatures. Mesophile occurs in dairies, and cheeses. This explains why people would leave out their milk out to bring down to room temperatures. In all, creme fraiche uses natural production of foreign proteins to help thicken, and change the taste of the dish.
Name: Juliet Lee
Date: 1/28/2014
Materials: - 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons of buttermilk
Procedure: Because my jar was pretty small, I decided to half the recipe.
1. Pour 1 coup of heavy whipping cream into your jar
2. Add 1 tablespoon of buttermilk into the mixture
3. Cover with towel for 16 hours
4. Put lid on and store in fridge
Immediate Observations: -mixture is very soft and runny
-smells like milk
-off-white color
*Only fermented for 16 hours*
Next Morning Observations: -mixture has turned into a solid, and you can flip it upside down without the mixture moving
-smells like cream cheese
-same off-white color
-think consistency
*In refrigerator for 24 hours*
Observations: -same off-white color
-solid and thick consistency
-smells sweeter
Final Summary: This experiment proved to be very successful because it turned out the way the recipe said it would. The taste was a bit new to me, but I could understand how it pairs nicely with other certain foods.
Final Observations: -off-white color
-thick consistency
-smells like cream cheese
-tastes like a mixture of sour cream and cream cheese
-low on flavor
Ed-x Science & Cooking
During each week of the course, we watched as chefs revealed their secrets behind some of their most famous culinary creations — often right in their own restaurants. Inspired by such cooking mastery, the Harvard team explained, in simple and sophisticated ways, the science behind the recipe.
Topics included: soft matter materials, such as emulsions, illustrated by aioli; elasticity, exemplified by the done-ness of a steak; and diffusion, revealed by the phenomenon of spherification, the culinary technique pioneered by Ferran Adrià.
Not only did we watch people cook, but we did at-home labs and weekly homework to fully understand each topic.
Topics included: soft matter materials, such as emulsions, illustrated by aioli; elasticity, exemplified by the done-ness of a steak; and diffusion, revealed by the phenomenon of spherification, the culinary technique pioneered by Ferran Adrià.
Not only did we watch people cook, but we did at-home labs and weekly homework to fully understand each topic.