SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS YOU CAN EAT

by Vicki Cobb ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 1972

Every kitchen is, among other things, a laboratory, and these lighthearted experiment/recipes prove that a good cook is a good chemist (and vice versa). The introduction of basic concepts such as solutes, suspensions and precipitates leads to some fairly predictable culinary activities -- growing sugar crystals, immersing celery stalks in food coloring and testing for starches -- but how many chefs realize that making meringues and baking bread are really a question of denaturing protein, or that mayonnaise is a simple emulsion? A not inconsiderable byproduct is a better understanding of foods themselves -- the difference between all-purpose and cake flours, the composition of double-acting baking powder and the correct method of cooking spinach. Ms. Cobb's commentary moves easily from the Tyndall effect and the work of Pasteur to hints on unmolding a gelatin dessert; the experiments she presents are undemanding, require little more than the equipment found in most well stocked kitchens and, best of all, they're edible.

Pub Date: March 15, 1972

ISBN: 0064460029

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION