The Science of Cooking

The Science of Cooking is full of great information for curious chefs, children learning to cook, or anyone who ever wondered what was really happening when you turn sugar into candy.

When you cook up a batch of candy, you cook sugar, water, and various other ingredients to extremely high temperatures. At these high temperatures, the sugar remains in solution, even though much of the water has boiled away. But when the candy is through cooking and begins to cool, there is more sugar in solution than is normally possible. The solution is said to be supersaturated with sugar.

Supersaturation is an unstable state. The sugar molecules will begin to crystallize back into a solid at the least provocation. Stirring or jostling of any kind can cause the sugar to begin crystallizing.

Explore the science behind cooked eggs, rising bread, preserved pickles, and more. Recipes are included. Link -via the Presurfer