Cooking may look like an art, but in the core there is pure science – especially physics! Each size, bubble and golden brown crust are the result of heat transfer, thermodynamics and phase changes. Understanding the physics of cooking can help you make better, delicious food, while providing a new gratitude for the science behind the food you love.
How heat transfer affects the way food cooks
As the heat goes through the food, it determines how to cook. Cooking includes three main types of heat transfer:
- Conduction: The heat goes directly through a solid material. Think of a frying pan on a stove – from the burner, through the forehead and traveling in the food.
- Convection: It occurs in fluid and gases. In boiling water or in a hot oven, hot molecules are run in streams, distributing the heat smoother. Modern convection ovens use this principle to ensure that the food is equally prepared.
- Radiation: heat is transmitted through electromagnetic waves. It is how to cook without mute, breitling and microwave without direct contact.
Understanding heat transfer provides better control of cooking techniques. For example, using a sous-vide machine ensures that the food is prepared properly at a controlled temperature and prevents overcooking.
Thermodynamics explains energy changes in cooking
Cooking is about energy. The amount of heat energy absorbed by a food affects its taste, texture and nutritional value. Thermodynamics suggest how food reacts to temperature changes:
- First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy is never lost, just transferred. All heat applied to food should go somewhere – either food or surrounding air.
- Second Law of Thermodynamics: The heat goes into a cold from a hot object. This is why a sizzling steak on a warm grill cools down.
Slow cooking technology-like soldering meat breaks the collagen more efficiently, resulting in tender and delicious dishes.
Cooking temperature affects food texture
It’s not about making food safe for cooking; It also affects texture. Different foods react to temperature in unique ways:
- Meats: Proteins in meat are broken down at different temperatures. The steak prepared at 55 ° C (medium-rare) is a juice press compared to a prepared 75 ° C (well done).
- Eggs: Egg whites firm up at around 60°C, while the egg yolk is thick at 65 ° C -70 ° C. Exact cooking techniques such as SUS video ensure the right stability.
- Baking: The heat expands the air and provides mature objects to their fluffy texture.
Food scientists now use thermal imaging techniques to study temperature distribution in baking, helping improve dishes for better textures and stability.
What phase changes reveal about cooking transformations
Cooking involves several phase changes – when a substance turns from fixed to liquid to gas:
- Melting: Butter and chocolate melts at specific temperatures, affecting the dessert structure.
- Boiling & Evaporation: The water boils at 100 ° C and turns into steam, which is why steaming is a healthy cooking method.
- Freezing: Ice cream starts like a liquid and becomes solid when frozen.
Modern cryogenic cooking methods, such as liquid nitrogen, allow the chef to create innovative textures and quickly improve the taste of quickly cold material.
The role of physics in improving cooking skills
Cooking is not just about these dishes – it’s about understanding the physics behind. Whether you cook, bake cakes or cook pasta, you use scientific principles without realizing it. The more you understand these procedures, the better the control of the cooking will be.
With progress in food science and technology, students can detect smart cooking devices, accurately cook equipment and even AI-operated kitchen assistants to improve their cooking expertise.
So the next time you cook, remember: It’s not just magic – this is physics!