Food science questions...

DJ...

DJ...

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To those of you who have burning questions about food and the science behind it, post them here and I'll try to answer them to the best of my knowledge. Whether it's why steaks taste better when they're flame grilled vs boiled, or why some ice-creams are hard and others are soft?

You can ask is it true sort of questions as well - let's dispel those old wives' tales about cooking...
 
First question I'd like to ask is where is that darn steak thread? Why not create a new one or move that one here and sticky the bugger!!!
 
grav80 said:
First question I'd like to ask is where is that darn steak thread? Why not create a new one or move that one here and sticky the bugger!!!
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I'll try to write a blog once a week about food science and the best ways we know of to cook and source foods. My first one will be on steaks...
 
DJ... said:
Go for it. Ask away...
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It feels like I always prepare vegetables in exactly the same way and this is now becoming uber boring. I normally take diced mixed veg (onions/marrows/carrots/butternut/etc), coat lightly with some olive oil, and grill OR I cook them in chicken stock or simply a litle bit of water.

In what other way can one prepare mixed veg?
 
blunomore said:
It feels like I always prepare vegetables in exactly the same way and this is now becoming uber boring. I normally take diced mixed veg (onions/marrows/carrots/butternut/etc), coat lightly with some olive oil, and grill OR I cook them in chicken stock or simply a litle bit of water.

In what other way can one prepare mixed veg?
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Tempura yo!
 
blunomore said:
It feels like I always prepare vegetables in exactly the same way and this is now becoming uber boring. I normally take diced mixed veg (onions/marrows/carrots/butternut/etc), coat lightly with some olive oil, and grill OR I cook them in chicken stock or simply a litle bit of water.

In what other way can one prepare mixed veg?
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Okay that's more of a question for its own thread to be honest. I'd like to keep this thread open for food science questions. Start a new thread asking for new ways to cook veg and everyone else can contribute as well...;)
 
Mythbuster please.

Some guy once told me that you should not make coffee with boiling hot water. This person said if the water is too hot it will "burn" the coffee and make it bitter.
Apparently you should boil the kettle as normal but then wait a minute or two before pouring it into the cup and over your granules.

While we at it. Sugar before or after adding water and milk?

This is for making coffee from regular Nescafe, or in my case Jacobs Krönung, granules.

So in essence the question is what difference does the temp of water have on the outcome of my cup of coffee.
 
APoc84 said:
Mythbuster please.

Some guy once told me that you should not make coffee with boiling hot water. This person said if the water is too hot it will "burn" the coffee and make it bitter.
Apparently you should boil the kettle as normal but then wait a minute or two before pouring it into the cup and over your granules.
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This is absolutely true for ground coffee beans and brewing your own coffee. At boiling temperatures, you will extract very bitter compounds from the coffee beans which are pretty unpleasant. The correct temperature is around 90C for coffee, if memory serves correct. Another fallacy here is that adding more coffee will result in a stronger brew (this is for beans). What happens is the fewer ground beans added, the more is extracted from the beans themselves. Two tablespoons per cup is the optimum...


APoc84 said:
While we at it. Sugar before or after adding water and milk?
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Makes no difference as far as I know. Adding milk before coffee does but to be honest, I can't recall the reasoning for this. I think it has to do with lactose but not entirely sure. In short, always add milk before adding coffee - can't explain why though...:o


APoc84 said:
This is for making coffee from regular Nescafe, or in my case Jacobs Krönung, granules.
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This makes little difference as the majority of the flavour compounds are actually lost in the freeze-drying process. So the bitter compounds are already there even at low temps...
 
DJ... said:
This makes little difference as the majority of the flavour compounds are actually lost in the freeze-drying process. So the bitter compounds are already there even at low temps...
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I drink instant coffee as well - Douwe Egberts - and I have to agree with APoc, it tastes different if I wait for 2 minutes after the water has boiled to add to the cup. I also add everything together (coffee, milk and honey) before adding water.
 
blunomore said:
I drink instant coffee as well - Douwe Egberts - and I have to agree with APoc, it tastes different if I wait for 2 minutes after the water has boiled to add to the cup. I also add everything together (coffee, milk and honey) before adding water.
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I use hot water with Douwe Egberts or else the granules float and take too long to dissolve.
I also add the hot water to sugar and coffee then add the milk after stirring.
Not much of a scientist but the sugar and instant coffee granules dissolve better together, if you add cold milk you ruin it.

DE French roast in the morning, DE Colombia at night.
 
Freeze dried coffee is already extracted. I'm not sure how water temperature would affect that. Basically you're at the mercy of the preparers of the granules, who will have optimised for greatest volume which means far too many tannins.
 
What about coffee machines, are thye programmed to stop at the correct temperature
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Yes they have an optimised temperature setting. But for the most part they aren't all THAT well calibrated.
 
blunomore said:
I drink instant coffee as well - Douwe Egberts - and I have to agree with APoc, it tastes different if I wait for 2 minutes after the water has boiled to add to the cup. I also add everything together (coffee, milk and honey) before adding water.
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Maybe some of the better quality brands are using better beans these days, in which case it can make a difference...
 
Haldex said:
I use hot water with Douwe Egberts or else the granules float and take too long to dissolve.
I also add the hot water to sugar and coffee then add the milk after stirring.
Not much of a scientist but the sugar and instant coffee granules dissolve better together, if you add cold milk you ruin it.

DE French roast in the morning, DE Colombia at night.
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Milk first might help dissolving. To be honest, I don't drink much coffee at all and if I do, I prefer freshly ground and brewed...
 
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