Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry of Cooking

by Simon Quellen Field

When you're cooking, you're a chemist! Every time you follow or modify a recipe, you are experimenting with acids and bases, emulsions and suspensions, gels and foams. In your kitchen you denature proteins, crystallize compounds, react enzymes with substrates, and nurture desired microbial life while suppressing harmful bacteria and fungi. And unlike in a laboratory, you can eat your experiments to verify your hypotheses. 

In Culinary Reactions, author Simon Quellen Field turns measuring cups, stovetop burners, and mixing bowls into graduated cylinders, Bunsen burners, and beakers. How does altering the ratio of flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, and water affect how high bread rises? Why is whipped cream made with nitrous oxide rather than the more common carbon dioxide? And why does Hollandaise sauce call for "clarified" butter? This easy-to-follow primer even includes recipes to demonstrate the concepts being discussed, Whipped Creamsicle Topping—a foam; Cherry Dream Cheese—a protein gle; Lemonade with Chameleon Eggs—an acid indicator; and more!

Genres: Science, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Chemistry, Culinary

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about chemistry in cooking -- has "real chemistry" plus practical applications (how to substitute certain ingredients, modify sizes, etc.). Probably a bit more on the "introducing chemistry concepts in a fun way" side than "making cooking easier" or "structured presentation of chemistry". Some of it was hard to follow on audiobook (at 2-3x, especially), and would have been easier in a written book (chemical structures, particularly), so I'd probably not go for the audiobook version here.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember that class you took in college that was just because you needed to fill some hours and what the hell, it sounded fun. And it turns out to be interesting, but kinda meh...and you get an A because you show up.

This is that class.

It is fun, it is interesting, but it's not world changing. The writer even writes like a professor going "Hey, this is cool!" In fact, the whole book is a series of "Hey did you know that..." and "So that's why..." and "And then this happens..."

Which can be kinda enjoyable in a book.

It's a fun read that made me feel smarter and I learned a few things. However, at times it felt rushed, because Chemistry and I are distant neighbors at best. For a daughter of a chemist, I'm almost comically bad at all things chemistry-related, like some sort of karmic punishment for my dad's past life transgressions. So many of things written in this book may have scraped the surface of my brain without fully becoming part of my grey matter. However, there is hope, should I read more about chemistry, that this book has made inroads that future books can explore. Who knows, I might understand what the crap a Mole is one day (other than a really creepy subterranean creature).

So, yes read it. No, it won't make you a better anything, but it's kinda of nerdy fun. And who doesn't need that. (Three stars instead of four, because I walked away going..."it was fine" rather than "WHOA THAT WAS A HOOT!")

[Kristi Thielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book about chemistry in the kitchen which includes unusual recipes, written with warmth and humor.

I purchased the book, assuming it would be heavily about cooking and lightly about chemistry; the balance is the opposite. If the chemical terms and information about foams, colloids, emusions, solutions, etc. were sometimes above my head, it is due to my own ignorance:I took geology and physics in college, but no chemistry, which I now deeply regret.

The writing style is extremely engaging. I've decided I'm going to read it again, in a few months, because I'm sure that it deserves a second reading . . . and I will get more from it if I make an informed return trip.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book was more about chemical bonds and molecule diagrams than it was about why baking soda does whatever it does and how to change your recipes. I really wanted more of the idiot's guide to cooking chemistry. Instead it was just chemistry-chemistry. I took intro chemistry several times in college. I rejoiced when I finally got the C- that I needed to pass the class. A part of me dies when I see a picture with a bunch of letters (C, H, O) and lines drawn between them. My brain cannot process that.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wondered what happens to your food as you prepare it? Culinary Reactions explains all the science. I learned quite a few things. The author’s sense of humor, particularly in some of the included recipes, is fabulous. As a added bonus, the author’s adorable little parrot makes several appearances in photos. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about what’s going on in their kitchen.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible and informative, the recipes were a neat addition as well.

[Ella Moody · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the schoolbook rating system, it was somewhere between "I don't heavily sigh when its time to read this" and "I'm tired of reading recipes I'm never gonna cook"

[This_gal_reads08 · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was really bad, I do not recommend this book.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, Culinary Reactions is an interesting book that contains lots of things and knowledge like biology, protein chemistry, base and acid, and oxidation and reduction reactions, etc. As an AP chemistry student, it’s really interesting for me that I can apply what I learned in class and the book to cook. I also found out that there is something I never knew about, like the Maillard reaction which sugars react with amino acids and cause the brown color on toast.
It’s a good thing to contain lots of information but it also puts the book in an awkward situation. For example, Mr. Field only used nine pages to introduce acids and bases which we learned about half a month which means he missed a lot of information. It’s really difficult to introduce everything in detail in about 200 pages.
I was confused when I read about why oil is harder to boil than water because from what I learned, H-bonds between water molecules should be more significant, but the fact is, oil molecules are hundreds of times heavier than water which causes the London dispersion forces between oil molecules to be more significant. Mr. Field didn’t state that clearly in the book which I thought is not good.
In summary, as a popular science book, Culinary Reactions is not a good option for people who had never cooked before and know nothing about chemistry or biology. Even though Mr. Field added notes considerately, it still couldn’t provide everything you need to fully understand the book, but in another perspective, the book will arouse your interest in science which is a good thing.
Last but not least, I like to eat ice cream and I would like to see how to make ice cream and what’s the theory behind it, but when I finished reading the last part of the last chapter, even though it was named “making ice cream”, it still didn't have what I wanted. So I would only give the book four stars.

[Sheila Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever wanted to know how foams, gels, syrups, solutions, yoghurt, butter, blue cheeses, sourdough bread, meringues, etc are made and why they are as they are, then this book is for you. This is not only about chemistry - it is also about biochemistry and microbiology. You’ll learn all about very specific bacteria and yeasts. For example, which particular bacteria you need to make yogurt and which bacteria are needed to make blue cheeses. How does caramelisation change ‘sugar’ molecules? How do you preserve foods using alcohol, acidity or dehydration? Lots of interesting information and quite a few quirky recipes.

[Carrie Templeton · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 ⭐️. The content of this book was super interesting and expanded on things I’ve learned over 15 years of working in restaurants and bakeries. The voice it was told in was a bit blah, very technical and textbook-like. Maybe I should expect that when I grab a book on food chemistry, but either way, I still enjoyed reading and will reference for recipes in the future!

[Tbird244 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I FINALLY FINISHED IT MAWHAHAHAHHAHA

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful book on the chemistry of cooking. Really fun stuff about how things mix, cook, or dissolve. What make meat tough, and how to cook a turkey with hydrogen peroxide! Had me giggling throughout the book, and also pondering some of his advice. I particularly like his suggestions on baking different sized cakes and why that can be a problem. Lots of fun trivia on where some of the cooking vocabulary came from... Hint: chemistry :-) Fun for me, may be a little technical for some people, but I'm sure you'll learn something from it.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent: very clear and concise writing style. The science in general and the chemistry principles used are at a basic, introductory secondary school course level and easy to understand while fascinating to anyone who has spent just enough time in the kitchen whisking eggs, making gravy or whipping cream and is curious about the changes taking place in front of them. Highly recommended.

[Geophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating, and definitely a "keeper", as I'll read it again. However, this book won't be enjoyed by everyone. If you love cooking and are interested in chemistry, this is a book for you.

[yamiyoghurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read

[Caryn Block · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this to my kids for their homeschooling curricula. It isn't a book I'd choose on my own, but it was interesting. Some portions are rather dry, but we did learn a lot.

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!! I highly recommend it.

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do Your Inner Fish, The Eye: A Natural History, and Culinary Reactions have in common? They're three boox that deal with very complicated subjects (evolution, vision, and cooking respectively) in everyday, understandable writing. This isn't a cookbook; rather, it explains why what you do when you manipulate food does what it does. Why you need to cool candy quickly - to prevent large crystals from forming which would change the way it tastes. Why milk chocolate melts in your hand while dark chocolate doesn't - dark chocolate's fat is nearly pure cocoa butter, which melts all at once at a higher temperature than milk chocolate, which has a mixture of fats. Why chocolate melts as soon as you eat it - cocoa butter's melting point is 97-99o, exactly the temperature of your mouth. How to make ice without bubbles - boil it first then cover it with plastic to prevent air from coming back in. And lots, lots more. There's even a very detailed recipe for making cheese which I intend to try.

All in all, lots of fascinating information that helps make sense of what are actually very complicated processes.

[Degenerate Chemist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the most fun I've ever had reading a chemistry book. I found myself laughing at the authors stories and personal experiences. I especially loved the enthusiasm and passion he had for both cooking and chemistry.

While the first few chapters cover basic chemical concepts the latter half of the book gets into more complex ideas that I felt would cause the casual reader to loose interest.

I find that popular science books always struggle to strike a balance between the casual reader and those with a background in the subject. This book was definitely one of the more successful attempts at getting that balance right.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

He really tries to bridge the gap between the non scientific and scientific person, but in my opinion, you're kind of writing for one or the other audiences. As much as it was fun to see a little bit of chemical structures in the book, it was kind of too much and reached that 'don't really care' aspect. The recipes he included are pretty cool and there are a lot of tips and tricks, but he either needed to make it more for the scientific community or simplify it a bit for the non scientists.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish this book. I found the level of detail odd... The author would go into complex descriptions of certain chemical reactions, but then couch them in fairly simplistic explanations. I decided to put it down for another book on the same topic in hopes it would better meet me where I'm at.

[Josh Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

simplistic,. chemistry level for a young teen.

[Marzi Pecen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Culinary geekery at its best.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science and cooking, my 2 favourite things.

[JJ]

god do I hate chemistry

[Yilaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written with concise clarity and a touch of humor without getting sidetracked. This explained chemistry to me more enjoyably than any class I've taken.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a chemist. I dropped it as a subject when I was 14 so I’m not reading this with a chemist’s outlook. I’m reading it as someone interested in baking and how reactions work. In some ways that makes me the ideal audience. In others not so much.

I found the actual chemistry bits hard to get to grips with, molecular diagrams (if indeed that’s what they were) mean nothing to me. I almost gave up part way through but then found more interesting facts that encouraged me to keep going.

I’m glad I persevered with it. But the fact it took perseverance isn’t a great selling point is it?

Some interesting facts (for me) that I noted down:

“It is interesting to look at recipes that are very careful to weigh out all of the ingredients yet then call for three eggs, without specifying the weight of the eggs. Eggs vary in weight, but most recipes don't specify the size of the eggs as small, medium, large, extra large, or jumbo. The reason is that it really doesn't matter too much. Whatever the size, the recipe is going to come out just fine”

“left to itself, the yolk inside will float to the top of the egg and thus be off-center when the egg is cut in half for deviled eggs or sliced into a salad.

To keep the yolk centered, the eggs must be turned frequently while being cooked, keeping the yolk away from the shell. Since the white of the egg cooks on the outside first (where it is closer to the boiling water), the yolk that is turned often will not be able to get past the hardening white and will end up centered.”

“Marshmallows were originally a way of making the cough suppressant in the root of the marshmallow plant palatable.”

“Roquefort cheese contains the highest levels of glutamates of any naturally produced food. Glutamates are what give savory, protein-rich foods their taste, and they are found in other fermented foods, such as soy sauce.”

“Bread becomes stale when the starches crystallize, and warming the bread returns them to their soft gel state, making the bread taste and feel fresh. Stale bread is not dry; it just feels that way because of the crystallized starches.”

[Robert Barlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry of Cooking to be an interesting and engaging read, suitable for a wide variety of audiences. This book gave easy, understandable explanations for complex scientific topics. Although these descriptions are brief and general, they provide adequate detail to understand the science in this book. Specifically, the science discussed by Field is explained in the context of food so that a reader can incorporate it into every-day cooking. For example, Field talks about bread, common ingredients that go into it, and why each ingredient is important. Moreover, he elaborates on the science and use of ingredients such as acids, bases, emulsifiers, and more to explain why these types of ingredients are used and how they work.
Beyond the science of cooking, this book goes into detail about how to take this knowledge and apply it the kitchen. This is evident in the chapter about scaling up and down a recipe. He elaborates that when changing the amount of a recipe is not always as simple as just scaling the amount of ingredients one should use. By understanding the science of cooking, these concepts can be applied to a wide variety of foods not necessary discussed in this book. Overall, by learning about the science in cooking, these concepts can be applied to a wide variety of dishes.
This book discusses a wide variety of foods such as breads, meat, cheese, and more. It also dives into more scientific topics such as acids, bases, solutions, and others, where he explains how these more abstract concepts are prevalent and important in cooking. This diversity in topics covers many interesting topics and foods that I never knew about before reading this book. This book was well worth the read. Regardless of your scientific background and culinary skills, the concepts are explained in an understandable way that can then be applied to the kitchen!

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom gave me this book when I was an undergraduate in chemistry. Years and one graduate degree later, I pulled it off my bookshelf and gave it a read. Some of the information in the book I learned on my own through the years, just cooking and being curious about how it works. Some things in this book were new to me - like how marshmallows are made. Overall I liked it because as long as I learned something I can't complain.

I think some of the chapters are strong, where they touch on topics in cooking that will be needed in the kitchen. Some, however, feel like they drag on, describing something in paragraphs that maybe could have been a table or a picture. I recall one chapter all the proteins in egg white were listed, and I just thought, I'm not sure why anyone needs to know this, or why this couldn't have just been in a table. Some things are interesting here, like why the egg white turns from clear to white. But I don't get the decision to list out all the proteins.

I think the book would have read better if the author gave some narrative of his life to complement the science. Where did he learn all this? Does he know all this stuff about candy making because he just read a book on it before writing this one, or did he spend his summers making candy with his kids? I'd love to know! I think it would have brought the science to life more.