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The Journal of Food Science is the preeminent source for all things food science.  Any academic in the world of Food Science publishes their research in this journal.  Each month when I receive the latest volume, I scan through the table of contents looking for something of interest amongst all the obscure research topics published more for the generation of an increase in the CV of the professors or more funding for yet more obscure research into stuff like “Glutamine Nitrogen and Ammonium Nitrogen Supplied as a Nitrogen Source Is Not Converted into Nitrate Nitrogen of Plant Tissues of Hydroponically Grown Pak –Choi” (Whew, am I glad of that!)

Wouldn’t want to eat any Pak-choi with the wrong nitrate nitrogen) I really do prefer reading about the menu trends, recipes, and new foods in much more delicious language.  However, once in a while there are some pieces of research which really do catch my attention.  They are topics for which I can envision real world products or real world applications for the improvement of existing products or the creation of new ones.  For example, the March 2009 Journal had a mother lode of interesting articles:

Irradiation is a very viable method for preserving foods and researchers reported on the changes that occur when this method is used in several meat products.  Irradiation is very effective at killing residual microbes like E.coli and could help eliminate much of the food borne illnesses.  Evaluation of the volatile compounds in the headspace of brandies provides in sight into the complex chemistry that occurs when alcoholic drinks are made and could provide methods to improve the reliability of this very time intensive process.

I thought the article about the “Effects of Yolk Contamination, Shearing, and Heating on Foaming Properties of Fresh Egg White” particularly interesting.   The research report covered 7 pages of fine print and included numerous tables of data showing how heat, shear, and yolk contamination impacted foam speed, stability and capacity.  The authors shared the formulas for calculating these parameters and even included a statistical analysis of the data.  And then, I read the abstract, the summary of the research and found that the major conclusion of all this research was that yolk contamination of the egg white was the major factor in reducing foaming properties of the egg white protein, something my mother taught me when I first started to cook.  She does indeed get to be smarter every year!

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My husband and I have an ongoing difference of opinion, to put it gently.  Me, the obsessive about food safety and him, following in his mother’s footsteps of thawing the chicken on the kitchen counter and letting the food cool before it goes into the refrigerator (that must be a throwback to the days when you had to replenish the ice in the ice box, well before Freon and other refrigerants, he is, after all so much older than me).  But food safety and food poisoning, or more correctly food born infection and intoxication have been making news way too much lately and so I am now in the lead in this argument.  Actually, any mention of food recalls or food borne illness is too much.  Training in the restaurant industry includes the rules of food safety and sanitation but the reality of day to day craziness in the back of the house can upset even the most fastidious amongst us.  That’s where a broader understanding of the science of microbiology and especially the application of multiple “hurdles” for preventing the contamination or the products we prepare can better insure safe food always.

We don’t live and cook in sterile environments.  The microbes that cause food borne illnesses are always present.  We control and limit the damages they can cause by making the environment in which they live as intolerable for them as possible.  Temperature is one of the best hurdles we put in place to prevent them from growing; keeping hot foods hot (above 140 degrees F/ 60 degrees C) and cold foods cold (less than 40 degrees F/ 4 degrees C).  Limiting the water content of foods is another very effective hurdle but one which is less widely used as there are not that many ingredients we can use to tie water up so it is unavailable for microbial growth.  Sugars, especially dextrose & fructose, work very well but not every food is sweet.  Salt works great as well but by the time the salt content is high enough for the microbes to not tolerate it, most people wouldn’t tolerate eating the food.  Time is yet another hurdle for limiting contamination.   Putting multiple hurdles in place provide layers of protection for your products.  I don’t have time to go into more depth this time but watch my blog and I will continue to write on this subject over the next several weeks.

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WHAT?? No, I’m not going to start out with the cliché definition, not even from Webster’s, but the Science of Food is what this is all about; yup, science as in Chemistry, Physics, and even Biology. I’ve always considered the sciences just one side of the creative food process with art being the other; kind of a right brain, left brain phenomenon.

Professional chefs and creative home cooks focus on the art of food creation and the food scientists focus, of course, on the science. So, as the introduction to this blog, I’m going to discuss or just share scientific principles which support the culinary arts and hopefully enable greater creativity on your part. But how can understanding the science underlying the preparation of a masterful feast enhance creativity?

There is true beauty in the creation of wonderful foods. It is an art and true God given talent is exhibited by all the great professional chefs. The inherent skills exhibited in knowing the aroma of perfectly browned breads or the touch of steaks broiled just to medium rare are developed through training and practice of the culinary arts.

But understanding the physics of heat transfer and the chemistry in the reactions that cause the browning of the bread crust and conversion of raw muscle to juicy, perfectly broiled steak can enhance those skills and provide greater creative opportunities. Chefs who ascribe to molecular gastronomy and apply science in the preparation of the menu items they serve to their customers have truly stellar creations.

Understanding protein denaturation enables greatly stabilized foams for desserts which last longer for more customer enjoyment. The use of hydrocolloids (molecules which react with water to form gels or thicken) which gel upon heating and melt as they cool provides unique sauce delivery with the hot entrée. Much has been written and talked about food safety in the press in the past several months and while that has mostly been about the recall of products from major manufacturers, smaller producers and even many food service establishments were impacted.

The microbiology of preparing safe foods is really the application of the biological sciences to cooking and handling foods. I will be writing about these and many other topics in this blog on a regular basis. I also want to answer questions you may have and perhaps even generate ongoing discussions about culinary topics that are of interest to you.

Food is my passion, my life’s work, livelihood and where I play every day. I am very fortunate that I am able to combine the art of the culinarian with the experimentation of the scientist. I want to use this blog to share that love and excitement with you.

I would like to welcome Barbara Garter to the blogging platform, she is a extremely talented food scientist with a Master’s degree in Food Science. For nearly 30 years, she has been developing food products for major food companies and restaurant chains applying the science and art of food creation. You can expect to find regular contributions from Barbara as time passes us by.

Chef Matthew J. G

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