Two good kitchen science articles on the WaPo today!!!
One on the science underlying traditional kimchi vessels, one on salt's role in cooking and baking.

I have a surfeit of gift articles so will try to keep both out of the paywall for youse.

Kimchi first
https://wapo.st/41eEgmT

Salt next
https://wapo.st/3KHobAY

#KitchenScience #kimchi #salt

Napa cabbage looked good and the kimchi stash was getting low, so I did a 8 hour wet brine (cabbage, carrot, turnip), mixed up the additional ingredients, and another quart begins a five day room temperature ferment.
#KitchenScience #fermentation #kimchi

Oh hey - found an archived version of the #Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from 2010 about my #KitchenChemistry course.

Somewhat flattering article I'll add (even if I'm being shameless and self-promoting). I do hope to keep at this for #SciComm and Outreach even if offering the course has gotten harder. Was a lot of work but fun (and students' joy & learning & enthusiasm kept me going those days- well, till 2017)

(May take a while to load)
http://web.archive.org/web/20190512150918/https://www.post-gazette.com/food/2010/11/04/Chemistry-in-the-Kitchen/stories/201011040485

#KitchenScience #Gastronomy

Even if perhaps obvious, it's worth remembering, reminding that spices and aromatics are highly oil soluble and a great amount of flavor can be delivered through a bit of infused oil.

Here's how #Nihari - a long cooked stew is served up - with a final ladel of spiced oil. The craft and skill of the famed spots often owes much to that final flavoring.
/5 s video/

#KitchenScience #KitchenChemistry
#Cooking #KitchenTips
#DasEatsKolkata22

- image-based analysis of the #bubble shape, velocities and so on
- even the setup looks really familiar (and is really expensive, by the way)

It is a beautiful video but also illustrates the research process we follow.

2/2

Here's my #KitchenScience:
https://twitter.com/DrLutzBoehm/status/1602566763018964993?s=20&t=3LNq7iMnbCK8hIGxN4As3A

- image-based analysis of the #bubble shape, velocities and so on
- even the setup looks really familiar (and is really expensive, by the way)

It is a beautiful video but also illustrates the research process we follow.

2/2

Here's my #KitchenScience:
https://twitter.com/DrLutzBoehm/status/1602566763018964993?s=20&t=3LNq7iMnbCK8hIGxN4As3A

@Edie if it's a class you can also have them (or some of them) cut on a board that is wet (or on wet paper towel). The enzymes release a product that is water soluble (though volatile). It's this compound that combines with moisture, water in eyes and is lachymatory. If the cut onions go into some water immediately, there's less diffusion to the eyes

#KitchenScience #KitchenChemistry

2½/n #KitchenScience #Cooking side tip, underrated, underused 'hack': stick onions in the freezer while you gather and prep other ingredients; 10 - 15 mins and it'll save you some tears when you chop it up (also use a sharp 🔪).

Lachrymatory compounds are generated by enzyme (allinases) activity, that is less at lower temp.

And that's something you can test.

Try it at home - put an #ice cube (a dry, not moist as possible) and an equal amount of water in separate cups. The water will boil, the ice will barely melt (mostly from the liquid water) in a #microwave oven

It helps to splash or sprinkle a bit of water when you heat things in a microwave.

#SciComm #KitchenScience #KitchenChemistry #Cooking #Tip

A #microwave works great to demonstrate or explain #HydrogenBonding too

Not sure if this is well known or not but #ice will not heat up in a microwave. (The H bonds hold the H2O in the ice crystal lattice and prevent rotation/reorientation with the shifting dielectric field)
You need liquid or vapor water to heat up (and pass the heat on) in a microwave

#SciComm #ScienceTip #KitchenScience