Question 1

What is the chemistry of cooking?

Accepted Answer

The chemistry of cooking is the science that explains how food ingredients change when cooked. It helps us understand why food looks, smells, and tastes the way it does.

Question 2

Why does bread rise when we bake it?

Accepted Answer

Bread rises because of a tiny living thing called yeast. The yeast eats sugars in the dough and makes bubbles of gas, which puff up the bread.

Question 3

Why do onions make you cry?

Accepted Answer

When you cut an onion, it releases a gas that mixes with the water in your eyes to make a mild acid. This acid makes your eyes sting and water.

Question 4

How does sugar dissolve in water?

Accepted Answer

When you stir sugar into water, the sugar crystals break apart into tiny pieces that are too small to see. These tiny pieces mix evenly with the water, so the sugar seems to disappear.

Question 5

Why does food change color when it's cooked?

Accepted Answer

Cooking can change the color of food because of heat. Heat causes chemical reactions that create new colors, like when a steak turns brown.

Question 6

How do eggs get firm when cooked?

Accepted Answer

Eggs firm up when cooked because the heat causes proteins in the egg to change shape and stick together. This makes the egg go from runny to solid.

Question 7

Why does milk curdle sometimes?

Accepted Answer

Milk can curdle when its proteins stick together, forming lumps. This can happen if the milk is too old or if something acidic is mixed in.

Question 8

What happens when you bake a cake?

Accepted Answer

When you bake a cake, the ingredients form a batter that rises and becomes solid. Heat helps the ingredients combine and change to make the cake fluffy and delicious.

Question 9

Why does toast turn brown?

Accepted Answer

Toast turns brown because of a reaction called caramelization. The heat changes the sugars in the bread, giving it a brown color and yummy flavor.

Question 10

How does popcorn pop?

Accepted Answer

Popcorn pops because there's a little moisture inside each kernel. When heated, the moisture turns to steam, building up pressure until the kernel bursts open.

Question 11

Why do vegetables turn mushy when cooked too long?

Accepted Answer

Vegetables can turn mushy if cooked too long because the heat breaks down the structures that keep them firm. It's like melting away the support beams of a building.

Question 12

Why does chocolate melt in your hand?

Accepted Answer

Chocolate melts in your hand because it's sensitive to heat. Your body heat is enough to change chocolate from solid to liquid.

Question 13

What makes bread crust crispy?

Accepted Answer

Bread crust gets crispy due to moisture leaving the dough during baking. The heat cooks away moisture from the outer layers, leaving them dry and crunchy.

Question 14

Why do apples turn brown when you cut them?

Accepted Answer

When you cut an apple, the inside is exposed to air, causing a chemical reaction that turns it brown. This is called oxidation.

Question 15

How does sugar make jam thick?

Accepted Answer

Sugar helps jam become thick by drawing water out of fruit and mixing with ingredients to create a sticky, gel-like texture.

Question 16

Why do cookies spread out in the oven?

Accepted Answer

Cookies spread out because the heat melts the butter and makes the dough soften. This lets the cookie mixture spread until it bakes and firms up again.

Question 17

What is steam, and why is it important in cooking?

Accepted Answer

Steam is the hot mist created when water boils. It's important because it helps cook food evenly and can make things like rice fluffy.

Question 18

How does acidity affect cooking?

Accepted Answer

Acidity in foods can change flavors and textures. For example, adding lemon juice to fish can make it taste fresh and help keep it firm.

Question 19

What makes spicy food taste hot?

Accepted Answer

Spicy foods feel hot because they contain compounds like capsaicin that trick your mouth into feeling heat, even though it isn't really hot like fire.

Question 20

Why does food smell different when cooking?

Accepted Answer

Cooking causes chemical reactions that release new smells. These smells are from ingredients mixing and changing as they get hot.

The Chemistry of Cooking: Principles and Reactions - 20 FAQs Explained Simply