Science in Cooking Trivia Quiz

Answer: thermometer

Internal temperature of meat determines whether it is safe to eat or not. A thermopile converts heat into electricity and a calorimeter measures heat, not temperature.

Answer: denaturation of proteins

Denaturation of proteins occur because upon heating the proteins uncurl (lose their tertiary structure) and then the hydrogen bonds that provide the secondary structure break, while the primary structure, made of peptide bonds connecting amino acids, remains intact.

Answer: ice crystals, air, and fat globules

A phase is a distinguishable solid, liquid, or gas. The fat globules and very small ice crystal in ice cream give it its creaminess. The air keeps the ice cream mixture from freezing into a solid mass and lends to a pleasing texture.

Answer: The specific gravity of water is 1.00.

The density of water is 1.00 g/ml. Specific gravity is the same as density in the metric system, but does not have units. This means that a weight ounce (avoirdupois ounce) and a fluid ounce are the same measurement. Most liquids are not significantly more dense.

The difference in mass and volume matters for very light ingredients, like grated coconut or heavy ingredients like chocolate chips.

Answer: caramelization

Ultraviolet rays cause skin to brown, but are not produced to a significant extent in a conventional oven. Microwaves are also not present to any extent in a conventional oven, where the heat is produced by infrared radiation.

Answer: They cause small carbon dioxide bubbles that expand upon heating.

The active leavening ingredient in both baking soda and baking powder is sodium bicarbonate. If baking soda is used, an acidic ingredient is needed to cause the bicarbonate to dissociate, producing small bubbles of carbon dioxide. Baking powder has cream of tartar with contains an acidifying agent.

In both cases, the CO2 bubbles expand upon heating and make give the baked goods an airy or "light" texture.

Answer: Fat globules coalesce to form butter.

Lipoprotein membranes that keep globules from coalescing are broken by the agitation. This allows globules to come together to create a solid emulsion that we call butter. The byproduct of this process is buttermilk, which has less fat in it than whole milk, but more than skim milk.

Answer: curds and whey

The origin of cheese predates historical record. Egyptians made a salty cheese similar to feta. In England the cheese board recognizes over 700 varieties. Cottage cheese is produced by addition of enzymes that curdle the milk proteins. At this point, it is curds and whey.

After draining the whey from the curds, the product is cottage cheese. The different types of cheeses known are the result of bacterial activity, addition of flavor, type of animal that produced the milk and even physical processes (stretching of mozzarella and cheddaring of cheddar cheese) used on the cottage cheese.

Answer: Pineapple contains enzymes that keep the gelatin from setting.

Initially gelatin was produced by boiling animal bones and other products to extract the collagen, which is a complex protein. Pineapple contains a protease, an enzyme that denatures protein, keeping the protein chains from forming a network or gel.

Answer: Yes, by using a pressure cooker or by cooking at the Dead Sea

At sea level, water boils at 212 degrees F. At the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, the boiling temperature could be increased to 221 F. A pressure cooker decreases cooking time by applying pressure. The phase diagram for water shows that at higher pressure, the boiling point of water increases and thus allow more heat transfer per unit time.

The pressure in a pressure cooker is about one atmosphere (15 psi) greater than sea level atmospheric pressure. At this pressure water boils at 252 F.