Science-based Cooking and Seasons

Science-based Cooking

It's hard for the average cook to grasp the idea of food chemistry or looking at the molecular level of food because recipes are not setup that way.  Recipes are designed with ingredients, and ingredients are proportions, or ratios, of components that make up the dish. But within each component are even more components, or new ratios. These come in the form of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and other minerals and vitamins   Each of these components and their interaction, give ingredients different properties - properties that contribute to texture, taste, and smell.  For example, cookie dough as a set of ingredients, minus the liquid, is flour, sugar, and butter. Each of these ingredients can further be broken down as a protein, carbohydrate, and lipid, respectively.  And these categorical elements can be further broken down into their individual constituents.  Take the protein in flour for example, which has a large molecule, and the driving force in breads, gluten.  Gluten, as a large chain of proteins, can be further broken down as a set of gliadin and glutenin.  Each of these play major roles in the properties of baked goods. Gliadin allows the dough to stretch (and rise) while glutenin springs it back into place. Now at this level, towards the bottom of the rabbit hole, we can learn the magic behind the mystery.  We might never know why our fish died when we were young or why we have a strange fixation towards midget porn, but we can know why our food behaves the way it does.  And we can start to micro-manage its flavor-soldiers so they are more prepared for their next battle into Mordor (the oven).


Seasons


I'm seasonal with seasons. Spring brings joy, summer brings more joy, fall makes me a goddamn poet, and winter just pisses me off.  I vote, we just kind of get rid of winter.  It's a horrible time of the year.  It's cold, it raises my bills, and my dick is constantly smaller than normal.  Seriously, winter only has two perks: More hot chocolate and less stinky people.  I'm so excited it's ending and my good ol' friend, Mr. Sun, is poppin his face back into my life.  The smell of sunscreen, chicks in bikinis, a bigger dick, and all the vitamin D I need. I'm ready for a change. I'm ready to sit outside with a beer and eat lot of ice cream.  I'm ready to hike and climb a fucking mountain just to prove to Mother Nature that I'm not her bitch.  I'm done pouring my thoughts into whiskey, and ready to take an outdoor challenge and flex my arms in front of bear.