"Bill" <billnomailnosp
...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
...
> What goes on when we "cook" something?
> Background...
> -I modified a potatoes au gratin recipe to have a larger quantity.
> -I learned my oven was heating to the wrong temperature (too low).
> Problem: My potatoes did not "cook"!
> The previous recipe was for a shallow pan and this would "cook" the
> potatoes because the heat from the oven could easily reach the center of
> the pan.
> But with my large pot of potatoes, the heat obviously is going to take
> longer to reach the center of the pot.
> So the question is: What exactly is "cooking" when you are cooking
> potatoes?
> With a roast or turkey, you want the center to reach a certain
> temperature, and then it is done. And I assume this is mostly to kill
> bacteria, however it also makes the meat easier to eat.
> So with potatoes, do we want the center of the center potato in a big pot
> to reach a certain temperature and then it is done?
> Or do we want the center of the center potato to reach a certain
> temperature, and then stay at that temperature for a certain amount of
> time? (And it is being at this temperature for a certain time which
> "cooks" the potatoes?)
> Then if that is true, what is the temperature the potatoes should reach
> before setting our "beginning to cook timer"?
> I think my malfunctioning oven was around 325 degrees F. and I baked the
> potatoes for 90 minutes and they never "cooked".
> Then I raised the temperature to around 400 and they quickly began to
> "cook" and become tender!
> So why does 400 work and not 325? What exactly is happening when a potato
> "cooks"?
Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat, selecting,
measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing
safe and edible food. The process encompasses a vast range of methods, tools
and combinations of ingredients to alter the flavor, appearance, texture, or
digestibility of food. Factors affecting the final outcome include the
variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the
individual doing the actual cooking.
The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of the aesthetic,
agricultural, economic, cultural, social and religious diversity throughout
the nations, races, creeds and tribes across the globe.
Applying heat to food usually, though not always, chemically transforms it,
thus changing its flavor, texture, consistency, appearance, and nutritional
properties. Methods of cooking that involve the boiling of liquid in a
receptacle have been practised at least since the 10th millennium BC, with
the introduction of pottery.
--
Dimitri
Last minute grilled Cardboard :-)
http://kitchenguide.wordpress.com.
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