Elisabeth Seiple
CR 4
5/5/20
The two outside sources I chose throughout the senior project process are somewhat similar in that they both explore fundamentally the same idea, that cooking is basically one big science experiment. The first source, an article from a Duke University research blog entitled “Looking at Cooking as a Science Experiment” does just what the title suggests, looks at cooking as a science experiment. It talks about how many cooking innovations come directly from scientific innovations. This resonates with my project as my essential question seeks to explore and better understand that same relationship between science and cooking. For example, the article talks about “when the 1800s came around, a scientist named Eben Horsford discovered that adding an acid with sodium bicarbonate creates baking powder”. This discovery is something that revolutionized cooking, and it came from an agricultural chemist instead of a chef.
The second source I chose was a book from America’s Test Kitchen called The Science of Good Cooking. Beginning in the first chapter the book emphasizes the exactness of cooking, a trait inherited from its scientific heritage. It details the tried and true methods for achieving near perfect measurement for every ingredient and recipe, simultaneously justifying the extra steps involved by emphasizing the importance of controlling the ensuing chemical reactions. This new definition of cooking, that it is just the act of controlling chemical reactions, has been one of the largest takeaways of my project.
https://shop.americastestkitchen.com/science-of-good-cooking-bks.html