5 ms·

This paper is so oversimplified. If you're actually curious in the physics of food, check out the journal of food engineering. We use much more complex physica

This paper is so oversimplified. If you're actually curious in the physics of food, check out the journal of food engineering. We use much more complex physical models to simulate the physics of food. Fun note, this is my job and it is pretty cool to really dig into the science behind cooking and then apply that to an industrial scale.

gry 8y ago
Related: I highly recommend the Cooking Issues podcast with Dave Arnold [http://heritageradionetwork.org/series/cooking-issues/ http://heritageradionetwork.org/series/cooking-issues/].
- ponzored 8y ago
  And this great book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking The science and history of food! Great illustrations too.
  - hutattedonmyarm 8y ago
    Cooking for Geeks is really good too: https://www.cookingforgeeks.com/ https://www.cookingforgeeks.com/
  - dwd 8y ago
    An excellent book that you can pick up, read a few random pages and walk away feeling you've learn't something. Always informative as to where ingredients come from and what happens when heated, kneaded, beaten, stirred, etc.
  - tiatia123 8y ago
    Hey mate. Sorry that your comment got flagged. YC is so terrible politically correct. But be careful mate. In this age you can run into trouble for being heterosexual already: http://www.rooshv.com/i-was-detained-by-icelandic-police-after-my-london-bound-flight-redirected-to-keflavik-airport http://www.rooshv.com/i-was-detained-by-icelandic-police-aft...
- mtd 8y ago
  See also this edx course: https://www.edx.org/course/science-cooking-from-haute-cuisine-to-soft-matter-science-chemistry https://www.edx.org/course/science-cooking-from-haute-cuisin...
imh 8y ago
Any specific fun recommendations for a similar target audience as OP?
- crispyambulance 8y ago
  Yes, there's a youtube channel: "French Guy Cooking". It is in English, and in it a french guy with a dives into various aspects of cooking, equipment and technique as only a geek can (he obviously has a technical background). https://www.youtube.com/frenchguycooking https://www.youtube.com/frenchguycooking I like it because he shows taste and sensitivity to the culinary arts, he's hilarious, but actually goes in depth on the topics.
- chaosbutters314 8y ago
  oh god, I don't think the only thing close is Alton Brown's good eats. It is the closest thing to food science classes you'll get that are general and simple to understand
kovek 8y ago
I realized that some frozen meals must be better than others. Thus, there must be a frozen meal that is best. I think cooking methods relate to that. I really appreciate those because they can be very cheap yet nutritious. However, I don't know if it's healthy to consume them too often.
- Jaruzel 8y ago
  > However, I don't know if it's healthy to consume them too often. Frozen meals tend to have very high levels of salt in them. They also have poor quality ingredients, so are not as nutritional as you think. If you must live on frozen meals, try making them in large quantities yourself over a weekend, and freeze them. Most basic 'meat & vegetables' meals can be frozen and re-heated.
  - 6nf 8y ago
    If high levels of salt is the worst thing you can say about frozen meals then they're pretty damn decent for the convenience they offer!
    - keypress 8y ago
      I cook from fresh every day. Now granted I'm not the fastest cook - but it can take anything from about 20mins to an 1h 30mins to prepare dinner. While I'm cooking I'm cleaning and doing other tasks. Left overs carry over to lunch or another evening meal. If I were to use a frozen meal, I'd have to defrost, and then cook, and likely would want something alongside it - like veg or salad. Unless Chef Mike (Microwave) is employed. I find it hard to see this being that much quicker. I've had one pre-prepared bought in meal this year. Most convenience foods like this have a strange processed taste - that isn't just salt. This is coming from someone whose sense of taste has been shot totally to pieces.
      - majewsky 8y ago
        > I find it hard to see this being that much quicker. A part that's much quicker is that you just grab a frozen meal from the store, rather than first figuring out what to cook and then searching for ingredients at various sections of the store.
panabee 8y ago
this is very cool! 1) what's the most helpful physics-based cooking tip most people aren't aware of? 2) are there efforts in food engineering to apply machine learning to recipes in the same way some projects are trying to automate other creative functions like graphic design?
- cosenal 8y ago
  about 2) there is (was?) an effort by IBM to make an AI chef using techniques from cognitive computing. See https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/28/cooking-with-chef-watson-ibms-artificial-intelligence-app/amp https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/28/cooking-with-c...
- dsr_ 8y ago
  It is a widely-held belief that searing a piece of meat before a slow roast will seal in the juices. Actual testing reveals this to be completely incorrect. Searing (dry, high heat) produces maillard reactions which are responsible for lots of flavors that we like. So searing is good, but it's better to cook your meat to just below the temperature you want, then take it out and sear it. You'll have a more consistent doneness.
  - skellera 8y ago
    For anyone looking, this is what most people are now calling a reverse sear.
- chaosbutters314 8y ago
  1)how to optimize volumetric versus surface heating versus air/water heating of food. Once you understand enough about heat transfer, combining microwave, broilers, hot air and sous vide type cooking let's you create food textures that are better suited for your personal likes. Like cooking a turkey, people that complain about it being dry don't understand the difference between heat transfer and mass transfer.you don't have to dry out meat when heating it. 2) this is for food science, not food engineering.But yes, my this is a new area food companies (and specifically my boss) is getting into is to use AI/ML for understanding process and recipes to design new foods or troubleshoot problems
amelius 8y ago
What is the most prominent journal for this field?
- rubidium 8y ago
  "journal of food engineering"

gry 8y ago

Related: I highly recommend the Cooking Issues podcast with Dave Arnold [http://heritageradionetwork.org/series/cooking-issues/ http://heritageradionetwork.org/series/cooking-issues/].

ponzored 8y ago
And this great book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Food_and_Cooking The science and history of food! Great illustrations too.
- hutattedonmyarm 8y ago
  Cooking for Geeks is really good too: https://www.cookingforgeeks.com/ https://www.cookingforgeeks.com/
- dwd 8y ago
  An excellent book that you can pick up, read a few random pages and walk away feeling you've learn't something. Always informative as to where ingredients come from and what happens when heated, kneaded, beaten, stirred, etc.
- tiatia123 8y ago
  Hey mate. Sorry that your comment got flagged. YC is so terrible politically correct. But be careful mate. In this age you can run into trouble for being heterosexual already: http://www.rooshv.com/i-was-detained-by-icelandic-police-after-my-london-bound-flight-redirected-to-keflavik-airport http://www.rooshv.com/i-was-detained-by-icelandic-police-aft...
mtd 8y ago
See also this edx course: https://www.edx.org/course/science-cooking-from-haute-cuisine-to-soft-matter-science-chemistry https://www.edx.org/course/science-cooking-from-haute-cuisin...

imh 8y ago

Any specific fun recommendations for a similar target audience as OP?

crispyambulance 8y ago
Yes, there's a youtube channel: "French Guy Cooking". It is in English, and in it a french guy with a dives into various aspects of cooking, equipment and technique as only a geek can (he obviously has a technical background). https://www.youtube.com/frenchguycooking https://www.youtube.com/frenchguycooking I like it because he shows taste and sensitivity to the culinary arts, he's hilarious, but actually goes in depth on the topics.
chaosbutters314 8y ago
oh god, I don't think the only thing close is Alton Brown's good eats. It is the closest thing to food science classes you'll get that are general and simple to understand

kovek 8y ago

I realized that some frozen meals must be better than others. Thus, there must be a frozen meal that is best. I think cooking methods relate to that. I really appreciate those because they can be very cheap yet nutritious. However, I don't know if it's healthy to consume them too often.

Jaruzel 8y ago
> However, I don't know if it's healthy to consume them too often. Frozen meals tend to have very high levels of salt in them. They also have poor quality ingredients, so are not as nutritional as you think. If you must live on frozen meals, try making them in large quantities yourself over a weekend, and freeze them. Most basic 'meat & vegetables' meals can be frozen and re-heated.
- 6nf 8y ago
  If high levels of salt is the worst thing you can say about frozen meals then they're pretty damn decent for the convenience they offer!
  - keypress 8y ago
    I cook from fresh every day. Now granted I'm not the fastest cook - but it can take anything from about 20mins to an 1h 30mins to prepare dinner. While I'm cooking I'm cleaning and doing other tasks. Left overs carry over to lunch or another evening meal. If I were to use a frozen meal, I'd have to defrost, and then cook, and likely would want something alongside it - like veg or salad. Unless Chef Mike (Microwave) is employed. I find it hard to see this being that much quicker. I've had one pre-prepared bought in meal this year. Most convenience foods like this have a strange processed taste - that isn't just salt. This is coming from someone whose sense of taste has been shot totally to pieces.
    - majewsky 8y ago
      > I find it hard to see this being that much quicker. A part that's much quicker is that you just grab a frozen meal from the store, rather than first figuring out what to cook and then searching for ingredients at various sections of the store.

panabee 8y ago

this is very cool! 1) what's the most helpful physics-based cooking tip most people aren't aware of? 2) are there efforts in food engineering to apply machine learning to recipes in the same way some projects are trying to automate other creative functions like graphic design?

cosenal 8y ago
about 2) there is (was?) an effort by IBM to make an AI chef using techniques from cognitive computing. See https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/28/cooking-with-chef-watson-ibms-artificial-intelligence-app/amp https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/28/cooking-with-c...
dsr_ 8y ago
It is a widely-held belief that searing a piece of meat before a slow roast will seal in the juices. Actual testing reveals this to be completely incorrect. Searing (dry, high heat) produces maillard reactions which are responsible for lots of flavors that we like. So searing is good, but it's better to cook your meat to just below the temperature you want, then take it out and sear it. You'll have a more consistent doneness.
- skellera 8y ago
  For anyone looking, this is what most people are now calling a reverse sear.
chaosbutters314 8y ago
1)how to optimize volumetric versus surface heating versus air/water heating of food. Once you understand enough about heat transfer, combining microwave, broilers, hot air and sous vide type cooking let's you create food textures that are better suited for your personal likes. Like cooking a turkey, people that complain about it being dry don't understand the difference between heat transfer and mass transfer.you don't have to dry out meat when heating it. 2) this is for food science, not food engineering.But yes, my this is a new area food companies (and specifically my boss) is getting into is to use AI/ML for understanding process and recipes to design new foods or troubleshoot problems

amelius 8y ago

What is the most prominent journal for this field?

rubidium 8y ago
"journal of food engineering"