Chemistry in Everyday Life, Essay Example

Chemical reactions in cooking

Cooking forms an essential part of everyday life and each of us are involved in the use of chemistry when undertaking various cooking processes.  For example:-

Boiling Eggs – When you boil an egg you change its chemical state i.e. you cannot return it to its’ original condition. It is the heating process that breaks apart the amino acid strings in the eggs and as such causes the proteins to unfold. As these gain in energy they are able to form new protein molecules and as such create a bond between different proteins. This forces the liquid out and turns the egg hard.  A similar process takes place in the whisking of eggs when you set out to make an omelette.

Making ice cream – This undergoes a chemical treatment process either at home or in large scale factory production. You essentially get an ice cream mix, that combines milk cream and sugar. This is then pasteurised or heated to eliminate and bacteria. Flavour is then added to the mix e.g. Vanilla essence, together with chunks of fruit or chocolate. This is then whipped via a machine with pipes that contain chemicals like ammonia to assist the freezing process. A dasher inside the tube introduces air bubbles that give the ice cream structure.

Pickling – This was originally used as a method to preserve foods. The introduction of high quantities of salt (sodium) extends the life of shelf products. This creates microbiological stability in the products and the chemical changes enhance and introduce new flavours. This chemical change creates a high concentration of salts and acids