Science and Cooking - From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science (chemistry)

Overview

Top chefs and Harvard researchers explore how everyday cooking and haute cuisine can illuminate basic principles in chemistry, physics, and engineering. Learn about food molecules and how chemical reactions can affect food texture and flavor.

During each module of this Science and Cooking - From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science (chemistry) course from Harvard University - HarvardX, chefs reveal the secrets behind some of their most famous culinary creations — often right in their own restaurants. Inspired by such cooking mastery, the Harvard team will then explain the science behind the recipe.

Topics will include:

• How molecules influence flavor

• The role of heat in cooking

• Diffusion, revealed by the phenomenon of spherification, the culinary technique pioneered by Ferran Adrià.

What you'll learn

• The scientific concepts that underlie everyday cooking and haute cuisine techniques;

• How to apply principles of physics, engineering, and chemistry to cooking;

• How to become an experimental scientist in your own kitchen;

• How to think like a chef AND a scientist.