Modernist-Cuisine-Vol.-1-Small

5
HEAT AND ENERGY
In the process of learning to cook, we
build an intuition about the underlying science as
well. We know that a copper pan heats more
evenly than one made of iron, although we may
not be able to explain why. We know that a thick
cut of meat cooks more slowly than a thin cut
does, even if we’ve never seen the mathematical
equation that governs the difference in cooking
time. We recognize that blending food too vigorously
or for too long can actually cook it, yet we
may be uncertain where the heat comes from.
In other words, we understand instinctively
that, in addition to being an art form, cooking is
also a physical process governed by scientific
laws. Most of those laws describe how energy
moves into, within, and from foodand what
happens to the food as a result. Energy transferred
by way of heat, for example, causes irreversible
physical and chemical changes that
transform food from raw to cooked. When chefs
debate the finer points of food flavor, texture,
color, nutritional value, and safety, they are often
in effect talking about how energy in its various
forms alters food.
Because the interaction of food and energy is so
fundamental to cooking, a working knowledge of
some basic physics and the fundamentals of heat
transfer can greatly reduce failure and frustration.
That knowledge is especially important for
Modernist cooks, who are constantly pushing the
envelope of the conventional. A better understanding
of the underlying science opens new
avenues for culinary innovation because it expands
our vision of the almost unlimited ways in
which food can be transformed. That’s why the
most inventive chefs get excited when the physics
of cooking runs counter to their intuition: this
remarkably common occurrence often teaches
them something of real use.
Just as every great recipe builds on a foundation
of great ingredients, a working knowledge of the
science of cooking must begin with the two
ingredients that are universal to all styles and
techniques of cooking: heat and energy.
Skin of a rockfish transforms when
plunged in hot oil.
Sautéed carrots (left) are the final recipient in a relay of thermal
energy that passes from the gas flame to the pan, from the pan to
the butter, and from the butter to the vegetables. The most
fundamental formula (previous spread) that governs cooking is the
heat-flow equation, discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1807. For more
on this equation, see page 278.
262 VOLUME 1 · HISTORY AND FUNDAMENTALS
HEAT AND E NERGY 263