Tonight I took a recipe my mom had for date oat bars and made a whole bunch of substitutions and tweaks to make a cranberry oat crumble that is dairy-free and gluten-free. It's delicious 
I have a lot of fun doing this sort of recipe tinkering. I keep a kitchen lab notebook for the recipes I create or modify. My spouse suggested that I show it to my chemistry students. I use a lot of the same habits
@Take_A_Bow @xvf17 oh awesome!
Reminds me of something similar (on a webpage) I used to show kids in my #KitchenChemistry class. ( oh that nearly 15 yrs ago).
Thanks for the link!!
I'm incredibly blessed with so many great memories 
of my late friend Bob Wolke (and we did meet late in our lives, much earlier in mine tho).
I knew of him before I moved to Pittsburgh - didn't realize he was here until just before I was introduced to him by a colleague.
You too can gain much, as I did, from his wisdom and expertise through his books on #Food + #Science
It's what led me (before we met) to use #KitchenChemistry to teach #Chemistry through food
Last one in what ended up as a short thread on umami response
Proteins breakdown and many of the amino acids, not just glutamate, produce an umami response.
There's glutamate in mother's milk, and enhanced umami (glutamate) in say vegetable soup produces a more favorable response from babies
#Taste #KitchenChemistry
https://www.umamiinfo.com/what/whatisumami/#cont02_area
In case you know of umami but don't know about differences in response to glutamate (there's a lot in kombu) and inosinate (there's a lot in katsuoboshi) and guanylate (there's a lot in shiitake, especially dried) - know that there is a synergy between these.
Hence my mixing of the 3 for the dashi <technically 2 would have been ok>
Here's a good review article
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26247011/
Details are everything.
The sole difference when making Indian Paneer versus Mexican Queso Fresco is 30°F in when you add the acid to the milk.
The chemistry at the two different temperature is so profoundly different that they both have different cooking and melting properties once completed.
Paneer is harder and resists melting and the Queso Fresco is soft and melts (think quesadillas).
#inthekitchen #IndianCuisine #MexicanCuisine #kitchenchemistry #fromscratchkitchen
Last couple of times (latest was in March) my Science of Taste & Flavor class for #PhippsConservatory here in #Pittsburgh went really well. Their Botany Hall Kitchen space is a terrific venue.
Phipps has me on again - Sept 19th - registration is open I'm told.
https://my.conservatory.org/6320/scienceoftasteandflavorfall2024
Ok so to coincide with the #Picklesburgh festival here in #Pittsburgh this weekend the university social media people put this *shocking* clip out on Instagram reels.
Great editing job on this unplanned (besides "can you do something related to pickles") unscripted few moments with a few items I grabbed from home. (Besides the variac)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9n4d3suf5C/?igsh=ZDN4bXFtc2l5anNr
The yellow glow from sodium ions as electricity passes through a pickle, same kinda yellow that tells us that some stars are made of sodium
(Fun doing a quick little demo for my Univ social media folks. Only remembered to pull my phone out just before I stopped)
#KitchenChemistry #ScienceOutreach
5/4 lagniappe with a bit of #KitchenChemistry about those ajitsuke - soy marinated - quail eggs.
Made them quite a few days ago, they had soft yolks.
Here's how: 3 min into boiling water and immediately into cold water (with a bit of ice). Then once cool, about 20 mins in a bit of vinegar - the spots will come off and shell will get a bit soft. Rinse and peel easily...
Marinate in fridge in soy + water + sugar + mirin (skipped sake, but use some)
@wallamidyl @xvf17 @msbellows @blogdiva frozen is good plan. If not frozen, it gets too bitter - but a good way to avoid that excess reaction is to first rub/dab the microplane with lemon or lime juice or vinegar (that like the cold retards the reaction)
Oh hey - found an archived version of the #Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article from 2010 about my #KitchenChemistry course.
Somewhat flattering article I'll add (even if I'm being shameless and self-promoting). I do hope to keep at this for #SciComm and Outreach even if offering the course has gotten harder. Was a lot of work but fun (and students' joy & learning & enthusiasm kept me going those days- well, till 2017)
(May take a while to load)
http://web.archive.org/web/20190512150918/https://www.post-gazette.com/food/2010/11/04/Chemistry-in-the-Kitchen/stories/201011040485
