Hello my friends!!! This is my second post for food chemistry! today I would like to tell you about things we are doing daily in our kitchen  and we use chemistry. Sometimes, these things that we consider easy, hide many things behind them. Perhaps even chapters of chemistry and physics of food that may,  scare us like terms but we do it on a daily basis.

http://img.finedininglovers.it/?img=http%3A%2F%2Ffinedininglovers-it.cdn.crosscast-system.com%2FBlogPost%2FOriginal_1345_La-chimica-dei-biscotti.png&w=1200&h=660&lu=1390558547&ext=.jpg
[credit](https://chocolatecarousel.com/the-science-of-baking/)


Everyone is accustomed to the color of the roast and the rich odor of the meat that emerges from the barbecue and fills our space. This brown color, if you do not care, can become black (burned) but is much more than a simple color. Scientists have given the name Mailard reactions (honor to French chemist Louis Camille Maillard) to describe some complex chemical reactions between specific sugars and proteins that give us some browning products which taste sweet like caramel. These complex reactions are responsible for the color of a large number of products we buy or make in our kitchen: from bakery products, fried to grilled, covered with these brown flavors rich in taste and odor. Three conditions are essential for the production of these substances: proteins, sugars and the neutral environment.Acids seem to interfere with this series of reactions. In particular, the pH limit value is 6 - below this value, the result is very poor in aroma and color, and it appears that the more alkaline the environment , the more the reaction is accelerating.
<center>![alt text](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdUPynhenvxnAYhfyUB28JEeQPNPHjmmNhCzgxytutu45/food-browning-due-maillard-chemical-reaction-occurs-between-amino-acids-7-638.jpg)</center>
<center>[credit](https://www.slideshare.net/bejoybj/food-browning-due-maillard-chemical-reaction-occurs-between-amino-acids)</center>

**Starch**
The starch we have heard and tasted so often in sophisticated foods, such as bechamel  sauce or in simple creams and dishes, has a property we use almost daily in food and recipes in the kitchen. When talking about starch, we are actually talking about starch grains, which contains two components: amylose and amylopectin, which as a chemical composition are the same (glucose molecules) but differ in their configuration.

If the starch is dissolved in cold water, we do not see any change, but if the solution of water and starch starts to heat, then we first see the grains absorb water and swell and gradually the amylose molecules diffuse into the water. As the temperature rises, the moment (80-90 ° C) comes when the grains break and release the amylose and amylopectin components in the water.  This phenomenon is described as gelatinization of starch and the practical of the phenomenon occurs when this mixture begins to cool to 35-40 ° C, creating a gel that finds many applications in the stabilization and coagulation of creams, soups etc. 

<center>![alt text](http://www.nutrientsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Starch.jpg)</center>
<center>[credit](http://www.nutrientsreview.com/carbs/polysaccharides-starch.html)</center>

**Raising Agents**

In each house there are some substances that help to swell the preparations during baking. These substances are generally divided into chemicals and biological raising agents.  Some of these are :

**Chemical raising agents**
Baking powder, which is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate with acidic substances (usually tartaric or phosphoric acid or aluminum compounds), usually with a small amount of starch, which on heating releases carbon dioxide and causes the  swell of pastries.
Baking soda belongs in the same category - it also contains sodium bicarbonate, but without the acidic substances that must come from the mixture we are baking. Finally, ammonia (chemical name: ammonium bicarbonate) produces the same result as the previous, but much faster.

<center>![alt text](https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_auto,w_1008/aqtf6smckkab1dwmjwdv)</center>
<center>[credit](https://feast.media/bicarbonate-of-soda-and-baking-powder-are-both-raising-agents)</center>


**Biological raising agents**
Yeast belongs,In the category of biological raising agents, which is consisting of the fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae. During baking, the enzymes of the microorganism break down the simple sugars of the mixture and create the corresponding gas as well as small amounts of other compounds involved in the aroma and flavor of the baking material. Typically, yeast is marketed in two forms: the pressed, with a moisture content of about 70% and dry with less moisture (at 10%).

http://finedininglovers.cdn.crosscast-system.com/BlogPost/xl_2116_yeast-tp.jpg
<center>[credit](https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/what-is-yeast-food-science/)</center>
In everydaylife…
All these and even more (chemical and biological) reactions take place in our kitchen in our daily preparation for the meal, which shows the delicate balance between art science and experience we use everyday.

**References**
[Wikipedia Maillard reaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction)
[WikIpedia Starch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch)
[ifst chemical raising agents](https://www.ifst.org/lovefoodlovescience/resources/raising-agents-chemical)
[ifst bio raising agents](https://www.ifst.org/lovefoodlovescience/resources/raising-agents-biological-fermentation)
[thoughtco baking powder](https://www.thoughtco.com/how-baking-powder-works-607382)
[Wikipedia Baker's yeast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker%27s_yeast)


Thanks for stepping by :) If you think my article was interesting and useful, an upvote or a resteem will be appreciated, in order for other people to read it. :)  For more interesting food articles follow @zkalemiss!!!