The Science of Cooking: Understanding the Biology and Chemistry Behind Food and Cooking

The first textbook that teaches biology and chemistry through the enjoyable and rewarding means of cooking

The Science of Cooking is a textbook designed for nonscience majors or liberal studies science courses, that covers a range of scientific principles of food, cooking, and the science of taste and smell. It is accompanied by a companion website for students and adopting faculty. It details over 30 guided inquiry activities covering science basics and food-focused topics, and also includes a series of laboratory experiments that can be conducted in a traditional laboratory format, experiments that can be conducted in a large class format, and take-home experiments that can be completed with minimal equipment at the student’s home. Examples of these engaging and applicable experiments include fermentation, cheese and ice cream making, baking the best cookies, how to brown food faster, and analyzing food components. They are especially useful as a tool for teaching hypothesis design and the scientific process.

The early chapters of the text serve as an introduction to necessary biology and chemistry fundamentals, such as molecular structure, chemical bonding, and cell theory, while food-based chapters cover:

• Dairy products (milk, ice cream, foams, and cheeses)
• Fruits and vegetables
• Meat and fish
• Bread
• Spices and herbs
• Beer and wine
• Chocolate and candies

The Science of Cooking presents chemistry and biology concepts in an easy-to-understand way that demystifies many basic scientific principles. For those interested in learning more science behind cooking, this book delves into curious scientific applications and topics. This unique approach offers an excellent way for chemistry, biology, or biochemistry departments to bring new students of all levels and majors into their classrooms.

Joseph J. Provost, PhD, is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of San Diego, USA. He has helped create and teach a science of cooking class and taught small and large classes. Provost has served on educational and professional development committees for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Council on Undergraduate Research, and the American Chemical Society while teaching biochemistry, biotechnology, and introductory chemistry laboratories and conducting lectures. He continues a partnership with Mark A. Wallert on lung cancer research.

Keri L. Colabroy, PhD, is an associate professor of chemistry at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA, where she created and teaches a course on kitchen chemistry for nonscience majors. In addition to teaching, Colabroy maintains an active undergraduate research lab in enzymology, serves as coordinator for undergraduate research at the college, and participates on the Council on Undergraduate Research in the Division of Chemistry.

Brenda S. Kelly, PhD, is an associate professor of biology and chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, USA. In addition to talking with her students about cooking as one big science experiment, Kelly teaches courses in biochemistry and organic chemistry and has an active undergraduate research lab where she engages her students in research questions related to protein structure and function.

Mark A. Wallert, PhD, is an associate professor of biology at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota, USA. Mark was an inaugural member of Project Kaleidoscope Faculty for the twenty-first century in 1994 and has worked to integrate inquiry-driven, research-based laboratories into all of his courses.