All Questions
Tagged with everyday-chemistry food-chemistry
126 questions
4
votes
0
answers
58
views
What were the crystals I saw in a package of caffeinated mints?
I opened a package of caffeinated mints this morning, and I noticed that they seemed to sparkle in the light. When I examined it closely, I saw that the "empty space" in the package was full ...
- 199
0
votes
1
answer
106
views
In cooking does KCl draw water from food "same as" NaCl? [closed]
For medicinal/health reasons, cardiac and high blood pressure in particular, Potassium Chloride (KCl) is often used in place of Sodium Chloride (NaCl) AKA table salt for food purposes. It is offered ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
58
views
Why does pectin/agar jelly taste sweet, if they stay solid at 36.5 °C, entrapping sugar?
When we eat pectin jelly(fruit jelly) or agar jelly, they taste sweet.
This should imply that sugar entrapped in gel network is somehow exposed and dissolved to saliva.
However, pectin and agar gel ...
- 237
0
votes
1
answer
89
views
About whitish layer that formed on chocolate bar
I noticed a whitish layer on the surface of a chocolate bar that I ate yesterday. I looked at the pack where it was mentioned that,
"Temperature and humidity changes may cause product to develop ...
- 41
-1
votes
1
answer
74
views
What is that substance coming from tractor tire?
I have old tractor with Bridgestone tires. When I press a clean white tissue against the tire, a black spot show on the tissue. Is that substance carbon black and it’s harmful to soil?
0
votes
1
answer
484
views
Why does brandy have a higher methanol-to-ethanol ratio than beer, despite the distillation?
From my googling, beer tends to contain around 16mg/L of methanol. While for brandy, typical methanol content is around 1000mg/L (give or take a factor of 3, depending) The distillation that brandy ...
- 519
0
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How to dissolve beeswax/carnauba wax to spray
I’m trying to make an edible hydrophobic coating for a tart shell. If anyone knows of a way to lower the viscosity of an edible wax enough to make it sprayable I’d really appreciate it.
I have a paper ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
75
views
Chemistry of a proposed Capsaicin extract [closed]
Background:
I’d like to make an extract of capsaicin using the following ingredients: Capsicum powder, Fractionated coconut MCT oil, apple cider vinegar, and saline. The idea is for the capsaicin to ...
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
35
views
Buffer when testing soda with DCPIP
We are testing a range of sugary drinks (coca cola, orange juice, and chocolate milk) with DCPIP to detect vitamin C. The coca cola has given a false positive and we were wondering if this is due to ...
3
votes
1
answer
315
views
Storage solution for oxygen sensitive liquid chemicals?
I'm needing to transfer oxygen sensitive liquid chemicals from a 5 litre bottle to many 100ml storage solutions. Since I'm transferring a large quantity I plan on operating within an inert atmosphere ...
- 131
-4
votes
1
answer
107
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How Bread is made with yeast, sugar and luke warm milk? [closed]
Materials and Apparatus:
wheat flour
sugar
dry yeast
glass bowl
covering plate
milk
Procedure:
Lukewarm milk is taken in the glass bowl and sugar is added to it. Then, yeast is added to the same.
...
- 101
9
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Why do purple Pedialyte freezer pops turn green when frozen?
I bought some Pedialyte freezer pops for my kids:
And I've noticed that after spending a long enough time in the freezer, the purple "grape" pops change color from purple to green:
After ...
- 193
-3
votes
1
answer
287
views
Turning oil into solid for candles [closed]
I added stearic acid to hot vegetable oil and saw it turned to a sludgy, slush material in about 1.5 hours. Is there any other natural additive that I can add to make it more solid in the same amount ...
- 23
16
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Why do green bell peppers become bitter when cooked?
Why do green bell peppers taste sweet raw, but become bitter when cooked (steamed)?
What chemical process is responsible for this? I don't believe the temperatures are high enough for the Maillard ...
- 519
14
votes
1
answer
522
views
What factors promote honey's crystallisation?
Honey is a complex mixture containing, probably, more than hundred compounds.
I understand that the % of those components will affect the crystallisation.
However, I am wondering what factors may ...
- 281
29
votes
2
answers
4k
views
The importance of the cold chain in the food and the pharmaceutical industry
There are these everyday things that one should know as a scientist and especially as a chemist, but which never come to light in an academic curriculum — at least not in mine.
One such thing is the ...
- 1,277
9
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Are food calorie values really integers?
According to what I've seen, fat has a listed caloric value of 9 Cal/g, while carbs and protein have listed caloric values of 4 Cal/g.* Are these numbers exact, or have they been rounded? And if they ...
- 185
26
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Can we fill potato chips bags with a gas other than nitrogen?
I understand that we fill potato chips bag with nitrogen to prevent oxidation. But why do we use nitrogen, instead of neon or hydrogen or something else?
My first guess is that nitrogen is lighter ...
- 501
0
votes
0
answers
294
views
Lowering the freezing point of a lipid by adding another lipid
I'm trying to stop bacon grease from congealing in the fridge by adding another lipid with a lower freeze point to it, but I'm not sure how much to add, as I'd like to keep the ratio as bacon-grease ...
- 119
3
votes
1
answer
240
views
How can they "wash away" the caffeine from Nescafe Gold to produce that "de-caf" version?
I buy and drink Nescafe Gold all the time. I also buy the smaller "caffeine-free" version of the same product. It tastes very differently, which makes me assume that the caffeine does have a lot of ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
salts affecting the salinity of water [closed]
I know there are different types of salts like Himalayan salts table salts etc. I was wonder do different types of salts have a different level in salinity when dissolved in water.
- 11
21
votes
5
answers
6k
views
How would I measure the Carbon Dioxide content in Coca Cola over a period of time?
I'm sorry if this is a broad question, but I am trying to plan a simple experiment. I am wondering is there a somewhat simple way of continuously measuring $\ce{CO2}$. I already know the initial ...
- 339
3
votes
1
answer
118
views
Coffee Degassing
I roast coffee, and currently package it in plastic bags with one way 'degassing' valves.
As soon as coffee is roasted, it starts giving off $\ce{CO2},$ a process which continues for days, and ...
- 39
0
votes
0
answers
40
views
Supplement weight by element or compound
When a vitamin or supplement claims, for example, that it contains
600 mg of calcium (as calcium carbonate)
what does that mean? Does each tablet contain 600 milligrams of the element calcium?
Or ...
- 109
2
votes
0
answers
108
views
What kind of chemical reaction happens when combining Tahini and Date syrup?
While both Tahini and Date syrup are quite thin, when mixed together they form a paste-like substance that is very delicious, and quite thick. But what kind of chemical reaction leads to such sudden ...
- 29
3
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Why does chewing gum get hardened after drinking water?
Why does chewing gum get hardened after drinking water? This is a basic question, but please don't say temperature change, because I've tried that, and it never gets back to same elasticity. There ...
- 131
1
vote
0
answers
287
views
Why does coconut oil spoil much faster than groundnut oil?
I have observed that various foods cooked using coconut oil spoil much faster than foods cooked using groundnut oil. One good example is Asian coconut milk curry. Even with proper refrigeration, this ...
- 10.8k
-2
votes
1
answer
343
views
Will fruits and vegetables be more oxidized if blended at high speed for a long time or at less rpm for a short period of time? [closed]
Will fruits and vegetables be less oxidized if blended at higher speeds for shorter periods of time, or at lower speeds for longer periods of time?
Do the oxidized molecules in vegetable juice ...
- 1
1
vote
3
answers
22k
views
Sugar solutions have a neutral pH in themselves, but it makes your body acidic. Why? [closed]
I'm not an expert, but as far as I understood a sugar solution is completely neutral since sugar can't take hydrogen ions out of the water or donate them in. Sugar is a non ionic compound, so it does ...
- 169
4
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Is flour or baking soda really suitable for extinguishing grease fires?
I think most have heard the advise that you should put flour (or baking soda) on a grease fire to absorb the oil before. While this is certainly better than using water, I'm skeptical.
For starters ...
- 12.7k
10
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Why does lavender oil dissolve plastic?
A few weeks ago I decided to harvest the lavender in my garden and put it through a still to extract the essential oils. The still in question is essentially just an air cooled condenser.
I collected ...
- 211
5
votes
2
answers
177
views
Why is cooking not potentially lethal? [closed]
Even the simplest ingredients used in cooking, such as a banana, contain hundreds of chemical compounds. When we cook we mix several of these ingredients and apply heat, which makes a perfect ...
- 181
43
votes
2
answers
13k
views
What causes the "rotting fish smell"?
Rotting fish seem to give off the same (very pungent) kind of smell, regardless of the kind (salmon, seabreen, tuna, etc).
What exactly is it that's responsible for this unique smell?
(Though I've ...
- 18.8k
2
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Why do gnocchi float when they are cooked?
Gnocchi is a kind of pasta made with flour, potatoes and eggs. They are cooked in boiling water and when they are ready to be eaten they float.
Why do they float when they are cooked?
I found two ...
- 155
2
votes
1
answer
347
views
How does salt push out the water from vegetables, meat, etc.?
Where can I find out, how does this process work? Have you noticed, that when you salt mushrooms, eggplant... or add sugar to lemon - some "juice" comes out.
Any explanations? Or maybe name that ...
- 131
-1
votes
1
answer
532
views
Is food color E-132 indigotine, carcinogenic?
I have seen different opinions on food color E-132 Indigo carmine (indigotine, FD&C Blue 2) if it forders cancer.
3
votes
1
answer
527
views
Using drip extraction, how much caffeine is extracted from coffee as a function of the amount of water used?
When using a drip coffee maker, there are basically two choices we make: the amount of water and the amount of coffee grounds.
If we use the same amount of coffee grounds but double the water, how ...
3
votes
0
answers
500
views
Coffee and argon/nitrogen [closed]
I’ve recently been experimenting blanketing coffee with argon and nitrogen. I’m finding that argon has a more positive result. I can’t find any data or information that would confirm this other then ...
- 39
6
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Does calcium hydroxide react with citric acid in orange juice?
I noticed that calcium-fortified orange juice on the shelf at my local grocery store contains calcium in the form of calcium hydroxide.
And I also noticed a couple other ingredients that ordinary ...
- 69
3
votes
0
answers
157
views
Why do certain mixtures foam and others don't? How to predict if a mixture will yield a foam?
I recently acquainted myself with the skill of whipping a mixture of sugar, fresh brewed/ hydrated instant coffee into a pale, fluffy, stiff and stable foam. This, as some might know, is known as Café ...
- 181
12
votes
1
answer
429
views
Why does hot oil fry things, but hot water does not?
When a slice of potato is dropped into hot oil, it gets fried but the same in hot water, gets ‘cooked’. What is it about oil that gives the slice of potato the crispy feature while water only makes it ...
- 470
3
votes
0
answers
45
views
Translucifying chemical? [closed]
I was recently shown an object and asked if it was a chestnut. It looked like a regular horse chestnut except instead of an opaque brown surface, the entire nut was slightly translucent, in similarity ...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How do Invert Sugars deter crystallization in Sucrose solutions?
Invert Sugars, by themselves, are notorious for their reputation to crystallize fast (think honey), but their addition to solutions of Sucrose (think simple syrup) deters the crystallization process. ...
- 181
3
votes
0
answers
607
views
Heat and Sugar Syrup Consistency
I make my own sugar syrups and have been observing how heating the syrup to different degrees results in syrups of radically different consistencies, I wonder why. Heating up syrups (4:3 Sugar:Water) ...
- 181
4
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Must lactose-free milk be ultra-pasteurized?
In this question I asked why lactose-free milk lasted such a long time. The answer was because it is ultra-pasteurized. This leads naturally to another question: does lactose-free milk have to be ...
- 632
7
votes
3
answers
4k
views
How does calcium carbide artificially ripen fruits?
Lately, use of chemicals to artificially ripen fruits is in full swing. Firstly, how do they do it? Next, Are there any ways to distinguish between those that are naturally ripened and those that are ...
- 497
8
votes
1
answer
6k
views
How do I eliminate the disagreeable odor of soy milk?
I've was making tofu from soy-milk, but noticed this disagreeable odor produced during the process.
I conducted a string of internet searches in an attempt to find a method to eliminate this odor.
...
- 109
47
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Why does whipped cream use nitrous oxide instead of nitrogen gas?
It seems that nitrous oxide $(\ce{N2O})$ is frequently used to create whipped cream. But why can't just regular nitrogen gas $(\ce{N2})$ be used instead?
- 1,566
1
vote
0
answers
248
views
Is Jell-O flavored plastic?
Per this article, "Gelatin is a thermoreversible, cold-setting polymer." Further, Jell-O is flavored gelatin.
Is the phrase "thermoreversible, cold-setting polymer" equivalent to the term "plastic?"
...
- 119
3
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Why does soda explode if artificial sweetener or other powders are added?
I opened a can of soda and spilled some generic artificial sweetener into the soda and it exploded. Why did this happen? I am not talking about mentos, I mean artificial sweeteners like Splenda.
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