Chemistry and Physics in the Kitchen; April 1994; Scientific American Magazine; by Kurti, This-Benckhard; 6 Page(s)

Interest in the application of science to the art of cookery is growing. Cooks once regarded the introduction of scientific reasoning, let alone laboratory techniques, into their kitchens with suspicion, even with hostility. That time seems to be past. Nevertheless, both in restaurants and in domestic kitchens, many cooks tend to remain faithful to the grand culinary traditions and practices they were taught, without knowing why (or really even whether) those practices guarantee the best results. Thus, cooks add pinches of flour when heating custards to prevent them from curdling; they rigidly follow certain protocols in making souffl.s; they generally do not vary the proportions of ingredients in their recipes, and so on. Perhaps for that reason, culinary superstitions and old wives' tales continue to flourish.

The mistrust of scientific explanations for culinary mysteries is all the more surprising given that music, painting, sculpture and the performing arts have prospered with experimental scrutiny and discovery. Science has improved the technologies for preserving, reproducing and disseminating works of art, which has led to a greater appreciation of those works by a wider audience. There is no proof that science and technology have compromised creativity in any way; they may even have helped it.