A Little Science Lesson For You

Dear Readers,

My interweb has been broken for about a week. After a 43 minute long conversation with the Dell support people somewhere over in India it is now working!! Three cheers for Indian Call Center!!!
One week of college down! Woop Woo!! I am feeling quite studious, so it is time for a little chemistry lesson.
Incase you didn't know or you were dropped on your head as a child, baking is a science. It requires exact measurements so the correct chemical reactions happen. Without science bread would rise, cake would not have the wonderful spongy texture, and basically everything in the baking would would fall apart.

Well my first class in culinary school is a certification and basic culinary skills class. My chef is trying to encompass some of the science of baking, but he doesn't do very well... Now I am not an expert on chemistry, but I do remember quite a bit from my junior year chemistry class (thank you Mr. DZ!). My chef started talking about the pH scale and I knew some of what he was saying was incorrect so I did some resource on the blogosphere. Let hop onto the magic school bus and take a trip to science land!
So to the left is a wonderful diagram of the pH scale. The pH scale measures acidity and alkalinity. Most people know what acidity is. It tastes sour like lemons, sour patch kids, or war heads. That is common sense... or at least hopefully. The lower numbers on the pH scale represent higher acidity. Higher acid can burn through counters and shit.
7 on the pH scale is neutral. It wouldn't hurt you or anything for that matter. Water is normally a 7 or around there.
Higher numbers on the pH scale is know as basic. As the number increases the alkalinity increases and things become more basic. Soap is basic. Lye and ammonia are basic. Bases taste bitter. If you are bad child and a curse words has passed your pretty lips (unlike me) your mother might have washed your mother out with soap. If that is you, then you know what a base tastes like.
In baking and cooking you need to balance flavors. There are 5 basic flavors. Bitter. Umami. Salty. Sweet. Sour. I have no idea what the hell umami actually tastes like so don't ask. But as you can see the different pH has a different affect on food and its flavor.
Baking is a science. Don't forget that dumb ass. Live life by lindsey's rules and by the rules of science.
Lindsey