Funny thing is that although everybody thinks that chemistry is for the white-coated “strange little” scientists, the truth is we are all chemists. Chemistry is the study of matter; the properties of matter and the interaction between matter and energy. Every single material in existence is made from matter and that includes all living things – our bodies too. Matter is the “stuff” that makes up our world.

Most of the time, when I am telling people that I am a chemist, I can see in their eyes certain images (typically associated with chemistry) like unintelligible molecular structures, test tubes fuming, strange liquids mixing, and from time to time a cool explosion like the ones you see in the movies (this is the one that I like the most).

In reality, everybody who cooks is a chemist (some are better then others), so there is at least one chemist in every family. Every home has a chemistry lab – the kitchen. Cooking, at its core is chemistry. It is that part of chemistry that involves chemical reactions catalysed by heat or cold (the interaction between matter and energy) to make new substances.

As in any scientific endeavour, you use scientific knowledge (even when it’s named a recipe) every time you step into the kitchen with the purpose of cooking. You need to know what you are doing, how much of this and/or that you need, under what conditions, at what temperature and for how long it should cooked to get to that just perfect flavour, colour and texture.

Let’s take the example that is most characteristic of summer – the steak. When barbequing meat to get that perfect steak taste and that distinctive brown colour, a chemical reaction has to happen between amino acids and reducing sugars (Maillard reaction).

For the dough to rise in bread making, to get the bread that makes a perfect sandwich, fermentation must happen. Fermentation is the process in which yeast converts the sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide and alcohol. By the way, fermentation is also the process involved in alcohol making.

The red wine that goes perfectly with steak get its flavour and colour from a class of flavonoid molecules called anthocyanins. They are a large group of plant pigments that depending on their structure and acidity may appear red, purple or blue. Many anthocyanins are red under acidic conditions and turn green or blue under less acidic conditions.

So from now on when you get “scared” of chemistry, or for that matter by a chemist, think of that juicy steak with a glass of red wine and realize that you are a chemist too. To complete this experience, you could buy some of our art because chemistry is fun and beautiful when coloured.

P.S. The photo at the top is what you can do with an anthocyanin when playing with the pH.

–Dana Plesa

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