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Why does wheat flour become malleable and elastic when mixed with water?
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Asked by Nutchanon
on 2012-02-05 16:29:05

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: wheatflour.

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Pot roast Ordinary potatoes and sweet potatoes have a very similar consistency when raw, yet sweet potatoes roast in about half the time. What is the reason for this? Alan Fellow, Edinburgh, UK
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Asked by Moderator
on 2012-02-03 15:34:21

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: cooking, kitchen, Potato, Vegetables.

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Heat vision?

It’s a chilly day and I have a candle sitting on my desk as I work. The bright sunlight throws a silhouette of the candle onto the wall and it shows the shadow of something emanating from the top of the candle – the shadow behaves in a similar way to a vapour of steam or smoke as it rises. But when I look above the candle I cannot see anything – there is no smoke or steam visible to the naked eye without the benefit of a shadow. What am I seeing?

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Asked by samcharkham
on 2012-02-03 13:10:24

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: heat, Vision, vapour, candle, thermal, shadow, smoke.

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Do sub-atomic particles (quarks) rotate around themselves to produce gravity?
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Asked by scv-9000
on 2012-02-03 06:49:36

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: gravity, rotation, sub-atomic.

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Martinis are forever

The Last Word has long been dedicated to discovering the science of James Bond's vodka martini, so maybe you can help. I've read in many places that when the vodka and vermouth that make up the martini are being stirred with ice you should always use a proper long, thin bar spoon, or failing that a table knife. This makes for a much colder drink than stirring with a normal, wide-bowl spoon. I tested this, stirring two identical martinis for 30 seconds, and found the martini stirred with the knife was an average 2.5 °C while that with a tablespoon was 3.9 °C. I repeated the experiment five times (on different nights, honestly). So why?

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Asked by Moderator
on 2012-01-31 12:56:35

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: drink, JamesBond.

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Why should a haggis bake for 90 min in 190C but only boil for 45 min in water to be enjoyed?

The cooking instructions on the Burns' Night Haggis suggest heating it gently in boiling water for 45min or in the oven at 190 C for 90min.

I presume the higher densitiy of the water molecules allow a more efficent energy transfer compared to heated air.

Is there a formula that can work out how long it takes for food, i.e. a potato, to be baked in hot air, steamed, boiled in water, fried in oil etc. to be cooked?

What does the heat change inside the potato. Break the cell walls? Change the molecules of starch etc. ?

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Asked by marting
on 2012-01-30 20:06:10

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Last edited on: 2012-01-30 20:07:10

Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: Haggis, Cookingtimes.

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Can we jump from skycraper with chair and jump from the chair before impact and survive ?
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