The Chemistry of Pie
I don't have a lot of experience making pies from scratch. Crusts are hard for me; not only making one that is light, flaky, and tastes great, but that also looks nice. This was my most recent attempt at making an apple pie. The crust still needs a little work, but it didn't come out too bad. Most importantly it was fun to make. Maybe not great for the waist line, but definitely good for the spirit.
I have always liked dabbling in cooking. Recently, I have become more passionate about it. Not only is it great stress relief by allowing my a creative outlet of sorts, but it fills in a missing gap for me. In college I loved and excelled in chemistry labs; be it inorganic, organic, or biochemistry it didn't matter I loved it all. I miss those days of discovery, where precision was rewarded by successful identification of an unknown substance or solution. Long hours in the lab sometimes resulted in frustration and the need to begin anew, but most often that wasn't the case. I enjoyed the work and even liked writing up detailed reports explaining the steps I took, the results I achieved, and what it all meant. Someday, I might enjoy doing lab work for a living, but until then I will continue my work in the kitchen making tasty comestibles.
Now as in days gone past I grab my trusty glass flask with the name Pyrex etched on the side, add my universal solvent with a keen eye on the meniscus, and then slowly titrate in the necessary solutions. Finally, I heat the resultant solution over my bunsen burner (ok so it's really my circa 1970's gas stove, but we can pretend). Sometimes I cook very precisely wanting to have repeatable results (that's the scientist in me) and sometimes I throw caution to the wind and be creative. Most often I like having a base to work from and then create changes from there so that subtle hints of flavor differences are easily noticed. Spaghetti sauce is one of my favorite mediums for this.
I don't always have the time to be as creative in the kitchen as I might like, but I try even if in small ways like adding a hint of fresh mint or asian pear to a salad. I am also learning ways to have more time to cook. I have discovered the magic of a few stainless steel bowls, a couple of spoons, and some plastic cups. The kids will stay occupied for at least twenty minutes! One day I would love to take a cooking class for fun, but until then I will have to continue experimenting in my laboratory like the mad kitchen scientist that I am.
Thank you Auntie Tiff for my special bib!
