The Science of Cooking: Why Food Behaves the Way It Does

Why does cutting an onion make you cry?

It’s not personal—it’s chemistry.

When you slice into an onion, you break its cells, releasing enzymes that react with sulfur compounds to

form syn-Propanethial-S-oxide.

This gas wafts up to your eyes, triggering a stinging sensation and tears.

It’s the plant’s natural defense mechanism, not your cooking skills.

Ever wonder why bread rises?

It’s all thanks to yeast, a living microorganism that feeds on sugars in the dough.

As it digests, it releases carbon dioxide gas, which gets trapped in the gluten network, causing the dough

to expand.

That fluffy texture?

It’s the result of millions of tiny gas bubbles formed during fermentation.

Why does meat brown when you cook it?

That’s the Maillard reaction at work—a complex chemical dance between amino acids and sugars under high heat.

It creates hundreds of new flavor compounds and that delicious crust.

It’s not just browning—it’s flavor alchemy, and it’s why seared steak tastes so much better than boiled meat.

Why do eggs solidify when cooked?

It’s all about protein denaturation.

Heat unravels the egg’s tightly coiled proteins, allowing them to bond with each other and form a solid

network.

That’s why a runny egg turns firm in a hot pan.

It’s not magic—it’s molecular restructuring triggered by temperature.