What Einstein Kept Under His Hat: Secrets of Science in the Kitchen Read Online Free PDF

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    (Note to users of the International System of units: One nutritional kilocalorie, kcal, is equal to 4.19 kiloJoules or kJ.)
                        
OUR ALCOHOLIC RELATIVES
                        
    I know there is ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, and rubbing alcohol. Which of those are edible—or drinkable—and which are not? Are all alcohols born the same before they undergo various changes or additions?
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    N o. Even though they are members of the same chemical family, there are vast and crucial differences among the alcohols, and it can be a matter of life and death to be aware of them.
    Alcohols are a large family of organic (carbon-containing) chemicals that are related in two ways: their molecules contain one or more hydroxyl groups (OH), and they react with organic acids to form chemicals known as esters.
    Scientists classify everything from animals to chemicals according to their shared characteristics—characteristics that may be of no practical interest, or even downright misleading, to nonmembers of the science guild. Fret not, therefore, that eggplant ( Solanum melongena ) and potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum ) are in the same botanical family as the poisonous deadly nightshade ( Solanum dulcamara ), or that lobsters and wood lice both belong to the family of Crustacea. But don’t we all have strange relatives? Take my uncle Leon. Please. (Apologies to Henny Youngman.)
    Similarly, alcohols include the highly poisonous methyl alcohol, CH 3 OH, a.k.a. methanol or wood alcohol; the somewhat less toxic isopropyl alcohol, C 3 H 7 OH, a.k.a. isopropanol or rubbing alcohol; and the even less toxic—but still potent—ethyl alcohol, C 2 H 5 OH, a.k.a. ethanol or grain alcohol, the alcohol in beer, wine, and spirits. That’s not to mention alcohols that we never think of as alcohols, such as cholesterol, C 27 H 45 OH, and glycerol or glycerin, C 3 H 5 (OH) 3. (As you have noticed, chemists name all alcohols with the suffix - ol .)
    So, don’t let the name “alcohol” fool you into thinking that a chemical is relatively harmless. Dead is a lot worse than drunk.
    THE FOODIE’S FICTIONARY: Taste bud—a sip of beer
                                 
ALL HOPPED UP
                                 
    The label on my beer bottle says that it’s made from “the finest hops.” What’s a hop?
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    H ops are the dried flowers of the hop plant, known to botanists as Humulus lupulus . It’s a tall, climbing vine of the hemp family, and its flowers impart that mellow bitterness to beers and ales, balancing the sweetness of the malt. They also contribute a grassy flavor note and a pleasant aroma, depending on when in the brewing process they are added to the wort—the fermenting grain mixture.
    In Belgium, the early spring shoots of the hop plant are a delicacy when cooked and served like asparagus.

    Flower buds of the hop plant ( Humulus lupulus ).
Hops are an essential ingredient in beer.
    There are some interesting sidelights to the story of the hop. For one thing, there are boy hops and girl hops. It’s the mature female flowers, because of their unique resins, that have been used for about a thousand years to flavor brews and tonics. The female plants, incidentally, do very well with no males around; their flowers simply develop no seeds and will not reproduce. Most brewers prefer their hops without seeds, so the males aren’t usually cultivated. (No aspersions intended on the males of other species.)
    Practically every quality from sedative to diuretic to aphrodisiac has at one time or another been ascribed to the female hop, and it has historically been added to elixirs and concoctions intended for virtually every purpose. The bitter