Picture this. You’ve been studying for your Science test for the past hour and decided to take a break. “I’ll just watch one Youtube video. Just one.” One thing leads to another, and next thing you know, you’re still awake at 1:27 AM with an open textbook and a test to study for. You’re confused, cramming, and… hungry? You open the refrigerator to see some cooked rice, eggs, and some kimchi you made. Maybe you can make something out of it. You're no chef, but not to worry: your science lessons can teach you a thing or two about cooking.
You’ve been meaning to use the kimchi you made for a project, and now’s the time to do so. Opening the jar to a pop of air produced by fermentation, you eyeball a portion of kimchi. You recall that the napa cabbage turns into kimchi through lactic acid fermentation, where good bacteria turn sugars in the lettuce into lactic acid without the need for air. The lactic acid bacteria—Leuconostoc, Weissella, and Lactobacillus—are the key components that turn the formerly sweet and crunchy napa cabbage into sour-tasting kimchi. Saving some kimchi juice in the jar, you quickly cut up the spring onions, white onion, spam, and kimchi.
Heating up the pan, you crack an egg. As you worriedly chat with friends in preparation for your test, the amino acids in the egg work their magic, unwinding due to the heat from the pan. These amino acids (also called globular proteins), which were once clumped up like a ball, start to bind with one another. This forms solid, harder egg whites, completing a process called denaturation. You notice that the whites cooked through first—you remember this is so because the egg is made up of different proteins, thus cooking at different temperatures.
Any sane person would have stopped by the time the egg cooked through, but you’re no sane person (as evidenced by your Kitchen Nightmares binge three hours prior). You crank the heat up—you’re not settling for anything other than a crispy white and runny yolk. Per the Maillard reaction, the amino acids in the egg whites start to react with the carbohydrates in the sugar. Coupled with the low water content and high temperatures, melanoidin is formed to produce that signature browned color, alongside other byproducts and flavor compounds called dicarbonyls, each of which contributes its own flavor and texture to the egg.
You begin cooking the fried rice, adding in the aromatics. The rice and spam go in next, alongside the kimchi juice and a scoop of gochujang (red chili paste). You mix in a spoonful of sesame oil and top it off with seaweed, green onions, and the fried egg from earlier.
After practically inhaling the kimchi fried rice, you feel much better: your mind refreshed and cravings sated. You finish studying and take a power nap in the minutes leading up to the test. You do exceptionally well in the cellular respiration and macronutrients quiz, given the time constraints. As they say, experience really is the best teacher. Science isn’t always about the intangibles. Scientific concepts can be observed and go beyond the four walls of the classroom—right into the four layers of your stomach.
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