Nicole Rucker is a pastry chef for the Gjelina group, more specifically, Gjelina Take Away in Venice. At the beginning of her culinary career, Rucker worked in various bakeries and cafes across California, from San Francisco to San Diego. In the quest to create the perfect pie crust, Rucker came up with a recipe that helped her win … Continue reading
At our 2013 Science of Pie event, Christina Tosi, Zoe Nathan, and the fantastic students from the Science & Food undergraduate course taught us all about pies, baking, creativity, and the scientific process. We just can’t get enough pie science, so here are 5 fun facts related to baking and some of our favorite baking … Continue reading
How would you describe your perfect chocolate chip cookie? Thin and chewy? Ultra-crispy? Thick and cakey? Whatever your preference, knowing how to manipulate the ingredients in a basic cookie recipe is the first step toward chocolate chip cookie bliss. At last week’s “Science of Cookies” student event, graduate student Kendra Nyberg showed us how to … Continue reading
The Science of Pie – May 19, 2013 Best Overall Pie Alia Welsh (Team Sablé) This solo effort explored the vast parameter space of pie, studying the effect of fat content and temperature on the texture of the shortbread crust, as well as the effect of pH on the browning of the streusel topping. The … Continue reading
Despite the misconception among certain pop culture icons that butter is a carb, butter, like other fats and oils, is a lipid. Broadly defined, lipids are any molecules that have hydrophobic, or water repelling, characteristics. In contrast to simple molecules like water (H20) or sugar (C6H12O6), butter does not have one molecular formula; rather, it … Continue reading
The New York Times discusses the proper care and handling of butter in baked goods, and Carl Sagan’s epic baking advice gets turned into an awesome recipe. Tastes like science! Continue reading
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