How Can Alice Not Be Surprised?

The finished sweet and sour pork.

Immersed in crystal-clear and bright soup, it was like wearing a bright red coat, constantly shimmering.

Although it didn't emit a dazzling light like the Reincarnating Spring Rolls or Ascending Dragon Dumplings before, the faint aroma of meat in the air still made Erina marvel!

Soon after, the customer.

Aimed for the largest piece of pork, picked it up with chopsticks, and put it directly in their mouth.

The sweet and sour taste instantly hit the stomach along with the tenderness of the pork, the amber shine, dry fragrance, and a sweet and sour flavor.

The sticky and delicious experience lingered in the mouth, combined with a mouthful of soft and sweet rice, the taste was even more amazing.

So much so that the customer couldn't help but praise.

"Loved it."

"Really loved it."

"Owner, only your sweet and sour pork can make me like it!"

Hearing the customer's exaggerated praise, Zane, as the owner, just smiled faintly.

At this time, every customer was excited and happy because of his cooking, and he felt somewhat relieved!

However, for Alice beside him, this sweet and sour pork dish still had deeper meaning.

You see, after refined sugar is heated to high temperatures, caramelization occurs.

And in the field of molecular gastronomy, caramelization reactions are usually used to color, flavor, and even change the shape of ingredients.

Initially, she thought that many dishes preserving traditional methods would not involve so many chemical reactions, but now it seemed not the case.

"Zane."

"How many chemical reactions are involved in your sweet and sour pork?"

Unable to contain her curiosity, Alice blinked and asked Zane.

"Caramelization reaction."

"Maillard reaction."

"Esterification reaction."

Zane looked deeply at Alice, knowing that she was quite radical in some of her molecular cuisine concepts.

So after some thought, he continued, "Sweet and sour pork has different methods in Sichuan, Shanghai, and Zhejiang cuisines, but all of them involve three main ingredients: sugar, vinegar, and cooking wine!"

"And its brown-red color, rich meat aroma, sweet and sour taste."

"All are closely related to the chemical reactions that occur between these ingredients and the pork."

"From what you're saying."

"Are many traditional dishes based on various chemical reactions in molecular cuisine?"

Alice became even more puzzled.

"Hehe!"

"Molecular cuisine."

"It's only been around for a few decades, and it dares to challenge traditional cooking?"

"This..."

Alice was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond.

But given that she is someone who carries the flag of "molecular cuisine" into the future, how could she back down on this issue?

So, she quickly thought and said, "Zane, even though molecular cuisine started late and it's only been a few decades now."

"But in terms of expressing taste and experience to the extreme, molecular cuisine is unmatched by any other cooking."

"At the same time, it also involves many other professional research areas. For example, there's a chef in England who has been studying the taste of food solely based on hearing!"

"So."

"I think in the coming years."

"Even decades, molecular cuisine will deeply influence this era of cooking!"

Molecular.

This word is very trendy right now.

Like molecular biology, molecular embryology, molecular medicine...

It seems that research in various fields has to be adorned with the name "molecular" to sound impressive, and food studies are no exception.

Some so-called molecular disciplines are purely for show.

But molecular gastronomy is just right.

From a chemical and physical perspective, and the use of the latest instruments to study cooking and cuisine.

It must be said that this is indeed a major change in the culinary world.

Chefs like Zane who are passionate about traditional cooking often just want to make delicious food and rarely delve into more in-depth issues, which greatly limits their understanding.

For example:

Why does salad with plenty of wine and too much vinegar become undrinkable?

Such doubts do not fall within the scope of culinary research.

And this phenomenon has nothing to do with cooking techniques; it is purely a chemical problem.

But a molecular gastronomy chef specializing in researching this problem would gradually figure out what is going on based on their research results, and eventually drive the development of the entire culinary world.

It can be seen that molecular gastronomy indeed has unique value and significance.

"Alice."

"Do you know how many different forms white sugar presents during the heating process?"

"3 forms?"

"No, I think it's at least 4."

Alice replied.

"Wrong."

"As far as I know, there are at least 6."

"When the temperature reaches 100, small bubbles start to appear."

"Usually at this stage, it can be used to make syrup-like dishes."

 "Between 110 and 120°C, fine and numerous small bubbles start to appear, viscosity increases, and it can be pulled into threads, used for making glazed dishes."

"At 130°C, the viscosity continues to increase, forming a spherical shape."

"At 150°C, it becomes hard but easily breakable like a plate, at 160°C it turns into a light yellow caramel, at 180°C it completely transforms into a deep caramel color, then the sweetness disappears completely!"

"White sugar goes through various forms and effects after high-temperature heating."

"In reality, it's the destruction of the molecular structure inside the sugar, from a professional perspective, it's exactly as you just mentioned, it's an isomerization reaction!"

...

A chef skilled in traditional cooking.

Actually, in the caramelization reaction, white sugar presents different forms, surpassing even a chef with a background in molecular gastronomy!

In this situation, how could Alice not be more surprised?

"Wow!"

"Why do you understand so much?"

"Practice."

"Through continuous practice and summarizing the experiences of predecessors!"

"In essence, molecular cuisine actually doesn't have too many differences from traditional cooking."

"Many of the theoretical knowledge involved may have been used early on in the domain of traditional cooking."

"Just like the common cotton candy, sugar-coated haws on the streets and lanes, in some way, they also belong to molecular cuisine!"

Listening attentively, Alice then fell into deep contemplation.

Her inner thoughts began to fluctuate like pounding waves, gradually becoming restless.