Words and pictures from the author of And the Crows Took Their Eyes as well as the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries . . .
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Kitchen Magic
Okay, this may be the lamest post I've ever done ... but if you were at my house, I'd be pulling you into the kitchen to see what happens when you put a pat of butter in a pan of heating olive oil.
I love the pattern that develops . . .
I know a physics teacher could explain the process but I don't especially care . . . I just like looking at it.
Not lame - finding enjoyment in even the smallest things is the sign of a happy person with a great zest for life.
It made me start thinking about all the things I like about cooking - the smells, the textures, watching the patterns when I stir something like chocolate into something else, and then, of course, the eating!
This is an example of surface tension and the reaction of two oils with different viscosities.
The surface tension of the solid butter (along with the solids and water) react with the different surface tension of the hot oil. They do not mix and the butter keeps together enough to make the pattern. But then, the heat melts the butter and that changes the butter to give it a different viscosity and a different surface tension. It mixes with the oil enough to allow the butter to move and the oil to make contact with another surface of solid butter. And on and on and on.
Somewhere in the back drawer of my brain there are a few cells remembering something about mixing butter and olive oil not only for taste, but also to keep the butter from burning too quickly, what with the higher melting point of olive oil. Bon appetit! ;-)
13 comments:
That's cool!!!
Pretty neat and an excellent start for fried potatoes with garlic and parley... :-)
ha not lame at all...a little everyday magic...smiles.
Label me easily fascinated too! Love the way you see the world!
Not lame - finding enjoyment in even the smallest things is the sign of a happy person with a great zest for life.
It made me start thinking about all the things I like about cooking - the smells, the textures, watching the patterns when I stir something like chocolate into something else, and then, of course, the eating!
Yes, Therese, that's where this was going...
Exactly, KarenB!
Vicki, I'm also often spellbound by the visual elements that unexpected come together during cooking activities.
(I could probably do a week's worth of blogs featuring photographs of such phenomena...but my photos would not be a fine as yours are!)
xo
We're easily amused as well.
With help from my husband who studied physics……
This is an example of surface tension and the reaction of two oils with different viscosities.
The surface tension of the solid butter (along with the solids and water) react with the different surface tension of the hot oil. They do not mix and the butter keeps together enough to make the pattern. But then, the heat melts the butter and that changes the butter to give it a different viscosity and a different surface tension. It mixes with the oil enough to allow the butter to move and the oil to make contact with another surface of solid butter. And on and on and on.
Isn’t science wonderful!
It's good to be able to appreciate the small everyday pleasures of life. And yes, it has a certain beauty.
The eye of a true photographer!
Vicki, I love those photos! The magic of everyday things never fails to enchant me.
Fascinating! :-)
Somewhere in the back drawer of my brain there are a few cells remembering something about mixing butter and olive oil not only for taste, but also to keep the butter from burning too quickly, what with the higher melting point of olive oil. Bon appetit! ;-)
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