Heat transfer is really important in cooking. It affects how our food looks, tastes, and is safe to eat. There are three main ways heat moves when we cook: conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction: This is when heat moves directly from one thing to another. For example, when you put a steak on a hot grill, the heat from the grill goes straight into the meat. This changes the proteins in the steak. A medium-rare steak should be about 57°C, while a well-done one is around 77°C.
Convection: This method involves heat moving through liquids or gases. A good example is boiling water. When you boil water, the hot water rises and heats the pasta evenly. Water boils at 100°C when you’re at sea level.
Radiation: This happens through waves like light or microwaves. For instance, a microwave heats food by making water molecules move around quickly, which warms the food. Microwaves usually work at a frequency of 2.45 GHz.
When we cook, we need quite a bit of energy. For example, making a simple meal can use about 800-1000 watts of power for 30 to 60 minutes. This adds up to around 0.4 to 1 kWh of energy. This energy helps cook our food properly and is also important for safety, as it kills harmful bacteria.
Heat transfer is really important in cooking. It affects how our food looks, tastes, and is safe to eat. There are three main ways heat moves when we cook: conduction, convection, and radiation.
Conduction: This is when heat moves directly from one thing to another. For example, when you put a steak on a hot grill, the heat from the grill goes straight into the meat. This changes the proteins in the steak. A medium-rare steak should be about 57°C, while a well-done one is around 77°C.
Convection: This method involves heat moving through liquids or gases. A good example is boiling water. When you boil water, the hot water rises and heats the pasta evenly. Water boils at 100°C when you’re at sea level.
Radiation: This happens through waves like light or microwaves. For instance, a microwave heats food by making water molecules move around quickly, which warms the food. Microwaves usually work at a frequency of 2.45 GHz.
When we cook, we need quite a bit of energy. For example, making a simple meal can use about 800-1000 watts of power for 30 to 60 minutes. This adds up to around 0.4 to 1 kWh of energy. This energy helps cook our food properly and is also important for safety, as it kills harmful bacteria.