The Pastry Kitchen: Mastering Sugar Crystallization and Custard Coagulation
The pastry kitchen operates under different physics than the savory line. Where savory cooking manipulates fats and proteins, pastry masters two molecular transformations: sugar crystallization and egg coagulation. Understanding these reactions transforms dessert sauces from mysterious to predictable, from temperamental to controllable. Caramel Physics: The Difference Between Wet and Dry Methods Caramel is pure chemistry—sucrose molecules breaking apart under heat, recombining into hundreds of new compounds that create color, bitterness, and complexity. ...