Hi there! I’m Susan, and thank you for welcoming me into your kitchen (or should I say laboratory?) Together, we can explore how to cook better food by using the power of science. Here I will share what I discover in my own kitchen with you so that you can level up your cooking more quickly. By leveraging culinary science, we can make better foods that can be just as delicious as restaurant-quality dishes, while saving a lot of money that would’ve gone towards eating out.
Didn’t have someone who can teach you how to cook? That’s ok. You’re not alone. Unlike many other people, I didn’t learn how to cook from my mother or grandmother. I think the only thing I learned how to cook directly from my mom was steamed white rice and boiled greens. The next thing I learned was how to fry eggs and bacon from my older sister. Initially, I learned how to cook through cookbooks that I borrowed from the public library. Some of the first dishes I taught myself how to make from cookbooks were some Japanese dishes such as sushi and Japanese fried chicken (karaage), when I was about 14-years-old. Interestingly, I think my initial interest in cooking was sparked by my interest in anime and Japanese culture. After all, a great way to experience any culture is through eating the food from that culture. Being part of a low-income family, this was one of my ways of experiencing Japanese culture aside from watching anime and learning Japanese.
Since money was tight in our family, I didn’t eat out much growing up. This sort of forced me to learn how to cook, since I still wanted to eat good food but within the constraints of my family’s budget. By the time I was in high school, the Internet had become a much larger place with more information on food and cooking. I was able to learn how to cook and bake a lot more from food blogs and Youtube videos. Growing up I also had an interest in science and how the world worked. I then went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in food science at the University of Guelph, which has the best food science program in Canada. I also completed a Master’s degree in Food Safety and Quality Assurance after that. Since 2022, I’ve been working in the food manufacturing industry full-time, working in a variety of roles including quality assurance, quality control, and research and development.
With my background in food science and what I’ve learned over years of cooking, I’ve developed some understanding of culinary science and how to cook better food. However, I’ve had my fair share of failures along the way. Learning how to cook in the kitchen is like conducting experiments in a laboratory. There is a lot of trial and error, but it’s also super fun!
In this corner of the internet, we focus on:
–Keeping food costs minimal. In this day and age, food costs are always on the rise as the world population grows. Cooking your own food is one way to save money in this economy.
–The science behind cooking. With a deeper understanding of why and how good food is made, we can apply scientific tips and tricks to a variety of situations and ingredients. We can be more creative in the kitchen to make new recipes and to cook ingredients that are about to spoil!
–Having fun cooking in the kitchen. Of course, it’s also important to enjoy the journey of improving our cooking and to not forget to have a little bit of fun with it!
Every time you cook, the better you will get at it. I know how daunting it can be to learn how to cook good food as it can seem like you need to learn a bunch of different recipes. Having a little bit of knowledge of culinary science can go a long way to developing a deeper understanding of what is happening to ingredients as they are combined together to make something delicious. Cooking will become easier and you’ll also become a better problem-solver in the kitchen.
Let’s level up our cooking skills together with the power of science!