FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 23

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Bound water often requires the application of heat and suction to drive it off. Burns says, "An alumina gel cannot be dried by heating it for 2 or 3 FLUIDITY AND VISCOSITY 23 days at 500°C., yet some relationship does exist between the 'free' and 'bound' water. Under certain conditions as yet undefined, bound water may become free again, and the reverse." The greater power of some samples of meat to retain moisture and yet appear firm and less juicy than other samples cooked under the same conditions is known. Ostwald states that pork can be distinguished from other meats by the fact that its water- holding capacity suffers the least change when cooked or dried. In his work with angel cake Barmore speaks of the crumb of cake baked at higher oven temperatures as containing as much moisture but apparently binding the water more securely for it appears more dry. Fluidity, Viscosity, and Plasticity of Colloidal Systems Fluidity and viscosity. Bingham uses the term fluidity to express the opposite of viscosit)^ A fluid like water yields readily to any force that tends to change its form, whereas a viscous substance shows some resistance to flow. Viscosity is one of the important properties of colloidal systems. As a general rule, the lyophobic colloids show a viscosity but little greater than that of the dispersion medium, the viscosity increasing only slightly with increasing concentration of the micelles. But the lyophilic colloids may show very high viscosities or even plasticity with very low concentrations of the micelles. Bingham states that "a mixture of liquids may have an indefinite number of fluidities dependent upon the method of mixing, in other words, upon the structure of the liquid." He also states that colloidal solutions show differences in fluidity due to differences in structure. Thus it is possible that cake or other batters made with the same materials and the same propor- tion of materials may show differences in the structure of the finished cake on account of different methods of mixing, giving different viscosities to the batter. Some substances flow readily; others resist flow; and some must have weight applied to start flow. When a substance tends to resist a shearing force it may exhibit a flow that is characterized as viscous, turbulent, or plastic. If the substance entirely regains its original shape, when the shear- ing stress is removed, it shows perfect elasticity. If the original shape is not entirely regained and the substance is deformed to an extent directly proportional to the shearing force, then the substance is said to show viscosity. This flow that is directly proportional to the shearing force is called linear flow. By this is meant that if a weight of 1 pound produces a definite deformation, a weight of 2 pounds produces twice that deforma- tion. Turbulent flow is the flow obtained when the ratio of the shearing force to the deformation decreases. A pure liquid at a given temperature and pressure has a definite fluidity. The viscosity of water is approximately six times as great at 0° as at 100°C. The viscosity of sols usually decreases with an increase in tem- 24 RELATION OF COOKERY TO COLLOID CHEMISTRY