I recommend the book "Cooking for Geeks" by Jeff Potter for anyone interested in the science of cooking. It also has recipes. I'm about half-way through reading it and am learning alot beyond the basics of things like the Maillard reaction.
"Cookwise" and "Bakewise" by Shirley Corriher are also good books that combine science of cooking with recipes.
Great to know - I'm teaching a chemistry of food to high school seniors as
an elective starting in the Spring. I'm currently reading "What Einstein
Told His Cook" - it's a little light on the chem, but easy to read with good
info
Other great sources are Harold McGee's On food and cooking and the Klymos.org website. Other sources are the websites for food science deparments in the US. Oregon State and Penn State have some good resources.
I'm using McGee's On Food and Cooking in my Culinary Chemistry class this semester. It's a fascinating read! We're starting at the end though with the appendix and the chapter on "food molecules."
Thanks, I have the McGee book, Cooking for Geeks and several others
including one that features Heston Blumenthal, who owns and cooks at a
Michelen 3 star resturant in Briton - he loves chem - great stuff
Jeffri, the right site is http://blog.khymos.org/, by Martin Lersch, an inorganic chemist.
I was also planned to start with moleculesm then taste and flavor, food
safety, issues around food. I only have a trimester, so this is probably too
much on the high school level. There some good info from Monell Center in
Phila, PA.