Tuesday, April 16, 2013

when lemon juice is added at the beginning of cooking lentils why does it slow the cooking?

Q. why does lemon juice slow the cooking of lentils when added at the beginning? does altering the pH effect the way lentils cook on a molecular level?

A. Boiling points are largely determined by intermolecular (hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic/hydrophilic) interactions. These three functional groups all contain an electron donor (oxygen or nitrogen) with a different willingness to share its electrons and thus a different capacity to hold on to other molecules. The tighter these interactions are, the higher the boiling point will be. The citric acid in Lemon Juice, a weak carboxylic acid, decomposes below boiling point at 175°C while water boils at 100°C.

**NOTE: If you're using a small amount of lemon juice, then it probably is not really effecting the boiling point**


How much orange juice should I drink to bring along my period?
Q. Drinking orange juice is said to make your period come faster, but how much should I drink?
The reason why I asked is because YES my period is late. You don't need to be rude.

A. That's not true.

Vitamin C can induce late periods as it starves the uterus of progesterone - however this would only work if your period was actually due or late, it also requires a high dose...far more vitamin C than you'd get from a few glasses of orange juice. It's really best just to let your period come naturally.


How to make calamansi juice concentrate and how to preserve it?
Q. How to make juice concentrate and how to preserve it?
I have quite some calamansi (very small lemons). I'd like to make some sweetened concentrate ( for making lemonade later ) and unsweetened concentrate or unsweetened juice for cooking. How to make this and how to preserve it? Could we keep it in 300ml plastic bottles?

A. Squeeze the juice from the calamansi and mix with sugar. After which, refrigerate. Do not put water in the mixture. When you want calamansi juice drink, that is the only time you get some of the concentrate and mix with ice cold water and sugar to sweeten it. Do not use hot water for it will kill the vitamin content of the juice.


How much lemon juice should be added to a gallon of water to prevent browning of potatoes?
Q. How much lemon juice should be added to a gallon of water to prevent browning of potatoes? Thanks for your help!

A. Browning in potatoes, bananas, apples, mushrooms and many other fruits and veggies are caused by enzymes called polyphenoloxidase. Keeping potatoes submerged in water will work for a while as it greatly lessens the available amount of oxygen the enzymes require to cause browning, however it will not eliminate the browning process altogether.

Lemon juice works great for preventing enzymatic browning of apples, pears and bananas, as it actually kills the enzymes by altering the ph level on the surface of the fruit. While submerging potatoes in water will greatly reduce enzymatic browning, the potatoes still yellow a little bit. Peel a fresh potato and compare it to one soaked in water overnight and you will see the soaked potato has indeed darkened slightly. If you want to prevent the discoloration entirely, you can dissolve 2 TBL of salt per gallon of water and this will keep your potatoes nice and white. Remember to rinse the potatoes before using them.





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