Experiment in the kitchen with whole grain bars

BY

Betty Williams
Columnist, The Friday Flyer

While driving my kids to volleyball practice last week, I overheard their backseat conversation about chemistry. My 15-year-old daughter is memorizing the first 30 elements and symbols of the Periodic Table and had convinced her older brother to help her. He took great joy in relentlessly quizzing her during the car ride.

You may recall that the Periodic Table contains 114 chemical elements, all ordered by their atomic number. And there are probably an equal number of ways to memorize them along with their symbols. It’s been 30 years since I was in high school Chemistry, so it was fun to eavesdrop and silently keep score on how many symbols I still remembered and how many I’d forgotten.

My daughter’s chemistry class also does lab experiments. The students gather particular ingredients, portion out precise measurements, and read instructions on how to combine them and whether to apply heat or cold. Well, that sounds familiar. It is just like following a recipe.

That got me thinking. There’s quite a bit of chemistry that happens in the kitchen, which is my domain. Cooking is, essentially, a series of chemical reactions. And I like to think of the kitchen as kind of a lab, minus the goggles and Bunsen burners.

Out of curiosity, I did a little reading on chemistry in food and found lots of interesting examples. Like, popcorn. What makes those kernels go pop? I discovered popcorn kernels are comprised of 13.5 percent water, so when you heat them to a certain temperature, the water inside them boils.

The boiling produces steam and the steam creates pressure inside the sealed popcorn hull. When the pressure reaches a certain point, the kernel explodes. A little butter, a little salt, and it’s jolly time! If only chemistry were this fun in high school.

Another food article I read explained how a piece of raw meat transforms into a dinner entrée with the addition of heat. Meat is made up of 75 percent water, 20 percent protein and 5 percent fat, as well as small amounts of carbohydrates, minerals and acids.

The protein molecules in meat are in bonded coils which break down and unwind when exposed to heat, say, on a grill or in a frying pan. The water molecules evaporate, which explains why that 6 oz. filet mignon looks so much smaller after you cook it than when it was sitting in the display case at the grocery store.

This week’s recipe can be classified as a chemistry experiment of sorts. It incorporates a whole grain that is new to me – amaranth. As a grain, amaranth is tiny and similar in appearance to quinoa. But add a little heat and amaranth pops into something resembling rice krispies cereal. A popular treat in Mexico, these popped amaranth bars are a fun way to experiment in your own food lab at home.

Alegria (Amaranth Bars)

Yields about 16 pieces

4 cups popped amaranth

           (about 1 to 2 cups un-popped amaranth)

6 Tbsp. honey

6 Tbsp. agave nectar

6 Tbsp. butter

1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds

             (almonds, pistachio, peanuts)

             (chia, pumpkin, sunflower)

1 cup finely diced dried fruit

             (apricots, cranberries, cherries, figs)

For amaranth grain that has not been popped, heat a deep skillet on high heat. No oil is necessary. Slowly add 1 tablespoon to test the pan and agitate the pan or stir with a wooden spoon. The grain should pop within 15 seconds. Transfer to a bowl quickly as the amaranth can easily burn. If popping does not occur the pan is not hot enough. Continue popping in small batches.

Generously coat 8 x 8 inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

Combine honey, nectar and butter in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. The syrup will bubble and start to caramelize. Slowly add the popped amaranth (reserve 1/2 cup of amaranth), seeds, nuts and diced dried fruit. Stir with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are coated with the syrup. If the mixture seems too wet, add a few more tablespoons of popped amaranth. You want all the ingredients to be coated so it sticks together.

Transfer the mixture to the coated pan and push the mixture into the corners of the pan by hand or the back of a spoon. Let cool, then cut into bars.