Domestic Chemistry

Have you ever started in on a recipe only to realize you were missing a key ingredient?  How about follow a recipe and have an unexpected outcome?  Or spill a cup of coffee on a white skirt?  Is there a way to predictably deal with these situations - to sort the bad recipes from the good ones, to have a high probability of success when making a substitution in a recipe, to determine the best way to deal with a stain?  In many cases, the answer is probably yes.  Learning the rules to make accurate predictions may be complicated, but they are repeatable - it boils down to chemistry.

Why does bread rise?  How does sugar caramelize?  Does it matter what kind of flour I use for this recipe?  What is the best way to get ink out of clothing?  How about to remove mold from tile?  What products really work to keep hair healthy?  From baking to cleaning to beauty, the natural laws at play in the world continue to operate in the kitchen.  By understanding some basic principles of chemistry, biology, and physics, the domestic chemist can learn to navigate the household with fewer domestic mishaps.