THr VrntuAL CooK:

MoopuNG Hrer TnINSFER

IN THE KITCHNN
hysics and food go ]iflith a second-orderdifferential InduBtrial manufactur-
back together The e$ have less tolerance thd
ing of high-energy,high-pro- equation and a computer, the gastro- cooks for inconsistenc)a Their
tein animal flesh may well physicistcan challengemuch of the needs have spuned substan
hare made civilization and tial research on heat transfer
science possible, by pmviding conventionalwisdom about how to in th processiDg of meat dd
adequate nourishment for grill a steakto perfection. other foods.!r' Experimental
the evolving, enlarsins studies of meat have proven
human brain. Ard prehis- to be difficult, not only
toric cook were certainly Harold McGee,JackMclnerney, because the matedal is vari-
among the world's first able, but because heating
applied scintists. They and Alain Harrus causes meat to lose fluid dd
tramfomed matter through Bhrink, so that thermocou
the controled application of themal energy, tuning ples shi{t positioD and dimeffions chdge. Such complica
tough, microbe-ridden, bland animal flesh into Boftea tions make mathenatical modeling an especially valuable
saler more flavorful food. approach.Computer simulation eliminates the variability
Despite our nillennia of practice, cooking meat inherent in actual mate als, equipment, and manipula-
rehains a fairly plimitive alt. Home and restauiant tion. It reducesa processto its underlying physical princi'
kitchens still marase to produce countless steaks, burg- ples. The rcsea{her can then run an otheNise implacti-
eIS, and roasts that are either as dry as leather or a1l but cable number of eapedments that clearly reveal con-
raw. There are several reasons for this lack of progreBs: straints on the process ;n question. The simulations can
> Individual cuts of meat vary tremendously in size, alBoreveal possibilities unforeseenby standad practice.
qualitt initial temperaturc, and overall reBponse to heat. To date, there have been few modelins studies of the
Arccent study of128 tukeys cookedunder the same care- tmditional kitchen pmcesses employed by home and
fully conbolled conditions foDd that some 7 ks and 10 kg restauDt cooks.n6At the invitation of PEYsIcs ToDAY,
birds took the same time to cook throush.l the thee ofus two phFicists who have worked in semi
> Ou. heat souces are upredictable. Oven themostats conductor manufacturing and a witer on the science of
may Dot be accuate. Effective gi]l temperaturcs depend food and cooking recently Btnck up an informal collabo-
on tuel t dd quantity, air temperature, Dd other fac- ration to begin to redreBs thft neglect of small-sca]e food
toN, and "e they fluctuate as cookine proceeds. The heat srp- prepdation, and to repoft our findingB in this special
plied to a fiTing pan depen& on the burner and its settins. ftsue of the magazine, devoted io the physics in everyday
> The cooks thermal target is smali. Meat is considercd life. Here we present preliminary models for son1e basic
properly dore when it is heated to a fairly narrcw temper- techniques of meat cookins. A better understDdins of heat
ature ranse, roushly 55 70 "C (130 160 "F). And because trarsfer in meat should help both weekend babeoers Dd
heat is applied externally, any meat cookedto a proper professional chefs to improve their odds at the stove.
doneness at the center will necessarily be overcooked
between the center and the surface- Heat transfer in cooking
> Heat hansfer is not an easy process to understand. Cookins brings into play all three modes ol heat transler:
Common intuitioDs for example, that doublins the t}Iick- conduction, convection, and mdiation. In the oven, heat is
Dess of a hamburser should approlimately double the traDsported to the meat sudace by direct radiation and by
cookins time arc frequen y way off. And siven the vad- convective air currentsj in the stewpot, by convective
ability of meats, heat sources, and the averase cook's water cunents; and in the fiying pan, by conduction
attention span, it? not eaBy io generalize from experience throush a thin layer of fat or oil. ln steamins, condensa
and deduce reliable prilciptes. tion of water vapor deiiven a potent dount of thermal
energy to the surface.
rrAroD MCGF4@rolt"a t, PaloAba, cdlifami', i! thedatbolaf Within the neat itser, the dominant meaG of heat
on Fooddd coolins: The scien@dd rore of theKithen /,1 The transfer is conduction. Heat loss from the neat also plays
cdjors cook Moft Kitchenscidm ad Lore.,JAcKMcINtsRNlY an impoftant roie during some cookine prccedures. The
isflirt idn dqin9 .r Naullrs s1tBrffi in sdhJae,czwnia, tubm top side ofajust-flipped steak or hanbuser will lose heat
he.laq .on?rtdtionalll,1'l tqnahi\ %adelin&AL\IN IlaPiRlJs,for to the surrounding air by convection and water evapora-
nqt) a r\': n a 8"ttt dnd 1 "fb L.,"t^li a a. tion, dd evapo.ative cooling of the meat surface in the
'novlln' rln?nt iaou a"boab1"
?ara* at.onpe Vpt,\ lr'11-.n oven cu lower the eflective oven tehperature drasticall$
All foms of heat hansfer depend on ditrerences in

30 No\EMBER1999 PHYSICS
ToDAY o teeeAocntu l^nnu. ol P6Iis. s
 FrcuRr 1. FRIEDMLAT cRoss sEcTroNs.
The two conpurersimularioncotrrour
m-apsare tor a geomerfica y ideaiizeddisk
or ma! Jt rhe end offryins. The rop prnel
's s,mptl a remperaru.e prolite.Is .enrrJ
bluemdicrre\the defted finJt core,emoer
-
ature, and rhe outs-rd progression to
greenmd ye ow ind;caiesiisher remoera,
ruresne:rerthe trying 'u,f-e1 1Tn. rco
surt*e hs cooledsincen -r h,t on rh.
pan.)The niddie panelis a orofile of the
exponenrial rhernal vdabl; Z. intesrared
avpr the cookins!ins. (Seefrqure2 fir the
Midl .oro, scate.) Thd n r herie.,ndnror of the
rhernal history of the proces and ns
ettectson rhe mearprorins.Ir nore ctose-
1y tesemblesthe numced iofornation :
cook getshom the actualcoior proflleof a
Mi.U cookedsteak (botton pael).

convecting air nor radiatine oven wails

are verl efficjeni at transferdne hear
Thets why we can put oL" ."m" ;to
300 'C (5?5 'Fl oven to retneve a Dd."
but suffer instantaftous burns if w;
touch the pd d ectly or spi] its ron-
tents onio ourselves.RelativeLvlow-tem_
perature boiling dd stamins ee nev,
ertheless rapid nethods, tlanks to
water's denBity and heat of condensa-
tJon.SimrneriDs.frlrs. and gIiLIns arc
rntermediate iD their heat transfer

Penetratingto the center

The rdse of heat-transfer rates amone
cookins methods is enormous.There isl
lor exampte, a thousandfold djffercn.e
betweenthe rateBforbakjng and steam,
]ng. Bui dy cook knows tbat cookjng
r e m p e r a r u mb e l w e e . i h p h e a t s o u c e rlmes dont vaq/ as drasticslly a6 that.A
s n d t b p m p a r .! o r . L i c l e n o - e a " rn s y t d k e L h oo r L h F e | | m F s o n g F r n
c o n d u , r ' v eF e a t t r d i q J F r ' 1o n F o i n e n s i o a I, h F h e a rf l u r s cook
D r n e o v e . 1I h d . ' 1 l h p s t e a m e rb, u t - o r a r h o u . d d r i m p -
d r r p c t t y p r o p o r to l a t r o r r p r F m D e r . r u r e
' o n v e c n v aa - d . d d r a l r v Fh e a ti . ! n . f p r h a \ p r o r cCIroandpjtFcn! l . perr.ce Frtecrs rqo impodanl
. o r ' h o s e la.ls aboul cootrg. Thp fircr i" Lhal, oncn hFai has been
r c l a . r i o n cphs l b s m p , F yd n a , \5 i q m o r pi n r o t v c d l r e s l F r y e c ll r o m l h e . o o k i . 1 gD F d , u D t o
m o d F s .L s c o m o n t o d e t t r p a h e d r - l r a n s r e r . o p f f c - e n r t h e m F a rs u 4 a c c ,
r t m u a t3 l i l l p F n p i r a r Fr l u " or g h r j r " n " a r . r n p . F n i p . .A n o
t n a l 6 u m m d i / s r r F n o n l i . e a rr " m D p r s L u . b p e h a u o r a . J thrB penetration-isoften
D o u n d d ) t a y p r d d i u r b u t e n c ee f r e f l . f o " ( u n \ p c r r o n , , ing the rate-detemining step in cook_
especiallyifthe meat is thicker than a f;sr-f;od han_
n d a n v F m i s . i r i y 3 r d f F q . a c r o r c f i p . r q. t o " r a d , a t i o n , . burger.
I n e n F a rf l o w r d l e . d 1 t h e n b p M i , l s , . | r p l va a
Hear ti"oug, .neat ov mpanq ol cordu.
r o . a ' d d o F"D"eads s D b . u l r i r a o d l y a s d o F "r r f o l , S h q u f h
Q =MA, T,), r F a l t t p v p o o r".oo n d u . l o r s a b . o n v o end l e s c q s r F r Leoa rr -
m E n l r r r D p p e dw s r c | o r r h r o u c h s o o d . T n a r s o D l y h a t l
w h " e 7 r i s r h " er e m p e r a t u . eo . t h e n p a t a o u q e . f l h e a s l d s t d s h F r l s D " e a d st h r u u S hc e r d l i . n a r p r i a J ; s n d
l e n p e r a l u r po ! r l F m F a rs u , - f a c aD. n dA i . r n e n e a r , . r"o s s _
qecl,oli ares. The he"r-lranster.oe,li.,e.l n ^ u r q r . d 6o ' r r m p ss t o w e rt h a r i t s p r p a d -r h r o r e h m p s l s .
I . a n b c I I d drJ .asl Ibmq ol $e ,ul{ace of ft or roaareom"sr,
l h u u g h lo l d s a m p " s u . po . 1 h c F r e c L i v c n F "o"t c o r \ e n : n B
it wiii firrther slow heat tresfer ro the"d mear.
t F T p e r a l u e d i f l e r e n . p' - r o a h e a r 0 u . T h , s p n e n o m " i
The Beond modularins influence on cookins rates is
rorosrcarapDroachma) obqcurc. I e uroFriyins phJ b rr the .
".cs, presence of lvater, which can iower the etrectt,e cook-
n s r T p u x e ot h e p r o b l e ms i g n i F c a l l ) d d a u o q . u s o r o ( . L s
ing temperature far below the noninal cooking tempc.a
or rhe task at bdd: dderctddin8 ,he.o.kin8 ot mc.r.
ture. At the surface of a piece of neat, the effe;tive ;ook_
scnrFmD,rical Fypr.p.s,onsro-l? have beeodFriv;d to, coo-
rng temperatur is the tenperatue of the cooking medi_
v e c t r o nu n d c r a \ a n F r y o t " r u a t i o . q .F o r r d o i a i o n ,o n l h p
um, whether it be hot air or photons from coats. Wir--hinthe
othFr I 3nd., can bF calfllsleo di.efi ty ftom r_t-, ur). m e a l . h o w p v e rr.r F e f f e . t r v ec o o kn g r e m p e r a t u " ei . n c v F r
r h e r a b e o i p " g e J 2 s h o w sr l e h e a r t r a r s t e " c o e l i - h
. ' e n l c a n d i r i r a l h e a r r s n s t p r r a l p so l a \ a r i e r ) o t l r d d C h F . l h 3 n t h e b o i l i n CD o i r ro i w a l F r , I o m a t r p r $ h a l r L e
l p m p e r a l u Fo t r h p . . o d r I m e d r J mT . lxs ica (uu,cqucn.F
tional cookins methods. Despite itB retatively Ligh tem- o l l h F r a c r . 1 r p a ts a b o u t 7 5 , , q a l p r . D \ . . i g n r
peraturc, oven baking is a stow method. because neither f i a r betor"
r n c r e n p r r a t u r Fo t d v p u ' . 1o n o f r t r p m p d r c a n t s \ c e e d rne

No\EMBER1999 pHystcsToDAy 31
 oven.i., uro.ced 175.c (350.F)
oven tr, forced17s'c s0 'I)
lrring oil, unJ6.ed 175'C (r50 'F)
lrritrg oil, fored 17s'c (350'D
,i/ntr belov bonea"c (2a0"4
100'c
Saturated$ern 100'C (212
!m f.rins 175"C Pso "F)
100'c
'0
Glovinscoals1000"c (1900
Oren v:lL md ai. :r00 'C (575 'F)
boiling point, all the \rater in that pofiion has to boii away
first. So even ilthe very suface ofthe meat drieE out and
clinbs above the boiling point, jNt below it tu a layer that
is still moist ard the.efore still boilins off water. The inte-
or bulk of the meat thus experiences temperatue
chmg$ as if it were srmouded Dot by hot coals, but by
boiline water.
In cookins methods that allow surface moistue to
evaporate-such as masting, erilling, and fiying-ihe
water also slows the initial heating of the sudace to the
boilins point. This etrect is esseDtially the reve$e of con-
densation, wherein the phase chDge of steaE to liquid
water rcleases a bemendous amount of heat to the meat
E!r{ace. The liquid water on a moist meat Bur{ace absolbs
l h e s d D e l r c m p D d o u sm o u l o l L e a l w h c n i l v a p o f l z e s ,
and thus leaves less heat behind to raise the temperature
of the neat. In an oven just at the boiling point, the Bu-
face tmperature of a perspiring roast will rcmain below
75 'C (170 "I') for houis.
Denrturing protein
The most comon cuts of meat come ftom the skeletal
musclesof animals. They can be thought of as a matrix of
pmtin molecules and water.r ProteinB a.e long linear
zr:q1=80.c
10 12 14 16 13
cooKING TIME (ninuF,
32 NoVEMBER
1999 PHYsrcs
ToDAY
20 165 l
165 2A
165
165 320
80 160
10000
T I
20000 2000
I I
100 50
100 290
I I,l!o
990
50 290 15
T
290
polyiers of amino acids that arc folded and held in par-
ticular three-dimensionalshapesby heans of inbamolec-
ular bonds. In muscle, these pob'rners reach molecular
weights as high as 106amu. The proteirs are ananged in
two kinds of stroctues. The first are the contractile ffbers
md associated enzlnes, which peform the work of mov-
ins the mimal. The second ae the thin sheaths of con-
nective tissue (larsely the pmtein caled collagen) that
Bmound each muscte cell and each bundle of cells. These
sheaths contain. reinforce. and harness the fibers.
Wlen meat iB heated to arcurd 50 'C (120 'F),
incrcased molecular motion besins to break intrdolecu-
lar bonds and undo the native folded structure of the pro
teins. Thus the proteins Iose their tunctional activity and
are said to be denatured. Unfoldins also exposes reactive
regions of the protein nolecules, which are then free to
DarticiDate in the formation of tntrmolecular bonds.
Th; denatued proteins thus form solid assresates
with a reduced capacity for retaidns water The meat
becomesfirmer ir 1ex1ure,sd lrshrer and Do.e opaquein
appeannce. At eoud 60 "C (140 "F), the comective tis-
sue sheaths collapse and shrink, thE exer-ting prese]lre on
the free water in the muscle cel]s. The water flovs out the
ends of t}le muscle fibers, dd the meat seems, for the
4*r=too'c
FIGTIRE2. SIMUI-ATEDDONENESS PlG
B!ry
{il files and cooking tines for neardisks of
various thickressesimnersed in hot Liquid
(at 80 "c or 100'C) andcookedto 60 "c
at the center. In eachcse the staning ten-
il peratureis 10 'C. The color scaleindi-
catesrhe rime inregraLof the exponential
thernal variable7'. The greenbarson
{l the time scaleshov rhe :5 "C tolerance
 ? d d J = 1 0" c

o r00

424 2A

345678910 0
'm,IE
(niftres)
120

TrcuRr 3. INTTI,\TTaMPER{TUR!'SErFrcT on rhe sinulared renperarure

olu!
e . o t uo, n r d : a r l d o r e n " . . p r o r i . Je 2o (r t r r h ; . rm e r d . , r r . e oo ; 0 , L a r
r l e ! e n , e -r d i l i p p e d ' . . r 16 0 . e .o 1 d . . I o ed i t e r e n . ,o o r , r u ,e . , e r e rr o L h e ?.^
d l l : - e n , d e oh . n . d e r h pd j . ( a J r l e d i n t i a u r , e rr{ ,e renDer,ture.
o ' r o r ^ e . e r l i b i r l - e m o . ,n . . k e d t l p i r s ; f t e . L . q . o e f o r er,\ e I i d , l d o " e
n " . . o r o l , e r. o s l n e d i r j b u r . o d o h e i d e i , e s r aot , f .
bm showthe t5 "c tolera'"" *i"d.-.; " r d r t - -r r e p n
;;;.il ;i ;J ;;;ki"; :i;.
- 0 r 2 1 4 5 6 7 8495] 6C7 8 9 1 0
rnvt! (ninue,
Fid{e ' c{o{

moment, wondeffi y juicl But once rhe juice flows fiom Computermodelsfor immersionand frying
t h F o e a l i r - g o n p :a n d i I r h e r F r p c r e t L U - p g a r s m L . h The starting point
a b o ! ? / 0 " C r 6 0 " F , . r \ e m " a r o e c o m " sv e , 1 o r 1 r d e e o . for the analysis of conductive heat
l l s i n r h s s m pr F m p e r aur . p r s n g e r n " r t h e p r g m " n r transier iB the 1807 Fouier heat equation:
m \ o s l o b i n w h ' c h i . h b a r m a k 's r d s m F a r o o kr e d d " n a _ Q = h A dT /dr.
i r r e . a n d r L r . s C r a y i " nb r o q . T h s r q $ b y n e " r d o n p n e q s
It Btatesthat the rate ofone dinensional heat flow. e, is
i 3 u . u a l l y . u d g " d h ) c o l o r :a d a r i r p d i n r F n o r i FS F t - t . k pE, pmporiional
U s l I r F d i r r " r o . s f i m e r s n d j J i c r e " ,a n d a d u l l i n r " . i o r to the ooss-sectionalareaA and the tenper-
a t u r p g ' s d i e n t . T r e c o n s r a n ro l p r o p o , r r o r a l i r \*. . i s l l p
i s h r m e r . L i l l e d d D . I n e e n F r a l .L h eo n J r . , e b b k n o s e
materur s therral conductivitv.
nleiors d"e 'llenr:o d'y hFar"dDa.r 70 "C d.p rough
I n v o k i r g e n " r g y c o n s F r u a r i o ra n d g e n p " a t r z i n gr o
culs uhosp abu.rdaDlolnec' \p I s-,p.ottdCpnmLsr br
t h . e p d ' m F n so r s . o n e g F r . t h F d i t T u " . o nequaLion
thoroughly dismantled.
But cooks routinely erpose meat extedors to temper- V ( k v ' I ) = p C d'I/dt,
a t u . e s w e l l a b o v c t 0 0 . c n a r d e r r o d e l e t o pa d r j . t u s l where p is
the matedal's density and C is its heat
a n d r h " " i r h f l d v o r sa n d d s r k c o t o r . h a r r p ; L t r f r o m s o
c a l e d M ' i l a . d r c d r i o n .d l d B h l F m p p . s r u r e $ r h " n h e d l ft deternine the time evolution of the mear rempera
r q l n u s d D p | l F df r o m g t o \ f f S , n a t s0 r d v e h ] o r p a n , 8 u o i L r e n q l i r p .
l h c s o l u ro n o l l h i . p a n i a t o i l e r e r t i a l ; q u s -
suda@ resions of the meat necessadty spend tim; at high rion.MLh lhF
iemperatures that dry the fibeIS out. A sreak gdled to 60 radialive boundary " p p r o D i s i ec . o d u c r i v e..o l v e . t i \ e , a r d
conditions. This car be dore anarpr
" ( - I 4 0 " F l d r t b e c p . t e r$ . h a v e a r e m p e r a r ; F o ^ t 0 0 " C c d - v l o " o n r
l h e s m p l p s r c a s p s .F o r c p o n p l r , p s a n d
s r r h " s u ' f a c e .a n o w s p a D h a r r - r p e " " r r r c , s n g e ; n b o u d d " t ,
c o n dr i o n . t w i . a r o . r ] e a r c o o k j ; c ,r r p d i f t u . i o n
equation hust be solved nme calb This is t)"icslly
F o " t h o s es h o F n j o yb o l h j r i . \ a r d d r v p o - r i o n b1 a done by
. . c Lo i t i l e . discretizins the equation witil tinite volu;e eie-
" r l F b : L r h i " d o - e n F 6 " e - s d i e nrr" a D r e a ; a ;
s ment-B and frnite tempemture ditrerences. The resnlrins
B u l o r l h o s F. h o r v E n rb o t h a f l a v o r f l . r r a c p d n d r h e set of alsebraic
ju:cies.Dosqible equations can then sotved nmericatty. i
i n , e n o r r h e e r a d p r r o o q e sa , h a . n s e : vdiety of software packases
are available fo. this task.
H o $ . d l h ec o o \D n r n z p t b e . r a r l i o i o f r h p ; n L e r o r L h a l We have used one such program, r,lexpDE, ftorn pDE
rises abovea dryins 70 "C (160 .F)?
S o l L , i o n s l. - c . A ! F r " i o Do f r h i . p . o s , s m .t : D p d l o r w o -
Another chalense for the exacrine cook is that it d mer.ional p.oblems, car be do*lrjosdFd .ior r\e com-
takeB only a minute or two for rneat io so fron srccuieni
qanyn Web site for educationat uBe.8)An input fite for
L a d e s r c d r F d b e r a " s e r h p . " ' r " r r e m p ; . ! r u r e n c r e a s e s FlexPDE
inciudes the problem seomerrt. relev;t themal
\ p r y r a p , d y i n r F p n s . r o L $ , . d o ; o " d c c F p l d o , t i r yprcpedies
of the modeled material, initial and bouda{r
between55 and 70 "C (130 160 "F). In a steal or ahop,the c o n d , r i o n - .
d n d r h p s o v e r n i n sd i f f u . o n e q u s | o n . T h e p r c -
rate ofcenhal temperaturc indease caD exceed10 .-Cper
minute. In a roasting chicken, it's a much nore teisur;ly e r a m d ) r a n r i c a U yd r v i d e -r h p l o d e l F dv o t u D ei n r o a t , d
o f d o p r o D r i a F l ys i z e dc e u sd o a d j u s r su r e u m * s , c p . r z e
1.5'C per minute. l o k p e pc o r p u i a i o n a l e m o r sw i t h i n d . c a p l a b . F e i l s
W]iat can cooks do to minimize the unavoidabte over- F ^ r o u . i r m F r i c " .e r T e r m e n r s ,$ e ; b r a i n e d r h e r n a
cookins of the outer podions of mear? And how can rhey properties
and heat transfer coefficients from rhe litera-
malimize the window oltime in rhich the ceDter is ctose tue, and chose
{epresentative dimensions for a modet
r o L h pd e s i r e dd o n p r F s s T r r F s es e r n p q u e q r r ob, . e 1 d \ e hamburyer-a disk 10 cm h diameter
tned to addrcss and 2 cm thick.
F{,.ins and total imme$ion of the hamburser shape were

NoWMBER1999 PHysrcsToDAy 33
 1,20
O 1oo
5 5
960
a
Er10
0
0 1 2 3 4 t 6 7 8 91arr12
o r'- 100
FIGURT4. EFFTCTOF ILI?PING
frequdc). on rhe sinulated renferaruie
evolurior dd final donenes profile of a
2 cm thick meat disL cooLedto 60 oC at fr
the cdter. Eachsimulatioq startsat
10 "C, with the iDd;catedfli! inrerals,
E
F
fron 6 ninutes down to 15 seconds.
0;
4 5 L 7 S 9141112
beated as two-dimenBional problems, the geomehy being
ais)mmetric. We ignored dimensional chang$ and mass
ad heat hansfer caused by fluid movement vithin and
otrt of t}Ie meat. Ard we made simplifyins asstrmptions
based on the fact that the meat's water content sets an
etrective mdimum cooking temperatue of 100 "C.
Ior the frying model, we simulated flipping a ham-
buser by exposing one side to a cookins sudace at 100 'C
for a given time interval, while the other side lost heat by
conduction and convection. In aI cases. we ran the simu-
latioD util the meat center reached a teDperature of
60 "C (140 "I'), ihe equivalent of'medim rare." The sener-
al validity of the models was con$med i4 several kitchen
expedmenk uBing sli@B of beef eye of.ound and a disital
themometer with a themo@uple plobe 1 bm in diametr
The key parameter:
time at temperature
For the gaphical rcFesentation of our reBults, we devel
oped a fomat sussested by the actual expedence of cook-
ins meat. A siDple map of the temperatue distibution
aooss a slice ofmeat is not the most relevant display for
the cook, because it rcpresents only one instant in the
cooking pFocess.Doneness and cooked quality is a functioD
of the meat's therlnal history in particuls its cuquEuve
exposure to the proteia-denatuins dd dehydrating tem-
peraturcs above 55 'C (130 "F). The Deat proteins, includ-
ing the pigment, are $sentialy molecular sensors that
register their clnllative temperature exposue. The color
gadient acrGs e slice of meat is thus a reFesentation of
the integal oftemperatue exposure over time. We there-
fo.e chose to display our results in a contou map ofa such
We decided asainst using a Eimple tiDe intesal of
temperaturc it"self, because such an splession neglects
the important effect of tempemtue on the rate of protein
denatuation, dd thus of changes in meat textue and
color. Fint-order chenical reaction rates ue observed to
fo ow an Arhenius relation of the fom
R= R^e'p(-E/kT),
where , is the averase themal eneryy requhed to initiate
the rcaction. Reaction mts tJ,"ically double with each
34 No\,TMBER 1999 PHYsIcs ToDAY
124
6roo
880
840
F,.
01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 11 2
120
F
4 5 6 7 I91A1rt2
TIME (miruE
10 "C rise in tempemture. Rather than trying to define a
denaturation mte, ia'e simulate a mte etrect in our models
by defining m etrective exponential thermal variable ?',
which vmishes abnptly below 55 'C. Alove this tlresh-
old, it is siven by
Ta=ft1o tn T>55'C.
where ? tu the temperature in centisrade. Thus defned,
?' dollbles with every 10 "C Iise ir temperaturc above the
55 'C denatuing thrcshold. We then integated ?" over
the cooking time at each of 200 points in the meat's cenhal
transve$e plme and plotted these inte$als in contou
maps t}Iat show the rclative donenesB of diFerent reeions
in the meat. The difference behveen such a map and a
stmdard temperature map is most evident in the case of
fting, where the cooling of the otr-heat side dissrises its
thermal history (See figue 1).
A contou map of relative doneness has the vidue of
r$emblins the visual inlomation provided to the cook by
the ooss section of a real piece of meat. But it otrers ody
a qualitative basis for comparing the etrects of ditrerent
cooking rcgimes. We the.eforc srmDed the 200 individual
integrals of ?' over time for each simulation e4 for con-
venience, divided by 106 to obtain an overalt 'doneness
indel' for each meat disk.
This srn k a simple nmedcl indicator of the meat
disk's total exposure to denatu ng temperatuies. Becaue
ail simulations werc rur to the same endpoint tempera
turc, 60 "C (140 'F) at the centr, a relatively low doneness
index reflecb less overcooking of the outer reaches and
thereforc a moistex more tender outcome.
Immersion: cut thin and don't boil
We besM with the simple case of immenins the meat dtuk
in hot Iiquid that instantly raises the entire meat surface
to the liqldd temperature and maintains it therc.
Althoueh few cooks would actually boil a hamburgr, this
case does appronmat the conditione for simerine stew
meats and poaching tuh, as well as the double sided 6y,
ins ofhamburse$ practiced in some fast-food restaurants
Dd offercd by specialized hamburger appliances for the
home kitchen. We varied two Darameters-the thickness
 FrcL'lrx 5. DoNENtss rNDFr (rd cwe) and cooking dne
(blue cure) asa futrcrion of flip iorenal for the sinulred fry-
'
ing of a 2 cn thicL near disk to oo 'C at rhe center, froo a
o startiry lemlenture of 10 oC. The donene$ index. a sum of
z lhe tine inresralsof 7'ovr manypointson the centtartrur
E
versecrosssecrion,is a neasureof rhe neacs roraldposurero
proteindenaruring ienpdaiures.
z
c c
!
rcom tenperature of 25 "C (78 "F), a processthat wodd
take hours on the coutertop, its cookhs time and done-
ILIP INTERVAL (ninuret ness indd are reduced by 17% and 87,, respectivety, while
its cooking rate and a5 "C window are unchansed.
T b e s e0 r e m o d e b d r T e r e n c p sH. o u e v e r ,i I G e m " a r i s
of the meat disk and the cooking tempemture-and wdmed slighuy past mmmalian body temperatue to
recorded the cooking time nec*sary to reach 60 "C 40 'C (104 "F)-which cD
(140"F) at ihe center, and the window of time dudng be done in less than anhoDbv
immeruing the (wapped) meat in a bowl olvarnl waier
which the center temperatue was within 5 "C of the tar, the gains de nore substantial: a 38,/oreduction in cookins
gei temperaturc. The re6ults, displayed in figlre 2, offer r : m e a o d 3 r . .
r e d u . r i o n n d o n e n e s s : n d " \ a, c a i D\ r h n o
several clear lessons to the cook: ndrowing in the a5 C srindow. lsee fisurc 3.) So, where-
> Doubling the thickness of the meat disk ooes no! oou- as passive prewdming of the meat to room
tempemture
ble the cookine tine; it more nearly quaihuples the cook- may be moderately usetul,
active prewaming to bodv tem-
ins time. This illustrates one clear consequence of peraturc is more likeiy
to make a noticeable difference in
Fou er's law: In purcly one dimensional conduction. the texture and mofttness.
rate of heat penetration is prcpoftional to the Equae of It is aho uclear from the litemtule whether it mat-
the thickness. (The minor deviations in our simulations ters how mary times the meat is turned over durinE frv-
a.relargely due to side heatins, especially in the 4 cm rhick i n s o r I ' i l l i n g O u r r e " u l r s' f i g l r e . i d d 5 . s h o h r h ; n i p
interval t be a sisnificant vadable indeed, at the very
> The 15 "C window oltime is very narro{ for thin cutB least for its etrect on cookins time.
If the meat is flipped
of meat, just 20 secondBfor the 1 cm disk, in which the once, at 6 minutes, o'rr 2 cm thick model takes nearlv
11
central tempeiaturc is rising 30 "C per minute. Thin cuts m i n u l e sr o r e a c h6 0 ' c . l a 0
" F r a r r h e c e n r e r .B u r i a i r t
cook @ndouercoo,t very quickly flipped every minute, it takes less than 8 minuteB.
> EveD when the 2 cm and 4 crn cases ee property cooked Cookine time decreases smoothly with dedeasing
flip
at the center, a large propodion of the neat iB overdone. interal all the way dom to 0, $hich is equivalent to the
The 4 cm proffle invites trinmine the sudaces to produce continuous heating of both sides treated in
the mmeEron
e evenly done2 cm steak. Becauseth 1 cm casecooksso model. This trend is a reflection ofthe fact
that sholt flib
quickly, its outer layen spend even less tiEle overcookine. n t e l a d i ag i v e r - e o f r - h e a ts i d e l c s , L j m er o L o o ld o w n . . o
> r - o o k i n ga t 8 0 " c ' 1 8 0 ' F o f f " r s r w o i m p o r r a l r a d v a ; - that the tine-averaged cookins tempemtue is hisher.
l a s e so \ e r r o o k a B a ! 1 0 0 ' c . r h e b o i l i n gp o i n r . T r c a u e e s The flip interval also influences the overall doneness
6ignilicanrly rpss overhcaLing,as reflecrpdb! s reductjon index, thoush this efect is more complex. (Seefrslie
5.)
of the donenessindex &om 23.0 to 10.2.And it doubleBthe The donenessindex deoeases with decreasine
'C fliD inter-
a5 window, making it morc likelv that the cook vitl r a l , d o m o a n i n t e N a . o f a h o u t l 5 s " c o n d s b. e l o w L h a L -
stop the heating within the correct time interal. aDd th" donenFss.nder increases
hofessional cook thus have good rcason for sayins that steepll That rcvelsal probably reflects the outcome oftwo
tender meats md fish should never be boiled. Simmerins competing physical trends as the flip intelval decreasesl
s r d p o a c h i n sw c l l b e l o q I 0 0 ' r ' i s c . e a r r )p r e f e m b t e W
. ; briefer exposue to the heating sur{ace and briefer e'po-
find that t}Ie doneness index decreases with deoeasins sue of the otr-heat surface to convective cooline. As the
coo{irg lemDeraL r r e d o M r o 8 I a r ? 0 ' l ^ , 1 6 0 " F , s t L e i a v e m g eo t r - h p a r e m p e r a r u pr h u s l s e s d b o . " ? 0 " C ( \ e
which it dses again due to exponentially increasing cook- immersion cooking temperature that yields the lovest
ing times as the cookins tehpe.atue approaches rhe tar- donenessindex), the donenessindex rises wit! r.
Spit roasting
Frying warm first and flip fast The existnce of an optinal flip intenal in fif,.ing ied us ro
W F n e x l s : m u j a l e df r y i n g . b J a h e m a r F l ) n g F a ( h wondei whether there was an optimal rotation period in
sideoiou slddard dLL ro a cookins "xpos
and to convective cooling at 20 "C. In eafect, " u ' . f a , Fa ! 1 0 0 ' C spit roastins, where the meat i6 tumed near infrded radi
the sideE expe, ating coak, gas flanes or elect cal heating elements. We
dence a square-wave heat input, with the two side6 180" simulated spit roasting with the thrce-dimensional ver-
out of phase. I'or these simulations, we varied the intial sion of FlexPDE. ft prcvent the bulk ofthe roast ftom riB-
meat temperatue md the square-wave wavelength that ing above the boiling temperatue, rde incorporated a telm
is to say, the time inten'al between flips of the meat disk. for evaporative cooling that maintains the suface of the
There are corflicting views in the cdinarf literature roast at 100 'C duing constant expGure to the 1000 'C
regardins the ideai stdtine temperatDre for mear io De (1900 'F) radiant heat source.
cr4led or lricd: Some sa) il sboura(omF slrdrc^r from rbe In thk model, the doneness index decreases continu,
reftigFrator. which is cena n y preferable lor minimizris oNly with the rotation period att the way dom to 3 sec-
m c r o b i e lc r o w i h a r d r b e p o s . i b i l i r Jo ^ r o o dp o i s o a i r s .B u i onds per tum-with no apparent minimum. In conlrasi ro
others conteDd that the meat should be alowed to wan the flying node], in which the on-heat sudace rcrH[s
at room temperature for a few minutes to a few hours. Our lixed at 100 "C, shorter rotation pe ods in the spit-roast
simulations show that if meat is atlowed io reach a warn ing model decrease the on-heat surface temperature,

No\TMBIR ]qqq PH]sIcs ToDAY J5

thanks to evapomtive cooling and the bdef moments any
bit of surface spends facing the heat source. Thus, rather
than approachins 100 'C and boosting the doneness
index, the roaBtEsudace tempemture tends to oscillatin
an increasinsly nanow rarse between 70 and 80 "C.
It remains to be seen whether these theoretical
effects of heatins cycles on meat doneness have any pmc- Flndyournextemployee
wiit AlPbonline
tical sisnificance- We hope that our fellow sastro
physictuh will joiD us in explo ns these and other fton
BcdmeSdrt Scrulce
tiers in meat cooking, includiDs ure influence ol meat
moisture on effective oven temperature and on 'after-
lFa Cdr Sarrlc.. dri-cr manlansoveroneliousand
cookins' the continuins inward now of heat after exter- curert esumes ofjobmndidates holdingphysics,
engineering,
and
nal heating is stopped. In the meantime. our simulations sciencedegreesftomBSto PhD-andnowyoucanaccss hemall
indicate that frequent flipping is kinder to meat terture, iou hoveajobopeniqo
onlire\4/heder 'n ndJsfyil academia.
or ,r
dd that while double-sided hambDeer cookers wi]l cook go[emqEm yoJ'ecenan .oF1da matdlfo. he shillsyorreqJie.
faster than open eritls and ftying pds, they vdll also
overcook more severely. Hero'sa samplingoftre aeasirDmwhichoff hlentpoolisdrawnl
Science r Engineering
! l aterials Applicaiions
Guidelinesfor the cook
r Vacuum
Sclence r Chemisty
Ou simple models for ftyins and immerBion suggest sev
etal guidelineB for naximizins the odds of cookins a suc- r Plasma
Physics . Computatonal
Physics
cdent, evenly done piece ofmeat:
r Biotogy r induslrial
Physics
> Use relatively thin cuts and prewarn them t reduce
the time during which the outer portions are overcooked. r Condensed lllatter
> Keep the suface temperaturc below the boil, so as to r ksels andElecbcoplics
I Applied
Physics
minimize the suface center thennal gradieDt and me-x;
mize the pedod durins which the center is vithin 5 "C of Seeforyoulself,
visilsw*alltorycaraarlldtt.
the ta.get. In ftyins and srillils, this can be done vith d
initial high-tempemtue bromins followed by finishing
over spdser coals or a lower flame, or by transfenins the
meat to the less efiicient heat ofthe oven.
> Flip erilled and fried meats ftequentb Remember that
their center temperatue is dsing fast and there will only Circlgnumbr24 on ReaderServiceCard
be a minute or two duine which thelre prcperly done. So
check them o6en with a themometer, a small cut, or a
texturc-probing poke.
> Above alt, don't rely on the standard predictive formu-
las for cookins time in minutes per pound or per inch.
Such fomulas are not dedved ftom physical pdrciples.
And, as the models demonstlate, cooking time is sisaifi-
catrtly affected by a host of variables, including initial,
ambient, a]ld cooking temperatues, ineslldities in the
meat's thickness, erd flipping frequency. Theres no sub
Btitute for direct monitorins of doneness when it comes to
tuming out a model of the cook'Bart. In Physics,Aslronomy,and nllatcd Fild5
References C o m p : l ebdy " . p A np r , c a rI n s l r t u r o
e r P r y sc s
1. H. C. Chang.J. A. Carlenier,R. T.Toledo, J. Foodsci.63.257
(r998). owgetinlomation onnearly
everyll.S.doctoralprcgram ln
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andastrcnorny,plusdataonmostmajofmasteB
ad Foa.l Ptu.lu.ts, El6e\ier, London(1990). prcgfams.InlomationonmanymalorCanad anprograms is
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n addition,lhkdirctory
lsls a
r2, 2L1 tr979). substantia
numberol rclated
Jlelddepa(menis, g
ncludin mater als
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ectrical
afd nirclear
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ng,meteology, medlcaland
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6. H. McGe, The Curials gaok, No.ih Point, San Fmncisco
(1990). 1199.1-560$3At-4.S paq6. s.ltest&5xll
?. D. A. Ledward, D. E. Johnsron,M. Knisht, eds., ?re @.m/rh..! l/P.!'
Chemist! of M6cle B6ed Fao.ts,RoyElSocietr of Chemistry, '&mbe6 ofAIPMenbdaid Afilated$cLeii6 arceiidedb d 20%dwlnt
Canbridge,Ensland(1992).
8. Visit PDE Solutions, h Web site at htip://w.pdesolu-
Toorder,call:
9. F. I{reith, M. S. Boht, Ptinciptes of Eeat ?ru6fet,'tb ed., l{filsP f,GER
ort'01-34&{0iil1 ffiiGN
PWS,Boston(1997). I Fax:ml-348-4505 INSTIIUTE
E mall:ofild@rpdngaf.||y.co||r. qPH\EiCS

36 NoWMBER 1999 PHYsrcsToDAY

Circlenumber26 on ReaderSeryiceCard