When you simmer certain spices in fat and water, where do the spices/nutrients go?
I'm referring to ingredients like cumin, coriander and tumeric.
If you have a fat and water mixture, both the fat and water will seperate i.e. fat moves to top. Will these ingredients and their minerals concentrate in the fat or dilute in the water?
Best Answer
Chemically fat and water are much different. Fat is an organic with very little polarity. Water is a non-organic and very polar.
Polar means one side is positive and another side is negative. In water the oxygen is dominate and pulls in extra negative charge.
Most spice (if not all depending on your definition) is organic. Spice will concentrate in fat. If you don't have enough fat the spice will just fall out of solution and be a solid at the bottom of the pot.
Salt dissociates into positive and negative ions is soluble in water as what happens is negative oxygen in the water hugs the positive (NA) and the hydrogen hugs the negative (CL). Again if you don't have enough water (huggers) the salt will just fall out as a solid.
I know a strange analogy. Alcohol is out of your system in 24-48 hours as it is not fat soluble. Marijuana is organic (spice like) and is fat soluble. It can be detected up to 30 days.
Pictures about "When you simmer certain spices in fat and water, where do the spices/nutrients go?"
What spices are fat soluble?
EXPLANATION: The main flavor compounds in many spices and some herbs (including thyme, rosemary, lavender, sage, savory, and bay leaves) are largely fat-soluble.Do seasonings dissolve in water?
As a rule, all spices are fat-soluble but some are water-soluble as well. Of course, in reality almost all spices are both water and fat soluble to some degree. It's just that some spices spread their flavor much better in fat that in water.What is responsible for flavour of spices?
More than 90% of spices owe their flavour profile to the presence of monoterpenes. The characteristic aroma of a spice is caused by a specific mixture of monoterpenes and not by a specific individual compound.What do spices do to food?
Why are spices used? The obvious answer is that they enhance food flavor, color, and palatability.How the food you eat affects your gut - Shilpa Ravella
More answers regarding when you simmer certain spices in fat and water, where do the spices/nutrients go?
Answer 2
In my experience, a spice is oil based and will cling to the fat and not attach to the water. It will float in the water causing a change in color and would change the flavor profile. But, not to the degree it will with the fat. When the fat in a seasoned dish floats to the top and it is skimmed off clearly there are a lot of the spices caught up in the removed fat.
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