Suspensions Used in Cooking, Along

¶ … suspensions used in cooking, along with additional information. Suspensions are a type of sauce or thickened substance used in cooking. They are often familiar types of food that people eat every day, and do not think of them as anything special. However, suspensions help thicken and give body to traditional sauces with texture and flavor, and they are an important aspect of many recipes. Essentially, suspensions add a plant or animal material to water and bind the water molecules together to form a thick sauce or puree.

One Web site states, "If the particles are too large, instead of a stable colloid, we get a suspension. A suspension is when particles are temporarily suspended in a fluid, but will eventually settle out if left undisturbed" (Editors). One of the most well respected books on cookery and science continues, "Such a mixture of a fluid and solid particles is called a suspension: the particles are suspended in the fluid. Sauces made from pureed foods are suspensions" (McGee 593).

Suspensions make food more interesting, add texture, color, and flavor to foods, and they are relatively simple to make. Suspensions are related to solutions and colloid solutions. Solutions are mixtures of liquid and another item that mix to form a homogenous mixture. Colloid solutions appear to be homogenous, and suspensions usually have particles larger than 1 micrometer. Suspensions can be separated or filtered, as well (Lowe). Emulsions are extremely special types of suspensions, where the liquid cannot mix evenly with the other liquid.

(an oil and vinegar salad dressing is a good example of an emulsion). Another Web site notes, "Emulsions are mixtures of special kinds of suspensions where the two materials cannot mix evenly. This can be seen in such things as mayonnaise and salad dressing" (Editors 64). Emulsions serve a vital purpose in cooking, because they create sauces like hollandaise, and help bind two ingredients into one food. Suspensions create consistency and texture in dishes. If you look at typical suspensions, they range in the size of the particles.

Larger particles give more texture, while smaller particles make the texture smoother, and thicker, as well. Suspensions are also always opaque. Author McGee continues, "Suspensions are always opaque, because the solid particles are large enough to block the passage of light rays and either absorb them or bounce them back toward their source" (McGee 593). Suspensions also create new foods by mixing ingredients. For example, author McGee notes, "Nut butters and chocolate are suspensions of solid seed particles not in water, but in oils and fats" (McGee 594).

When you view suspensions that way, you can see that they are one of the backbones of cooking, even if they are not always that well-known or recognized. Suspensions also thicken sauces, drinks, and other items by using their particles to act as a thickening agent. If you think of a smoothie, you can see this in action. The fruit purees with the liquid to make a smooth, drinkable mixture that is thick, creamy, and delicious, which is another definition for a suspension.

Suspensions are used to create texture and interest in cooking, and they are used for flavor and infusion, too. For example, purees and smoothies are examples of suspensions. They combine foods with water or another liquid, and they make the liquid thicker and more flavorful. Another example is nonfat milk, which suspends milk-proteins in water. Jellies, ice cream, and even vegetable shortening are types of suspensions, and so are chocolate drinks. Suspensions also serve a vital purpose in the kitchen. They can be used to thicken another ingredient.

For example, adding a puree to a soup or sauce to thicken it. They can be used to blend ingredients together to form a new type of food, like nut butters and chocolate, and they can be used to bind things together, such as with mayonnaise. They create flavorful sauces like hollandaise that add a new dimension to a food, and they create healthful drinks when they combine to make smoothies. Special suspensions like emulsions are often a combination of two or more types of solutions or suspension.

Author McGee notes, "The sauces that cooks actually make are seldom simple suspensions, molecular dispersions, emulsions, or foams. They're usually a combination of two or more" (McGee 596). Thus, suspensions are often more complex than two ingredients, and they can be classified in other ways, as well. The theories behind suspensions are both scientific and creative. Suspensions are mixtures that will settle out again, and they can be solid or liquid. If they settle, you can shake or stir them to mix them up again.

As shown, suspensions fall into the category of solutions, and they can be extremely complex or quite simple. For example, forcemeat is an example of a suspension/emulsion. Forcemeat itself is used to create many other products,.