Boiling down

High school (ages 12+)
Food & Cooking

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/boiling-down

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific principle?Evaporation driven by heat transfer, reducing water activity (aw)
2. What is the chemical changes?Concentration of non-volatile solutes, potential for Maillard reactions and caramelization
3. What is boiling down and how does it make food taste stronger?Boiling down is a gentle heat that turns water in food into steam. As the water leaves, the sugars, salts, and flavors stay behind and become much stronger.
4. Why does boiling down help keep food safe for longer?When water is removed, there is less free water for germs to grow. This keeps the food safe and helps it last longer.

Water Activity (aw): A measure of the free water available in a food product for microbial growth and chemical reactions.
Non-volatile Solutes: Substances dissolved in a liquid that do not readily evaporate with the solvent.
Viscosity: A measure of a fluid's resistance to flow; how thick or sticky a liquid is.