I am a Culinary Arts student, and I think that cooking is between art and science. And I would apply both during cooking.

But this is only my theory. So what's yours?

Vote and give a reason

This post has been edited by Hootoot: Nov 17 2009, 12:10 AM

its an art.. ppl decorate food to look beautiful and unique so that got appetite to eat.. i do agree.. it oso apply some science knowledge.. i think it is when we need need to set up fire.. and mostly the oven and all those stuffs are created by some science ppl.. but for me.. cooking is more to art than science..

ermm.. ermm.. when i think back, art and science not same? ppl put many ingredients inside food, i think it is same with ppl put chemicals in chemistry.. lol.. need to do experiment about the amount and quantity, only food will taste nice.. lol.. blur @.@ btw.. i already vote art..

Thanks for the honest opinion.
Anyways, I think cooking is an art because it uses all 5 combination of the human senses. Cooking with the same measurements always is science, like you said, it is the same when people put chemicals in chemistry. But, if you manipulate a recipe, and experimenting it a little with your own creativity to make new flavour, it is art.

i don't think you have any idea what is COOKING.

what you stated was FOOD STYLING, that has to do with presentation.

COOKING and FOOD STYLING are 2 different things.

no matter how nice you style your food, if it suck it sucks.

COOKING is purely science actually. the knowledge of what to mix with what to get what result.

take for example baking - the amount of heat, and the duration? whether to put a foil on top? it's science of heat, where the experienced will know how to get the crust crispy and the insides warm enough to have the cheese melted yet not burning the outer layer.

that also among the many other things, like say for example making beef - did you know that beef tastes better medium rare than well done? many people don't, go straight order well done. damn, ordering well done, might as well just order chicken.

then there's the preparation part - how long to freeze the meat? did you know that some preparation could go over many months? again - science of understanding how temperature / condition could affect the subject.

ever notice how some people prepare fish so good that it's odorless? You can marinate fish with lemon juice to eliminate odor - call that art? again it's science of knowing how the elements react.

ever seen black colored spaghetti? it's mixed with squid ink - art? maybe you can say so but getting to the art part is also about science of knowing how elements react, allowing you to COLOR your creation.

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Added on November 17, 2009, 12:36 amthe combination of senses doesn't make it art. the senses are used to appreciate it.

in reality - what is there in life that is not a mixture of art and science?

talk about cars - they're art and science too.

talk about computers - they're art and science too.

talk about fine art - they're art and science too.

Hey goldfries

Thanks for your opinion. Very nice explanation.
Looking at the way you explain it, changes the way I see cooking now.

Should be both... Just like what goldfries said. Sometimes my roasted chicken doesn't taste right because of the right temperature, duration, heat and etc etc

i looked up the definition of ART - just to add to the discussion.

now I'd like to add that if you look at COOKING in the sense of SKILL (creating food, as in creating artwork), then it could be said that it is an ART.

confused yet?

IMO it's a combination of both. The creation part, you could say is art. but you need the knowledge of how to mix the elements, and that is the SCIENCE part.

And if you have plenty of chickens to spare, you can experiment with temperature. Eg, cooking chicken in fat for 8 hours at 80 degree celcius?

Yea. Combination of both.

some people fry the chicken wrongly la.

a lot of chinese chap fan stall fail that - the chicken looks damn tasty, crispy skin but after you start to eat, WTH inside there's blood and uncooked meat. WTH!?!?!

such cooking is strictly commercial la, no art............ but apparently they don't apply science as well, that's why the outcome fail.

to get a chicken done properly, first - don't fry the fella straight out of the freezer. then the heat shouldn't be too hot, too hot then the skin turn brown already inside not yet cooked. so how? put lesser heat so it heats up evenly.



grilling can be fun too! the think is some people think grilling must always have high heat - it's not necessarily so. it can be done with indirect heat.

the scientific knowledge of what you have with you are just damn important to get the food right. after that, to add sour cream on top and cover it with olive oil, well that's out of your ARTISTIC creativity already la.

Hah! goldfries is a chef eh?

oh another thing, some people cook vegetable took long. it shouldn't. vegetable should go in and out of the wok fast. within a minute or 2.

and some restaurants, aiyoh i damn hate their "yau cham" (oil dipped) fish - cos they fry until the meat already not nice to eat, all hardened.

my upcoming experiment is to make nice beef patty, which I've yet to do so.

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Added on November 17, 2009, 12:50 ami watch and learn lor.

from my food blog, i get invited to fine dining places as well so once in a while i get to talk to the chefs who create those master pieces.

besides that i also watch AFC. and i do cooking too.

so i learn la, try here and there. my wife cooks do, i give feedback / suggestion if the food not so nice.

the knowledge very important when comes to making food - let's say you want to serve beef for dinner, which part of the cow to choose? and how to prepare that part? cos the meat is different and therefore requires different preparation.

tomorrow i go food shopping, still learning to pick nice parts.

Haha. You are very very lucky. I would love to get chances like that. As in talking to the chefs behind the dish

This post has been edited by Hootoot: Nov 17 2009, 12:52 AM

Yumm~

Oh yes, the veges. If fry too long, sure no more vitamin liao. Usually i just dump into the hot water plus broth, add seasoning, sesame oil and fish balls. Voila!

Patty? Making burgers? I prefer chicken meat instead of beef

i not so clever to have recipe yet. i just like to cr[eat]e food.

sometimes people choose fried fish because if the fish not fresh, then it doesn't taste that bad. unfortunately over-frying does occur.

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Added on November 17, 2009, 12:57 amso far one of the most fun dish to look at........



the igloo was the most interesting part. so big presentation but only 3 small things to eat.

itu la fine dining - ART of presentation. small items but quality dishes.


beef has this special taste and smell that chicken doesn't. chicken hor, you mix with practically anything also can turn out nice, but this is not so for beef.

duck meat also nice.

yes in and out fast , but depends on the heat as well ...

i hated "yau cham" , u shld have ordered "wat cham" , where they just soaked the fish in oil , then steamed it ... even the normal "Kam Foong Yu aka Fei Chau Yu" taste like "Tau Tai Chong" ...

Beef Patty , no salt or soya sauce yeah ... my 2 cents

and TS if u ask me cooking is an art or science , i would say

Cooking is an Art and Science Make it happen ...

This post has been edited by 812799: Nov 17 2009, 01:01 AM

Nice one, cr[eat]e food.
Very nice/creative dish.
Fish if not fresh also not worth eating. Seafood is always best eaten fresh. Raw pun boleh
Basically, red meat (beef and duck) is the best. Why? Blooooood
Oh yea, one more thing. If possible, don't wash read meat. Throwing away precious flavours.

This post has been edited by Hootoot: Nov 17 2009, 01:01 AM

Pork meat also got

Unfortunately my skin grow some red scar... Nearby my BCG, my back shoulder... Wanna eliminate it must see Skin Specialist but will not guarantee gone forever 'cause it will grow again. If itchy or touch with my bare hands, sure spread or getting bigger like the size of our fingers. And so, i dare not to eat bloody stuffs like beef, mutton, lamb and so on. Chicken meat still ok-ok lah...

i think this 1 line sums it well.

it is a skill (art, the creativity) that requires the knowledge (science) to make it happen (because too creative but no knowledge will actually spoil the food.......... but on the other hand it actually could lead to discovery, rarely la. ).

Hmm, sensitive skin eh?
Seafood ok? Alot people allergic to seafood, than to red meat.

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Added on November 17, 2009, 1:05 amVery nice quotes.

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Added on November 17, 2009, 1:06 amMacam all those scientist kan?

This post has been edited by Hootoot: Nov 17 2009, 01:06 AM

Deer Meat ... YUMMY , Deer Meat of Sizzling Hot Plate ... damm i'm hungry

long time didn't eat venison already.

Im hungrier. After goldfries posted up those pictures

Sensitive skin, hmm, should be

Seafood, i didn't eat everyday. Fish okay lah. But prawns, crabs, lobsters... I was advised not to. As long it was done and not bloody, it was all good and fine.

Oh my... Deer meat?

Rabbit meat, hare meat, kangaroo meat, dog meat, cat meat, zebra meat, veal and others, i really cannot make myself to eat. I will think of them and cry

Hmm, think of it like chicken. Some animals, like cow, lamb, chicken, and deer are commercially grown to be sold to eat.

For the Chinese , any animal with it's back is facing the sky is edible ... hehe , urm the most i went was only rabbit meat ... definitely not zebra meat ... but chefs will always say these
"simple food are the most difficult to cook" ...

How come the poll can only vote for either one? Hmmm, I'm thinking of shd be macam MCQ, got A, B, then C is all the above, and D is none of the above...

I would think that should be both art and science, you guys have pretty much discussed the points.

But hor, just to add to the "confusion", I want to say:
Cooking is also an exercise, a sport!

Exercise - coz you burnt some calories when cooking, just look at how those chef sweats during the process.., think of those energy required to chop, cut, stir fry, flip the wok..

Sport - think of cooking competition...

Haha. Sweat cause when you are inside the kitchen, it is HOT. Imagine like tai chao, you see how big and how loud the fire.

i've worked in a restaurant b4 , in the kitchen , mwahaha you can check out those chef's thigh , confirm no bulu one ...

I never use wok. Well, maybe in the future 'cause currently i'm perfecting my Western recipes. Trying to get use to the electric cooker. Bit difficult to control the heat and the temperature. Have to be fast, quick and swift!

I dislike electric cookers. Cook with traditional fire, tastes better

traditional fire meanings must go to chop woods ah? wah, more exercise..

i'm nvr good with Western Recipes ... only good with wok , maybe i shld start learning

My family been using electric kitchenwares for years d. Need to change the gas tank almost every week! Last time lah... Almost everyday cook 24/7 as outside food didn't give their best ingredients and most important, is their oil! Gawd! Saw a restaurant 2 years d didn't change oil. So dark!

2 years is quite impossible , i know bout the cost cutting and such , but 2 yrs ... it's not oil anymore

This post has been edited by 812799: Nov 17 2009, 01:51 AM

i think both, because in science point of view if you cook with not proper way the food will not delicious and somehow it may cause food poisoning too. In Art you can decorate the food with nice and delicious impression.

Ah yes, definitely both, i must simply agree

@812799

I know, it is not oil anymore. Especially those ppl frying 'Yar Cha Guai', from what i've seen lah. So black! Yikes...

Not that kind larr haha

Hmm, if you are used to it already, then it should be fine. But then, no flambe wor

Yeah, the flames... I kinda miss it more and more whenever i'm watching AFC

flame still can be done ... but need the right timing only , but of coz gas cooker especially those jet powered ... flame is like a norm

Bit afraid of gas and fire. More to say, terrified. Read a news article that it blow up or something and injured the housewife's hand. Burnt badly...

Edited: Typo

This post has been edited by M@Y: Nov 17 2009, 02:09 AM

cookin is an emotional thing.

if your mom cooking bad but is cook with love, u eat also u song ! correct or not.

urm i dunno how can that happen ... but i think i'm ok with it ... hehe no doubt electric cooker is faster ...

@buntutman,

If many years eat mommy's cooking, how to know it is bad or not. Its just that everyone's cooking style and taste is different only. Not burnt until it is not edible already

@812799,

If used to it, sure fast. Just depends how much amount i wanna cook only

Muslims kennot eated rare la.. must not have traces of blood.
So now the science part is, how to make well doned steak taste like medium rare?

and oso how u massage the cow, make the meat more nicer before u mampuskan the poor cow. Meat will be nicer... its science ya

Thats why u send it to thegutterfood liao to gutter to fail fooood.

Eh, Puchong i oso got eated this creative work



its called the "twin peaks" of happiness

artistick liao..

Is that egg?

more like taufoo

Woh...

Chat again later. Wanna sleep d. Nightz, guys~

it is tofu

made to look liek twin peaks

I would say both. I always look for ways to make my dish look more colorful and appealing and at the same time I always see if I can alter the recipe or take it a step further by turning it into a fusion dish. Recently I made Thai green curry soup with spaghetti and the results were really good

That's the best tofu in Puchong liao...me like it...so it's an art! Creative enuf wth the idea of twin tower tofu..

This post has been edited by stimix: Nov 17 2009, 09:15 AM

let's not go off topic liao la.

attractive and tasty and fresh idea is art
gutterfood is not art

i still say its emotions

gutterfood is abt ppl focusing too much on science, until art tarak.

fusion alwiz try to pass off as art, but i duwan eats pizza with bakso topping. no thanks.

i dont like sucky food that try to dress up themselves ...... thats called fine dining.

big big plate, in the middle one scallop with some few drop of sos, RM69. syiok.

I am a cook and my opinion of the above is both but it is more Art than Science. The Science part came in because time changes and made it into a Science. They started having courses for it but in actual good cooks cannot be taught. They have to follow the process of apprenticeship to 2nd wok (or chef) before they are experience enough to plan the menu.

The really Arty part of cooking is " No two person can cook the same flavour " even if you give them the same ingredients and time. Likewise, if you were to ask me, "how much of this or that to put in", I cannot really answer because commercial cooks never measure! It's a matter of feel. You can only estimate when you measure the quantity. No ingredients are the same . Even the soya sauce you bought this week and next week are different so measuring is just a guideline. In some cases even the different sequence of adding ingredients produces different flavour. In the case of margarine, if you cook with it and not overcook it, it's fine and might taste nice but if you put too much heat for too long it's toxic. Plastics are manufactured in the same way.

Actually the quality of food has declined through the decades, but because people adapts a new bar( lowering the bar in actual). Have you ever heard of good places to eat and suddenly the quality dropped. That's because the main chef left or died. No matter how close you are to the chef, he will never impart al his knowledge unless it is a family restaurant. Ask your parents, is Kam Lun Tai or Yoke Woo Hing the same as last time. A simple example is 'Xing Zhao Mei' or Singapore Fried Beehoon. The art is lost because in actual you can never get the type of beehoon that older generations used. Those beehoon are handmade and hence tougher. They have to be blanched first before cooking. Ingredients changes through generations.

The newer generations tends to simplify things and definately taste and flavour changes and to the newer generations it may be good but to the older generations they are bad. They have the newer 'fusion food' which sets a new bar and the only judge to the quality is our tongues.

To sum it up, 'COOKING IS AN ART' because just like art,once the artist is dead, you will never again get to taste the same flavour again even if a new chef follow his cookings step by step.

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Added on November 17, 2009, 5:20 pmI am a cook and my opinion of the above is both but it is more Art than Science. The Science part came in because time changes and made it into a Science. They started having courses for it but in actual good cooks cannot be taught. They have to follow the process of apprenticeship to 2nd wok (or chef) before they are experience enough to plan the menu. More importantly like artist they have to be creative! Cooks in franchise restaurants are more like line production operators. They have no avenue to display their creativity but just to follow the procedures from the head branch.

The really Arty part of cooking is " No two person can cook the same flavour " even if you give them the same ingredients and time. Likewise, if you were to ask me, "how much of this or that to put in", I cannot really answer because commercial cooks never measure! It's a matter of feel. You can only estimate when you measure the quantity. No ingredients are the same . Even the soya sauce you bought this week and next week are different so measuring is just a guideline. In some cases even the different sequence of adding ingredients produces different flavour. In the case of margarine, if you cook with it and not overcook it, it's fine and might taste nice but if you put too much heat for too long it's toxic. Plastics are manufactured in the same way.

Actually the quality of food has declined through the decades, but because people adapts a new bar( lowering the bar in actual). Have you ever heard of good places to eat and suddenly the quality dropped. That's because the main chef left or died. No matter how close you are to the chef, he will never impart al his knowledge unless it is a family restaurant. Ask your parents, is Kam Lun Tai or Yoke Woo Hing the same as last time. A simple example is 'Xing Zhao Mei' or Singapore Fried Beehoon. The art is lost because in actual you can never get the type of beehoon that older generations used. Those beehoon are handmade and hence tougher. They have to be blanched first before cooking. Ingredients changes through generations.

The newer generations tends to simplify things and definately taste and flavour changes and to the newer generations it may be good but to the older generations they are bad. They have the newer 'fusion food' which sets a new bar and the only judge to the quality is our tongues.

To sum it up, 'COOKING IS AN ART' because just like art,once the artist is dead, you will never again get to taste the same flavour again even if a new chef follow his cookings step by step.

This post has been edited by etigge: Nov 17 2009, 05:20 PM