New Books Network Patricia B. O'Hara, "Food Chemistry in Small Bites: The Alchemist in the Kitchen" (U California Press, 2025)
Mar 30, 2026
Patricia B. O'Hara, Amherst professor of chemistry and author, brings food science to life with short, accessible lessons. She covers teaching chemistry through everyday foods. She explores how heat, acid, and mechanics transform ingredients. She discusses how our five senses shape flavor and the links between food waste, climate, and sustainable choices.
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Liquid Nitrogen Demo Sparked A Course
- Dr. Patricia B. O'Hara's food-chemistry course began when students asked her to supervise a molecular gastronomy special topics class after a liquid nitrogen ice cream demo.
- The student-driven syllabus (2010) became a repeatable course that she taught and turned into the book Food Chemistry in Small Bites.
Why Food Chemistry Starts With Atoms
- O'Hara frames food chemistry by asking why we eat and by unpacking food down to atoms, linking nutrition (carbs, fats, proteins) to molecular structure.
- She uses that molecular foundation to explain how heat, salt, whipping, and other techniques change food composition and function.
Flavor Is Bodyguard And Guide
- Human taste and smell evolved to screen foods for nutritional value and danger: sweet, sour, umami guide nutrient intake while bitter receptors guard against toxins.
- O'Hara highlights the gut microbiome as an additional chemical communicator that can influence cravings and food preferences.
