The Science of Cooking Food on a Gas Stove/Barbecue

Barbecues (or festivals) are a great way for you, your family, and friends to enjoy a bit of good food outside, whilst also being a brilliant social piece. But did you know there’s more to barbecuing your favourite meat products than just putting on the grill and eating it a couple of minutes later?

Since we love everything gas related, we wanted to give you a run down with what goes into cooking on a barbecue on a scientific level.

 

Different Types of Heat Transfer

Before we kick things off, we need to look at the different types of heat transfer that are available; this gives us an indication of how different cooking methods work.

The first type of heat transfer is known as conduction; this is when heat passes from a hot to a cold region where the hot region is in direct contact with the heat source. An example of this would be if you were to cook a burger in a frying pan on a gas stove. Heat is transferred from the gas flame to the pan, which acts as the heat source. The burger is in direct contact with the pan, so the heat transfers from the bottom of the burger to the top, therefore cooking the burger.

The second type of heat transfer is known as convection; this is when heat moves from one place to another by the movement of fluids, such as water, oil, and even air. If you are cooking a burger in an oven, the heat inside the oven will move due to the oven being hotter on the top and colder at the bottom. It’s important to know that conduction is great for searing meat, but convection is excellent for ensuring the meat is consistently cooked throughout.

The final type of heat transfer is known as radiation; this is when heat is radiated from a source of energy. An example of this would be if you were to have a hotdog and cook it over a campfire, of if you were using a charcoal grill to cook meat.

How Heat Moves Within Food

At a barbecue, the most abundant type of food that you will most likely see is meat – there’s just something about cooking a burger or a couple of sausages on the grill, or some corn on the cob and other great vegetables if you wanted to go for a healthier option.

However, when you are cooking on a gas stove or a barbecue, there are a couple of things to consider. If your barbecue is an enclosed space, meaning that it has a retractable lid, then the air that surrounds the meat increases in temperature and transfers some of the energy to the exterior of the meat.

This is a form of conduction since the hot air acts as the heat source, the meat is in direct contact with the air, and the air passes energy to the meat, which heats up the most on the exterior and slowly heats up the inside of the meat.

However, because meat contains roughly 75% water, this process can take a little bit of time because water acts as a very good insulator, especially when it is trapped inside the meat.

However, when it comes to using a gas stove, the results can change considerably. The reason for this is because the heat that is produced from a gas stove compared to a barbecue can be considerably larger. Therefore, it is common to find that cooking meat on a gas stove is great for searing meat, as the heat can transfer from the source to the meat incredibly quickly, which is all down to the thermal conductivity of the pan that you are using.

There are a lot of things to consider when cooking on a gas stove and on a barbecue, but one thing to remember is that you cook everything that you eat properly, as undercooked meat can be very unpleasant for your palette, as well as your digestive system.

Another incredibly important thing to remember, that we at Adams Gas take very seriously, is to make sure that you are safe when using gas stoves and barbecues. At Adams Gas, we always ensure that all the gas bottles that we provide are tested to make sure that our gas bottles are as safe as possible to use, whether you are using barbecue and patio gas for your barbecue, or butane or propane gas for your gas stove.

If you want to know more about the services that we can provide for you, then please don’t hesitate to contact us today on 0800 195 4445 and we will be more than happy to help.