tightly, densely, and irreversibly. And as they
do so, they squeeze the pockets of water out
from between them. The custard gets dense
and a watery fluid separates from the solid
portion; the fish gets tough and dry.
The details of protein denaturation and
coagulation in any given food are intricate and
fascinating. For example, acidity and salts can
cause egg proteins to cluster together even
before they begin to unfold, and thus affect
the consistency of scrambled eggs and
custards. Such details are noted in the
descriptions of particular foods.
Enzymes
There’s a particular group of proteins that are
important to the cook not so much for their
direct contribution to food texture and
consistency, but for the way they change the
other components of the food they’re in.
These proteins are the enzymes. Enzymes are