X-ray crystallography of cookies
This is perhaps the most exhilarating patent I’ve ever read:
Search for patent 4455333 at this link.
Here’s a excerpt:
When the cookie dough enters the oven, the water in the dough is saturated with sugar and appears to be evenly distributed throughout the dough. As the water temperature increases during baking, the solubility of the sugar increases, drawing water away from the flour. At about 70.degree. C. all the water present has the capacity to dissolve all the sugar, as indicated by the fact that the x-ray diffraction pattern for crystalline sugar is lost. As the cookie temperature continues to increase (80.degree. C.), a non-saturated sugar solution is formed from which the water is free to evaporate. At this point, water is rapidly lost to the atmosphere until the solution is again saturated (0.18 gram water/gram sugar). This occurs typically after about eight minutes of baking. If baking is continued, typically to the twelve minute point, the dehydration continues and a dry (0.1 gram water/gram sugar) crunchy cookie is produced, containing amorphous sugar that cannot crystallize because its water content is too low.