Learn through chemistry the five tips to cook a better Thanksgiving dinner

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: Thanksgiving is a holiday packed with cherished family traditions. But there's always room to experiment, right? So here are five tips for a better Thanksgiving, through chemistry.

For generations, dry cardboard-like turkey was the norm. Then along came brining. This pre-roasting step involves giving the turkey a cold and salty bath for several hours before putting it in the oven. What chemical process can we thank for this juicy turkey? Osmosis. For more, here's food writer, Harold McGee.

HAROLD MCGEE: A liquid on the outside of the turkey meat that's high in salt, will draw fluid out of the turkey breast, because the concentration of the salt is higher outside than in. Which you might think would actually drive the meat out. And that does happen for the first few hours that the turkey is in the brine. But after a while, because the turkey is also picking up some salt, osmosis works both ways in this case.

The presence of the salt in the turkey meat actually raises the water holding capacity of the proteins inside the turkey. And so the flow of moisture actually reverses. And the turkey begins to pick up moisture.

SPEAKER: Also on the menu is an array of fall produce packed with nutrients. But what happens to the nutrients when they're baked, roasted, or boiled? To find out, let's take the perfect turkey compliment as an example-- cranberries. These deliciously tart berries are touted for their high levels of antioxidants, which research suggests have anti-cancer and heart health benefits.

But according to an article in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the steps that turn raw cranberries into cranberry sauce and juice, affect the amounts of antioxidants. Blanching or heating the berries for about three minutes, lowered levels of a group of antioxidants called anthocyanins, and bumped up the amount of flavonols. But pressing the berries caused the greatest loss of these molecules, some of which get tossed out with the skin and seeds at this step. The good news is that dried or cooked, cranberries are still higher in antioxidants than many other fruits, including say, raw blueberries.

For those of you who don't eat turkey, roasted stuffed seitan could be on the menu. The so-called wheat meat, is made of gluten, and has become a staple for many vegetarians. But making it at home into a texture that resembles meat, is not so easy. Fortunately, seitan is sensitive to pH. So to change the texture, you can tinker with the levels of soy sauce, for example, which is acidic, or vegetable stock, which is basic. If you add seitan to the right broth, you might even be able to trick your friends into thinking that this porous meat substitute is actually meat. The taste and texture can be surprisingly similar.

Now for the hidden, but crucial elements that can spice up a Thanksgiving meal, like onions, cinnamon, and garlic. Research suggests that these key flavor ingredients all have potential health benefits. Onions, one of the oldest cultivated foods, contain flavonoids, which research suggests have anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, and anti-cancer potential.

The essential pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, has been found to have antibacterial effects, thanks to compounds called E-cinnamaldehyde and proanthocyanidins. It also has anti-diabetic properties.

Another staple since ancient times, garlic has been shown to prevent blood cells called, platelets, from clumping, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. But to reap garlic's potential benefits, a study published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, suggests it's best to crush your garlic and let it sit for 10 minutes before cooking. This releases an enzyme called alliinase, which helps create anti-clumping molecules called thiosulfates.

So you enjoyed a delicious meal, and capped it off with some pumpkin pie. Now it's time for the aftermath. For some, that means heartburn. When you eat, your stomach produces acid to digest the food. The more you eat, the more acid your body produces. Luckily, there's a remedy to counter this digestive overdrive-- antacid. Antacid is actually a base. So when you take it, you're causing a neutralization reaction in your stomach.

Here are three antacids at work. When you add these bases to acid, the hydrogen ion from the acid, and hydroxide from the base, forms water and a type of salt. Though this eases the heartburn, it does have a negative side effect-- gas. And that carbon dioxide comes out, you guessed it--

[BURP]

--as a burp.