Chemistry of Chipotle

Chemistry Connections

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network

Chemistry Connections

The Chemistry of Chipotle

Episode #2

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Maxxe Rice and I am your host for episode #2 called The Chemistry of Chipotle Today I will be discussing the best food known to man, Chipotle.

Segment 1: Introduction to Chipotle

For the first segment I will be discussing an introduction to what Chipotle is. For those who don't know, Chipotle is the best fast food restaurant chain that serves Mexican inspired cuisine. They are infamous for their delicious burritos, bowls, quesadillas, chips and guacamole. The restaurant is set up when you are ordering in an assembly line style in which you customize your burrito, bowl, or whatever you are choosing to get as you go down the line with workers scooping the ingredients for you. They go by their motto at chipotle that, “Real is better. Better for You, Better for People, Better for Our Planet.” They make their food fresh every day because of their motto and they use no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, no freezers, can openers, or shortcuts… I know I wouldn't want to work there either, it seems like a lot of work. But really that's what makes them so good they are committed to their amazing food and they only use 53 real ingredients. There is also an extreme debate about how to pronounce Chipotle especially with my grandparents and I. My grandma calls it Chi-poat-lee, my other grandma calls it Chi-pot-te but all of those are wrong. The correct way to say chipotle is Chih-poat-lay.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Chipotle

Now you know what chipotle is, let's dive into some of the science behind this outstanding food.

Specifically starting with: a common ingredient in chipotles renowned known guacamole, tomato red chili salsa, fresh tomato salsa, roasted chili corn salsa, honey vinaigrette, tomatillo green chili salsa, and so many other foods that chipotle has that if I said all of them I would be talking for almost 5 minutes. One ingredient that all of these foods have in common is some type of pepper. These peppers also have something in common as well… SPICEEEEEEE. This is where the chemistry comes in…. Because well the spicy flavor that you taste with some of chipotle's food is due to a spice molecule named capsaicin…. I know what you may be thinking capsa what?! Yes you heard it right, capsaicin. Capsaicin is my cool friend that basically has active chemical superpowers. Capsaicin, the molecular formula of C18H27NO3, is an organic molecule which is made up of a benzene ring with a long hydrophobic carbon tail and a polar amide group. Now let's take a further look into the actual structure of the molecule because that sounds really confusing. A benzene ring is a ring formation of six carbon atoms which are bonded together and have alternating single and double bonds between them. The long hydrophobic carbon tail means essentially a chain of carbon atoms bonded together with surrounding hydrogen atoms around them bonded to each carbon on the chain. The polar amide group is the part of the molecule where there is a nitrogen atom and a double bonded oxygen atom. We can break this molecule up into two different polar regions and 1 nonpolar region. Something is polar if there is asymmetry in the molecule and if there is a difference in electronegativity between the atoms within the molecule. Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom to attract shared electrons when forming a chemical bond. With larger molecules we don't tend to just get one solidly polar or nonpolar molecule but a molecule with different regions of polarity. The hydrocarbon tail contains a difference in electronegativity because of the difference in electronegativity between the hydrogen and carbon molecules however it is not polar due to the symmetry of carbon and hydrogen atoms that make up these chains, therefore this part of the molecule is nonpolar. On the other hand the part of the molecule that contains the amide group and benzene ring with the OH attached to it is an example of a polar section of the molecule. This is a polar section because of the asymmetry of the different atoms and the difference in electronegativity between the different atoms as well. Ok now more about what it does in the actual pepper… Capsaicin is an organic molecule that is contained within the membrane of peppers. This membrane that capsaicin is in holds the seeds in chili peppers, which fun fact, contrary to what most people think and what I found interesting… I always thought it was the seeds that were the specifically spicy part of peppers but that's not actually the case. When you eat something with Capsaicin you feel the burning sensation of something being spicy. This happens because the molecules have an unique shape and size which allows it to react with the TRPV1 Receptor which is a special receptor on your tongue that creates a chemical response in your body. Specifically, the calcium ions go to the receptor and trigger neurons to be released. Neurons are cells that can essentially talk and communicate with your brain and tell them that there is a burning and spicy sensation in your mouth when you eat foods containing Capsaicin.

In addition to there being chemistry behind the spice in their foods, there is also chemistry behind how Chipotle keeps their incredible food warm. In order to ensure that the food is getting to our plates the freshest that it can, Chipotle uses a water bath heating system in order to keep all of the warm food warm at all times. The food is held in separate metal containers, each ingredient in a different metal container. These containers are slid into a big metal bin like structure which has some water in the bottom but not enough to physically touch the separate metal containers that are slid into the top of the bin. Underneath the big metal bin that's installed into the counter there are burners. Let's follow the heat transfer from the burners underneath the bins all the way to the best food ever. First the burners underneath the bin are fueled by propane. Propane is a burning fuel that's used for light and heat. It is stored under pressure inside a tank and it is an odorless colorless liquid. When the burner is turned on, pressure is released from the propane tank and the liquid propane vaporizes, turning into a gas that is used in the combustion reaction in order to create heat and light. A combustion reaction is a reaction in which a substance reacts with oxygen gas and releases energy in the form of light and heat. Specifically, the reaction that propane undergoes is written as C3H8 + 5O2 → 3CO2 + 4 H2O + Heat . This reaction means that propane and oxygen react together in order to create carbon dioxide, water, and heat as products. This combustion reaction of propane is an exothermic reaction which means that the reaction releases heat and light in the form of creating a flame. This reaction being an exothermic reaction also means that there is more energy released when product bonds are formed and less energy absorbed when reactant bonds are broken. The heat from the exothermic combustion reaction is then released to the stainless steel metal bin on top of the burners. Chipotle uses stainless steel metal for the material of their containers because metals are amazing conductors of heat. Stainless steel specifically is made up of the metals iron, and chromium. Iron and Chromium atoms form metallic bonds between their atoms. Metallic bonding refers to chemical bonding that takes place between metal atoms in which electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom are shared by all the atoms in the metal created. This bond creates what they call a sea of electrons. In order for something to be conductive the substance must have charged particles that are able to flow. Because of the sea of electrons that iron contains due to its metallic bonds, iron has free flowing electrons which are charged particles that can flow in the sea of electrons. Therefore iron is a great conductor and great at transferring energy. Iron conducts heat from the burners beneath to the water that is present in the bin. When the water bath gets heated the water molecules move faster and gain more energy, eventually leading to the intermolecular forces (hydrogen bonds) between the water molecules breaking and water molecules changing phases from liquid to a vapor. The water vapor molecules move very fast and have a lot of energy in which the water molecules then collide with the smaller stainless steel containers which are slid on top of the big metal bin. The collisions from the water vapor particles with the small metal bins creates another energy transfer and the metal bins to be heated. The stainless steel is then able to heat up and conduct the heat energy to the food that the bins contain, resulting in the food staying warm.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Now you may be thinking well, why chipotle? Well the truth is I chose Chipotle for my project because it is my favorite thing on the face of the earth. I first tried Chipotle in first grade and I remember the exact day. I got a bowl and I have been hooked ever since. As soon as I take my first bite into my food I feel an insane feeling of serenity and euphoria. The food is just so good and it makes me so happy. I just love it man and it's important because other people would love it if they tried it too. It is also a plus that I love chemistry and there is so much chemistry involved in Chipotle as I explained during this podcast which is just another plus. My order if you would like to know is a bowl with a quesadilla on the side (So you can make a burrito with some of your bowl while you are eating) then white rice, chicken, pico, corn, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guac, and chips on the side. There is also a life hack that semi has to deal with science (Psychology possibly) which can be for an episode another time once I learn psychology. But if you ask for each topping one at a time they are bound to give you more with each scoop because the workers don't know how to portion it right. Alright now I am done talking about chipotle but the chemistry never stops! Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com.

Sources:

https://www.chipotle.com/values

https://www.everydaychemistries.com/blog/capsaicin

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/propane-basics

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/capsaicin#:~:text=Capsaicin%20

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired

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