Advertisement
01. Conduction
Appears in
By Andrew Schloss and David Joachim
Published 2007
Heat makes molecules move faster. The faster they move, the more likely it is that they will bump into an adjacent molecule and transfer heat from one molecule to the other. This straightforward interchange of energy is called conduction. It is the basic way that heat moves from the fire to the surface of the grill grate, through the grill grate, and, finally, into a piece of food.
Although conduction is at play in all areas of the grilling process, the way heat moves through a metal grate is different than how it moves through a slab of meat, for instance. Metals are particularly good heat conductors because, even though most of their molecules are tightly bound, they contain electrons that jump easily from one atom to another. This mobility of electrons moves heat quickly through metal grilling equipment. But meat and other grilled ingredients don’t heat through as efficiently.