If matter expands when heated, why does most food shrink when being cooked?

Question

If matter expands when heated, why does most food shrink when being cooked?

In: 2

Answer 1

>If matter expands when heated, why does most food shrink when being cooked?

For the same reason you won’t end up with a bigger house when you burn it down.

Your food (and most any thing around you) isn’t just “matter”, it’s a complex structure, a type of building. Multiple different buildings with unique structures and characteristics, in fact!
Denature the proteins, boil off the water, break down the cell walls… there are many ways to destroy those buildings via heat – you’re not merely making them *warm*.