food science

A block of Tomme de Savoie cheese ages with a sweater of Mucor lanceolatus fungal mold. Mucor itself doesn't have a strong taste, but more flavorful bacteria can travel far and wide along its hyphae â the microscopic, branched tendrils that fungi use

Science

The Cheese Does Not Stand Alone: How Fungi And Bacteria Team Up For A Tastier Rind

11:32am January 29, 2018

by Menaka Wilhelm

Cheese rinds may seem simple, even discardable, but the microbial world they contain is complex. Among their inhabitants: bacterial swimmers that hop on highways of fungal tendrils to get around.

Books
Arts

The Trick To Making Your Own Halloween Candy? Swallowing Your Fear

11:34am October 25, 2017

by Deena Prichep

Jami Curl is a homemade candy evangelist. The sweet stuff can be made from "real" ingredients — and you can do it at home. The process can be intimidating, but also kind of magical.

Cloud eggs: It's not just Instagrammers who find them pretty. Chefs of the 17th century whipped them up, too. Then, as now, they were meant to impress.

Science
Arts

Cloud Eggs: The Latest Instagram Food Fad Is Actually Centuries Old

10:53am May 21, 2017

by Maria Godoy

The fanciful dish was meant to impress nearly 400 years ago, so don't roll your eyes at photos of these pretty edibles: They're actually a time-honored tradition tinged with a bit of kitchen science.

Queue Listen Now

NadaMoo!'s Birthday Cake Cookie Dough vegan frozen dessert uses coconut milk as its base. Because of its fat and sugar content, many vegan dairy producers say coconut is simply the easiest vegan platform to build a milk or cream out of. But almond milk is

Science

How To Give Vegan 'Ice Cream' That Creamy Taste, Minus The Milk

11:29am May 15, 2017

by Jill Neimark

From avocado to almonds, vegan frozen desserts abound today. But replicating the complex choreography of water, protein, fat and sugar that milk usually takes care of is a challenge.

There may a reason brown rice sushi doesn't taste as good as the traditional white rice kind.

Science
Arts

Why Is Brown Rice Sushi So Awful? Here's The Science

1:00pm December 05, 2016

by Sujata Gupta

Sure, brown rice is better for you than refined white rice. But if you cringe when you see it on sushi, there's good reason behind that, and it's rooted in flavor science and biochemistry.

Red and white wine in glasses with a cheese platter of a variety of cheeses with crackers and bread

Pairing Wine And Cheese? Science Says White May Be A Better Choice Than Red

2:36pm November 08, 2016

by Jeremy Cherfas

A new technique that examines the evolution of taste suggests that the strong flavor of red wine may dominate the taste of some cheeses, while white varieties may be more versatile and refreshing.

Ever wonder how many different dyes are used to color Skittles?

Science
Arts

Still Have Leftover Halloween Candy? Use It For Science!

7:00am November 08, 2016

No need to risk sugar shock, folks. We've got a whole bunch of experiments you can do with leftover candy that are possibly more fun than eating it.

Flour and water on the left; just starter on the right.

Discovering The Science Secrets Of Sourdough (You Can Help)

5:05pm October 28, 2016

by Marcus Woo

Many bakers treat their sourdough starters like a family heirloom. Some starters date back decades, even centuries. Now researchers want to analyze your starters to unlock their flavor secrets.

Science
Arts

Snap, Crackle, Kale: The Science Of Why Veggies Spark In The Microwave

3:48pm October 03, 2016

by Erin Ross

Online sources suggest cooking vegetables in the microwave for a quick and easy dinner. But microwaving veggies can get a little bit explosive. Who knew kale chips could offer a lesson in physics?

Reducing sodium in food has become a priority for the food industry.

Health & Safety

When Food Firms Cut The Salt, What Do They Put In Instead?

7:00am August 04, 2016

by Alan Yu

Too much salty goodness isn't great for health. Food companies looking to cut the sodium while keeping the flavor have a promising candidate: potassium chloride. But it's far from perfect.