Every time we make a flavourful Indian butter chicken or spicy taco mixture, I’m surprised by the power of spices. Combining them well can create such a depth of flavour, that would have been almost...
Welcome to FoodCrumbles.com!
Here we love to dig just a little deeper into food and science. We explain how food is made, how it's preserved & packaged and what the role of the ingredients in your food are. We also analyze recipes, so you understand why a recipe is the way it is! Last but not least, we give you tools to develop a basic understanding of food science! Have fun browsing around and don't forget to ask a question if you can't find the answer here!
Food Science Basics
Just getting started in the world of food science and want to get your fundamentals straightened out? No problem, we've got a good selection of articles for you.
How baking powder & baking soda work – Chemistry of leavening agents
Ever forgot to add the baking powder or baking soda to your recipe? Or used baking soda and baking powder in your cake, only to discover it resulted in a flat cake? Baking powder & baking soda have a crucial...
The science of distilling liquors
We know how to make spirits (we discussed that here), and we know that to make spirits (or liquors) you need to distill fermented grains. Distillation isn’t just used in spirits production though. It is one of any...
Lactic acid fermentation in food
Yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, none of these products would exist without lactic acid fermentation. This is a series of chemical reactions that transforms your ingredients into something pretty different (and delicious)...
Cake Science
Science of a strawberry mousse mirror glaze cake
You don’t really understand food and recipes, until you’ve tried them. At least, that is my opinion. Once you’ve tried something a few times, it starts making more sense. This strawberry mousse mirror...
Eggless orange cake – Using custard as a substitute
A lot of ‘western’ recipes for cakes, cookies and pies contain eggs. But if you don’t eat eggs, no matter the reason, that can be quite a challenge. In most recipes you can’t just leave out the...
Bread Science
LoafNest: How a new way to bake bread was developed
Have you ever dreamed of developing your own kitchen tools to sell to others? Slightly overwhelmed by the long journey from idea, to prototype, to fundraising and actual manufacturing? We got to speak to the developers...
Vegetable Science
Ice Cream Science
Philadelphia style ice cream – An eggless chocolate ice cream
Before reading the book ‘Hello, my name is ice cream‘, I had never heard of Philadelphia style ice cream. Most of the ice creams I made myself were either by making a custard which I then churn in the ice...
How ice cream is made in a factory
Whether you make one bowl of ice cream at home, or 1000 liter in a factory, the science of ice cream stays the same. You’d still want small ice crystals, to make a super smooth ice cream and you’d like to...
Meat Science
Fruit Science
Vegetable and fruit texture – On turgor and plant cells
Poached pears are soft and juicy, whereas a ripe fresh pear has a nice crunch to it. Raw carrots crunch and you need a firm bite to break a bit of, but, the carrots which have been boiling in your soup for more than an...
Cranberry science & Why cranberries make a great jam
Every year, around the American Thanksgiving holiday, the internet seems to be full of cranberries again. We’ve looked at these native to North America fruits before, when using a flavour pairing tool to determine...
Cheese Science
Pie Science
Caramel nut tart
Making a pastry that beats or rivals that of a pastry shop isn’t something that happens to me very often. I mean, a good cookie or muffin are doable, but those more delicate, often French, pastries, aren’t...
Super smooth Instant Pot cheesecake
When cooking or baking, food scientists (that’s me!) like to disseminate their food and all what’s going on. So when you’re baking a cheesecake and it’s in the oven, you start thinking about...
Cookie Science
Almond tuile science – Flexible when hot, crispy when cold
If you’re a fan of cooking/baking shows you will have probably seen them come by: almond tuiles. Pretty, delicate and tasty cookies, but, the special bit is that they’re very flexible when they come out of...
Role of flour, butter and sugar in cookies – Shortbread science
Take some butter, mix it with sugar, add some flour and you’ve got a cookie going. Three ingredients is all you need to bake a decent cookie. Of course, you add more ingredients, nuts, fruits, some chocolate, the...
