The smooth soft white, or slightly brown powder is one of the most common staples in stores around the world. With a little help from water and a few other ingredients, you can transform it into cakes, bread...
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
Bundt pan science & A chocolate Bundt cake
Have you ever made such an artsy Bundt cake? One of those round cakes with a hole in the middle, often with a lot of intricate designs? Which can be a hassle to get out of the form if you don’t get it right...
Carrot walnut cake – Why carrots are used in cake
A (presumably Dutch) ‘joke’ on carrot cake: A rabbit enters a bakery and asks the owner, ‘do you also sell carrot cake’? The owner said he didn’t so the rabbit left. The next day the rabbit...
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
Science of flavour pairing – Cranberry, brie & walnut appetizer
Anyone who’s developed a new recipe, which can be as simple as throwing some ingredients in a wok, will know that one of the tricks of a good recipe is the flavour combinations you make. Red cabbage works well...
Mandarin panna cotta – Using gelatin
Ever made a beautiful, arty looking, dessert within 45 minutes which consists of more than 6 complex elements, of which two contain gelatin (thus require time to set)? I for sure didn’t, but the contestants on my...
Cheese Science
Pie Science
Thickening with starch – Pie fillings
If you’ve ever made a meat pie, stew or sauce you know that one of the challenges is to get that right consistency. You don’t want it to be too runny, nor too thick. One of the most common tricks you might...
Crunchy cranberry pie – On (not) dissolving sugar
Sugar definitely is one of the most complex and fascinating ingredients in the kitchen. It sweetens your food, but can also be used to create a whole lot of different textures and structures in your food! Sugar helps...
Cookie Science
Making Trini Kurma – Short crust + Ginger sugar science
No matter where you look, there’s a good chance you’ll find some surprising science hidden in a seemingly not at all sciency food dish. Same for these Trini kurma, a cookie covered in ginger sugar syrup...
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...
