Blog posts

Using ingredients

Why Would You Use Black Beans in Brownies?

Always looking for a new experiment, I decided to try my hand at some black bean brownies the other day. Looking for a fun variation on brownies, and having some left-over sweet potato, I ended up making sweet potato...

October 13, 2020

6 min read

Researching Ingredients

Science of Urad Beans (+ Medu Vada recipe)

When looking into scientific literature you will find that some ingredients have been researched very intensely, whereas others have barely received any attention at all! Western staple ingredients such as wheat and...

October 6, 2020

5 min read

Making Food

Popcorn History – From the Iroquois to Microwave Popcorn

For a lot of people, including myself, popcorn is closely associated with cinemas or even watching movies at home. Even though popcorn did get a huge boost thanks to cinemas, popcorn has been around as a snack for much...

September 29, 2020

10 min read

Using ingredients

How to Make Oat Milk Pancakes

Just because you are allergic to milk, use less dairy milk out of concern for the environment doesn’t mean you can’t eat pancakes anymore! It so happens, pancakes don’t really need (cow’s) milk...

September 26, 2020

5 min read

freshly harvested carrots, crinky and wobbly

Using ingredients

Why Carrots Are Used in Cake (& Carrot Walnut Cake Recipe)

Not that many years ago, my only reference to carrot cake was a Dutch joke. It involved a baker and a rabbit, who does not like carrot cake, though makes the baker think he does. In all honesty, a carrot cake...

September 20, 2020

6 min read

Understanding Ingredients

How to Use Moisture Sorption Isotherms in Food

You might not think you ever need (or use) moisture sorption isotherms. But if your bag of (icing) sugar has started to clump or your pie crust started to go soggy, you’ve at least come across some of the...

September 8, 2020

11 min read

Researching Ingredients

How to Determine The Quality of Wheat (Flour)

The simplest of breads are made with just water and flour (such as a chapati). Add a little yeast and maybe some salt or fat and you can make a wide range of breads from a wide range of cultures and countries. Since...

September 1, 2020

12 min read

Cinnamon french toast with icing sugar and grapes

Deconstructing Recipes

The Science of French Toast – Choosing the Best Ingredients

One of the first foods I learned to cook is French toast. Don’t ask me why, but our school’s cooking classes started by teaching us how to make French toast. Of course, over the next several weekends, I...

August 26, 2020

11 min read

Storing Food

How Bread Turns Stale (+ Tips to Prevent It!)

If there’s only one food I could eat for the rest of my life, freshly baked bread is definitely a contender. The smell, whether it’s from opening an oven or walking into a bakery, has the power to make me...

August 23, 2020

11 min read

Food Physics Basics

What Is Water Activity (in Food)?

It is one of the most important parameters when determining the shelf life of foods. It’s what explains why your pie crust turns soggy over time. And it sounds more complicated than it is: water activity. For any...

July 23, 2020

8 min read

Why Would You Use Black Beans in Brownies?

Science of Urad Beans (+ Medu Vada recipe)

Popcorn History – From the Iroquois to Microwave Popcorn

How to Make Oat Milk Pancakes

Why Carrots Are Used in Cake (& Carrot Walnut Cake Recipe)

How to Use Moisture Sorption Isotherms in Food

How to Determine The Quality of Wheat (Flour)

The Science of French Toast – Choosing the Best Ingredients

How Bread Turns Stale (+ Tips to Prevent It!)

What Is Water Activity (in Food)?

Hi!

Become a food science pro!

Looking for something?

Take one of our courses!