Blog posts

dropzak
How Food Works

What is Dutch liquorice (drop)?

In the past decade or so I have lived abroad in several countries. One of the aspects of living abroad is sharing (or telling about) the food from where you’re from. The Dutch stroopwafels (syrup waffles) so far...

January 17, 2020
7 min read
cultured (left) vs uncultured (right) butter
Making Food

Why not all butters are the same

If you’ve ever switched butter brands, and most of us probably have, you’ve probably noticed that one butter isn’t necessarily the same as another. Your new butter might be paler or yellower, harder or...

February 4, 2020
10 min read
close up of cinnamon sticks
Farming

Where cinnamon comes from

That cinnamon powder that you buy in your supermarket has come a long way. Because, even though cinnamon is such a complex and rich product, consisting of hundreds of different molecules, it is completely natural. In...

January 19, 2020
6 min read
jaggery, panela, evaporated cane sugar
Making Food

Jaggery (evaporated cane sugar) manufacturing

Humans have been sweetening their foods for thousands of years. Whether it’s through honey, natural sugar syrups such as maple syrup, or by using sugar beet or cane sugar, it’s all done to sweeten our dishes...

January 3, 2020
8 min read
stack of brown butter almond tuiles
Deconstructing Recipes

Brown butter is a flavor bomb for cookies

You can make a great cookie with sugar, butter and flour (that is, shortbread), you can make a delicate crispy almond tuile by adding some egg and almonds. But, your tuile (and a lot of other cookies as well!) become so...

December 18, 2019
5 min read
chicago style deep dish pizza
How Food Works

Science of Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

If you’ve never been to Chicago, chances are small you have come across Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It’s a pretty regional phenomenon and personally I haven’t seen it outside of the city, whereas in...

November 3, 2019
8 min read