Once your food has been grown and harvested (or slaughtered), you’ve got your core ingredients, ready to be eaten or processed one step further. The core to really understand what happens next though, is that you really understand those ingredients. Understand why they are the way they are. Make sure you’re able to compare ingredients, and understand why they’re different and, very importantly, understand what their role is in your specific application.
Previous step: all these ingredients started out at a farm!
Next step: transform those ingredients, wherever necessary, into food through processing or cooking!
Tried making light and fluffy wheat-free bread? Or accidentally over-kneaded your scones? If so, you’ve ‘met’ a unique group of proteins: gluten. These molecules can form amazing, elastic networks. We’ll have a look at how and when they do so!…
Have you had cooked red beetroots turn an unappetizing brown color? Luckily, there’s a simple way to keep cooked beetroots red. All you need is some acid! We regularly do science experiments in our kitchen. Most of them are done…
Vanilla is one of the most widely used flavors globally. Cakes, cookies, ice cream – I have yet to come across an ice cream shop that doesn’t sell vanilla ice cream – often contain it. Natural vanilla starts out as…
Sometimes it’s amazing how a small process step can make such a big change in a food. Merely heating some butter, until it turns brown transform a yellow/white solid fat into a flavor bomb. It’s promoted from being just another…
Want to give your red cabbage salad a nice vibrant pinkish color? Just sprinkle in a little lime juice and your previously purple cabbage will turn pink! Or, to lighten up your cooked cabbage, add a few pieces of apple…
Ice cream made with just 2 ingredients, made without using an ice cream maker, or even a stove? Real ice cream? Yes, you can make ice cream using only cream and sweetened condensed milk, in just 3 simple steps. Since…
Every year in August/September our pear trees give us a good supply of pears. They’re not the pretties, but sure are tasty. We have two types: Conference and Doyenne du Comice and once they start coming off that tree we…
Have you ever wondered why some potatoes brown easily upon frying or baking, while others remain a pale yellow? Good news: you can influence this browning process yourself. According to theory, at least… Of course, we put this to the…
When it comes to science experiments, you might think about beakers, dangerous chemicals, complicated set ups, safety goggles, and lab coats. We don’t think that’s a proper representation though. You can do science experiments in so many more places, in…
Always looking for something new to learn and investigate, we were intrigued by a recent question that was sent in by a FoodCrumbles reader. She enjoyed making and eating mastic ice cream, as did a friend who came over to…
It’s not the most common baking ingredient, but it shows up here and there. You might have come across it if you’re into baking cookies or cakes of a Northern European origin. Or, if you’re looking for gluten-free alternatives. It’s…
Potatoes are one of the most versatile foods out there. You can bake, fry, boil or mash them. Eat them warm or cold, with plenty of seasonings, or just plain. You can eat them months after they’re harvested, or fresh…