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!
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…
If you’ve ever made your own french fries, you might have had both great successes and failures with the exact same recipe. In some cases, the fries just turned out perfect, in other cases, they browned way too quickly and…
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…
Have you tried making a recipe that calls for potato starch and wondered what it is and why it’s in your recipe? If so, you’re at the right place. We’re going to dig into the science of potato starch, explaining…
Is there a food you can’t go without? The one that you take with you on every vacation? If you’re Dutch, born and raised in the Netherlands, that one food might well be chocolate sprinkles. We Dutch don’t just use…
The ‘secret’ behind that yellow dal, yellow rice, or beautifully colored curry? A decent chance that it’s turmeric. A mere teaspoon can help color a sauce or dish and it’s not just used in savory dishes. In some countries it…
In the Netherlands, sour cream and creme fraîche often share a shelf in the supermarket. They’re packaged in very similar packaging and even look and taste alike to some extent. But recipes can be very specific about using just one…
Ever stood in front of the shelf spaces full of olive oil bottles and cans and wondered why there are so many different types of packaging? Non-transparent plastic bottles, slim and tall transparent plastic bottles, oils in greenish plastic, some…
For years I’d been making a family recipe for brown bean soup with a packet of dried oxtail soup, not thinking much about it. The soup always turned out great, with a lot of flavor. Never did I think twice…
