Learn the science behind:
No, we can’t answer the philosophical question, of why a lemon has a yellow color. But, we can explain what it is that makes a lemon yellow. Hint, it’s molecules, a specific group of molecules called carotenoids.
Oranges are orange. Not sure which was named first here, the fruit or the color? But, that’s not what we’re interested in anyway. We want to know, why do oranges have this bright, orange color? What is the underlying chemistry?…
They stand right next to each other in the store: golden, or yellow, brown raisins. They seem identical, except for their color. Is that true? Is their color the only difference? And if so, why even are most raisins brown,…
Raisins are dried grapes, nothing more, and nothing less (most of the time). But, since grapes contain a lot of water, it requires some smart processing and proper quality control to make sure those grapes actually turn into raisins.
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…
There are tons and tons of recipes for apple pie (such as our Dutch one). They use different crusts, different ingredient ratios, maybe some additional add-ons. There’s so much to choose from. However, most of these recipes fail to mention…
After reading Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (a great book by Samin Nosrat by the way) my eyes were opened to the importance of acid in food. Not just in a lemon meringue tart, or as a drizzle over a salad.…
If you want to bake something with an orange flavour, recipes will more often than not, not use orange juice. Instead, you will use orange zest (or both). But why is that the case? That orange zest is actually packed…
Every year, around the American Thanksgiving holiday, the internet seems to be full of cranberries again. We’ve looked at these native to North America fruits before, when using a flavour pairing tool to determine that they work great with brie…
Poached pears are soft and juicy, whereas a ripe fresh pear has a nice crunch to it. Raw carrots crunch and you need a firm bite to break a bit of, but, the carrots which have been boiling in your…
Should you buy a banana ripe or unripe? And what about strawberries? Or pineapple, avocado, green beans or Brussels sprouts? Your first reaction might be that it depends. It can depend on when you’ll be eating it. If you don’t…
After harvest, fruits and vegetables continue to ‘live’. The respiration of fruits and vegetables keeps on going until all supplies have been depleted. For keeping fruits and vegetables fresh it is essential that you try to keep respiration going on…