When You Can't Sleep And Just Eat Instead...
November 28, 2023
The Archive
194 nom-nomena and counting — newest first.
Owl's the sound from the satellite?
Sound. Shape. Satellite dishes. And how owls hunt for food with their faces and ears.
October 1, 2017
The art of plating: a point-by-point color guide.
Plating. Color wheel. Pointillism. And what A Sunday on La Grande Jatte teaches us about serving a feast of colors for the eyes.
January 11, 2017
As-salting the greens.
Chlorophyll. Organic acids. Atom and ions. And one very simple trick to keep greens green.
January 11, 2017
As-salt on sweet pineapples.
Taste. Brain signals. Ions and acids. And why pineapples taste sweeter with salt.
January 11, 2017
There and back again - a saucy tale.
Trade and food. Language and sauces. Geography and history. And how ketchup and fermented fish became kecap.
January 11, 2017
Blowing up the bags of potato chips was no oxidant.
Nitrogen. Oils and fats. Oxidation. And why the bags are designed to be so puffy with inert gas.
January 11, 2017
Blubber bubbles.
Nucleation. Carbon Dioxide. Ice cream float. And why you should pour soda into ice cream (and not the other way round).
January 11, 2017
Can we stomach the math?
Psychology. Soup. Wings. And tips for how to diet and make more sales in a restaurant.
January 11, 2017
OH! Acid what you did there.
Water. Citric acid. Polar molecules. And why adding citrus fruits give water such a zing.
January 11, 2017
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a jam.
Custard. Denaturation. Flan. And why the Southeast Asian coconut egg jam is not really a jam.
January 11, 2017
When it comes to smells, it is good to be bad.
Smells. Words. Evolution. And how language, psychology and biology work together to keep us safe.
January 11, 2017
Cowabunga!
Fatty acids. Sodium hydroxide. Sodium stearate. And why cows may be behind the best soaps.
January 11, 2017
Dad's great, but it's umami who makes the best bacon cheeseburger!
Umami. Nucleotides. Glutamates. And what cheeseburgers, anchovies and soy sauce have in common.
January 11, 2017
Designer instant noodles.
People. Flash frying. Tempura. And how the history of instant noodles is a lesson in design principles.
January 11, 2017
“Et tu, Brute force?” Scissors asked.
Force. Mechanical advantage. Friction. And how scissors cut through food as a lever.
January 11, 2017
Freeze!
Freezing. Crystals. Nitrogen. And why liquid nitrogen frozen ice cream are the smoothest.
January 11, 2017
Gamma over (space edition).
Gamma radiation. Food and medical industry. Space science. And the many uses of gamma radiation.
January 11, 2017
Go plated.
Food plating. Industrial Revolution. Culture. And how ceramic plates civilized the home.
January 11, 2017
"Wherever you go, go with all your egg tart."
Custard. Temperature. Creativity. And what no one tells you about the link between dim sum and crème brûlée.
January 11, 2017
Good gourd! You are really sweet!
Sugar alternatives. Monk fruit. Natural sweeteners. And where the monk in monk fruit came from.
January 11, 2017
"He's hot and sweet, but a little dense."
Density. Solubility. Temperature. And how being sweeter also means being more dense.
January 11, 2017
"Ice can heat up your home!"
Phase change. Latent heat. Energy efficiency. And how ice can be used to heat up our homes.
January 11, 2017
It's i(r)onic that NaCl makes meat juicier.
NaCl (salt). Ionic bonds. Proteins. And why a brine makes meat juicier.
January 11, 2017