Whether you prefer them toasted over a campfire, bobbing in a cup of hot chocolate, or roasted over a bed of sweet potatoes, marshmallows are an ooey-gooey fluffy treat that just finds a way warm the cockles of your heart. Marshmallows, like other well-known aerated confections – think mousses, ice cream, meringues – are essentially made of four … Continue reading
“There’s so much great food yet to discover that we can grow, so I just love discovering new varieties, crops, things that our customers and myself have never tried before.” – Alex Weiser, 2013 Science & Food course Continue reading
Chocolate-covered strawberries have an innate beauty in their simplicity, making this snack both sweet and decadent. But this gourmet treat does not have to be expensive nor only savored at special events. Although it’s not quite as simple as dipping strawberries into soupy chocolate sauce, you can easily make chocolate-covered strawberries in your very own … Continue reading
There are times when gourmet edges more towards the laboratory than the kitchen; spherification is one of those times. In this culinary technique, liquids are transformed into globular semisolid gels thanks to a hydrocolloid gum extracted from seaweed. When these gel-encased balls are broken, the liquid contents gush out, akin to biting down on mochi … Continue reading
Get ready for the holidays! Check out these helpful guides to engineering your perfect brownies and cookies. Continue reading
With increasing numbers of people embracing dietary-restricted, vegetarian, and vegan lifestyles, birthday parties are becoming more complex. Consider the simple birthday cake. Everyone should be able to partake in its delicious sugary goodness; however, this can prove difficult. Specifically, how can you bake a cake if you cannot use one of the most important components, … Continue reading
Through the process of cooking, molecular transformations alter the macroscopic properties of our food. Consider what happens when you fry an egg: the transparent, liquid egg whites become an opaque white solid. These striking changes in the egg’s color and texture are a result of protein denaturation. Continue reading
Phase transitions—transformations from one state of matter to another—are ubiquitous in food and cooking. Butter’s phase transition from a solid to a liquid results in flaky pie crusts, while water’s phase transition from a liquid to a gas can be used to steam vegetables. There are various ways to manipulate these phase transitions, such as … Continue reading
Protein networks are responsible for the structure and mechanical properties of many foods such as eggs and meat. Even bread gets its chewy texture from the formation of springy gluten protein networks. As we will see in this recipe, protein network formation is vital for the successful production of cheese. Continue reading
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