A simple explanation of how bioengineered food are different, yet the same as genetically modified food — Have you noticed the word “bioengineered” or the new bioengineered symbol on your foods? Don’t freak out — both the Food and Drug Administration and National Academy of Science have said these foods are safe to eat. If you haven’t noticed though, you probably need to look closer because…

There’s a clear winner here — Alright, the number of plant-based milks is clearly getting out of control. There’s so many choices that it’s hard to know which options are best nutrition-wise, or at least comparable to cow’s milk, and which ones are just a waste of money and calories. So, I decided it’s time to…

Vanilla lovers, I’m looking at you! — You’ve probably never heard of it, but there’s a yearly trivia competition for collegiate food science students. It’s kind of like sports, but for nerds. And as a nerd, I was part of this trivia team for many, many years throughout my bachelor’s and PhD program. Why do I bring…

Here’s why you’re wasting more food than you need to — You know what dates I’m talking about, right? The best by, use by, and of course, the classic combination — best if used by — for those who like to be more liberal with their word count. These phrases can haunt you when you find that forgotten package of food…

Here’s why that’s not good news — Do you know where your coffee originates from? Even if you’re not certain, I doubt that your first guess would be the U.S. Perhaps Brazil, Columbia, or Ethiopia come to mind — but the U.S. has never really had a reputation for producing coffee… until now. Where’s coffee come from?

Starting with the fact that those bumps on your tongue aren’t taste buds — Some of my favorite lectures to give to my food science students are on the topic of taste and flavor. I always found this to be the most intriguing subject, yet I had to condense everything into two 50 minute lectures. And no, I’m not going to give you a…

We combine ingredients to get the final product. Now, food scientists are doing it backwards. — If you had a secret written down, where would you keep it? Would you tell other people where that place was? The answer, in the case of the Coca-Cola company, is a surprising yes. I remember my visit to the attraction in 2016. I was in Atlanta, Georgia reuniting with…

No, it’s not a hole for sniffing — There are certain things that really make the food scientist in me cringe. Case and point, when someone grabs a bag of coffee and squeezes it to sneak a sniff of what’s inside. Just writing those words makes my stomach tighten! I’ve even heard people call this the “sniffing hole,”…

The significance of the underappreciated brown bottle — One of the most enjoyable parts of being a food scientist is seeing how even the most mundane details of food and drink can be explained by science. I’m talking about questions like why do apples turn brown? Why does chocolate make a “snap” noise when you bite into it? …