And how to get that perfectly golden-brown color too! — The funny thing about leaving home is you learn that everything you think is normal, is only normal where you’re from. The first time I went to a pancake house (pannenkoeken huis) in The Netherlands, I received a flapjack that was exceptionally flat, oval-shaped and spilled over the edges of…

Why does this popular Valentine’s Day candy have such an unpleasant texture? — Every February, we seem to forget what past experience has taught us and toss a couple of those tiny message hearts into our mouths. Disappointment quickly sets in. The texture is repulsive. Do the colors correspond to flavors? …

Scientists have just discovered that ants secrete a nutritious, milk-like fluid — I’ve been living as an expat in The Netherlands for about a year-and-a-half and have been astonished by how popular plant-based milks are over here—even more than in the U.S. It’s normal for a cafe (coffee shop has a different meaning here) to have 4–5 alternative milks for you to…

How scientists are transforming plastic waste into food-safe ingredients I don’t think I need to explain to you that we have a plastic problem. But, if you’re a numbers person, every year we produce 359 million tons of plastic with 150–200 million of those tons ending up in landfills. …

Solving the banana family tree might just save the fruit — Have you ever noticed that banana-flavored candy never tastes like the bananas you buy at the grocery store? This isn’t due to bad flavoring or terrible product development. No. The truth is that most banana candy was based on a different banana species — the Gros Michel — which is…

The forecast includes a rise in fermented foods, nostalgia, and sweetness — Being a food scientist is freakin’ awesome. I’m constantly in awe of the new flavors and innovative foods some of my closest friends launch into the market. Going to the grocery store for me is like a college reunion featuring all my classmates. In the yogurt section, I always think…

Here’s exactly what you’re doing wrong (or right) — I studied ice cream for my PhD, which I thought was pretty cool until I came across this lab that was investigating the best way to drink Champagne. That’s when I got a little jealous. The researchers tested different techniques to see which were ideal for keeping your bubbly…well… bubbly…

From candies that killed to beer that made you bleed — Close your eyes and imagine a food supply where more than half the candy is laced with poisons known to cause severe ailments like intellectual disabilities, seizures, a coma, and death. Now, stop because you don’t actually have to imagine this. This is the status of the American food system…

Poisonous cakes, tainted spices, and deadly milk Many of us have a rosy picture of what food looked like in the past. Families with farm fresh meat, milk, and eggs. An abundance of nutritious, wholesome food. But that’s not the full story. Or the truth. Because it’s only relatively…