Chemistry-informed advice for cooking pasta, including how to prevent clumping noodles

A breakdown of gelling agents used to modify a liquid's texture

Gelatin, agar, and other substances form a structural network that traps liquid, making it appear solid and enabling chefs to create stable layers in pastries and confectionery products. In different concentrations, they can also be used to thicken liquids into gels or encase them in gelatinous spheres.

Understanding the biochemistry of ingredients and taste can improve flavor and texture

Keeping eggs at room temperature produces smoother batters when baking, and doing the same with tomatoes helps prevent a mealy, granular mouthfeel. Salting meat a day before gives more time for proteins to break down, improving flavor and tenderness, while cooking vegetables in well-salted water can lock in nutrients and color.

Ancient Rome had an early version of macaroni and cheese

Called placenta (with a hard "c"), the holiday dish consisted of sheets of rolled-out dough layered with cheese. It is the first recipe documenting the combination of the two elements. While there is debate about whether the dough can be called pasta because it's not boiled, many scholars view the dish as a proto-lasagna.

What makes food crispy, and how science can be used to maximize this property

The fracturing texture experienced when biting into vegetable tempura, fried chicken, pastry crusts, and other foods comes from having a dehydrated, porous surface. When frying food in hot oil, trapped water vaporizes and escapes, creating tunnels and pores in the food as it dehydrates. Breading, particularly with the large, irregular shapes of panko, and leaveners can help create more air spaces.

Acrylamide forms naturally during high-heat cooking through the Maillard reaction

While studies have shown it can damage DNA and potentially cause cancer in mice, humans absorb and metabolize acrylamide at different rates, introducing uncertainty in the research's applicability to humans. Some international health agencies have nonetheless recommended avoiding darker roasts when cooking starchy foods.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Stainless steel and cast-iron pans should be used over older nonstick cookware

Although modern nonstick pans avoid forever chemicals like PFOA, they were previously used in the manufacturing of Teflon coatings and have been linked with certain types of cancer, infertility, and other adverse health outcomes. Vintage plastic utensils should also be avoided due to the leeching of contaminants in early formulations of plastic.

When experiencing turbulence, fluid elements undergo stretching and folding

Simulations show patches of fluid particles, such as splashes of milk, bend under turbulent flow, creating curvature that grows linearly then exponentially. This accelerated deformation enhances folding and mixing faster than other methods, such as stirring or beating.

How to create salad dressings with oil and water solutions that don't separate into layers

Such dressings, even when whisked together, often break within a few minutes, resulting in bites that are either harsh or oily. Small amounts of emulsifiers, such as mustard or mayonnaise, can stabilize and suspend oil droplets in water for longer periods because they possess both hydrophilic (water-loving) and hydrophobic (water-repelling) ends.

The origin of the term 'molecular gastronomy' and its first international workshop

The 1992 event was born from a conversation between American cooking instructor Elizabeth Cawdry Thomas and Italian physicist Ugo Valdrè, who agreed on the merits of the science of cooking. The International Workshop on Molecular and Physical Gastronomy was named, in part, after the field of molecular biology to lend it prestige and greater seriousness.

How to cook food with lasers

Creative Machines Lab at Columbia Engineering have developed a system of software-controlled lasers to cook food with precision, retain moisture with the final-cooked product, brown food within its original packaging, and create an entirely new meal creation process for a consumer. Watch this three-minute video to see for yourself.

A look inside neutron stars, which are thought to contain nuclear pasta

Simulations show that beneath the outer crust of these objects, the gravitational force is so extreme that atomic nuclei link together into chains of primarily neutrons and some protons called nuclear spaghetti. Deeper in the star, these links combine to form sheets—nuclear lasagna—a quintillion times stronger than steel, making it the strongest material in the universe.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Three Oklahoma athletes were penalized for eating too much pasta at a team banquet

In 2013, Oklahoma athletes lost NCAA eligibility after exceeding a pasta limit at a team banquet—regaining it only after repaying $3.83 each—highlighting how difficult it was to navigate the NCAA’s old amateurism rules.

Blood clotting is critical to maintaining life, but dysfunctional clots can be fatal

Clotting is how our body stops bleeding in the event of an injury. Typically, platelets adhere to exposed tissue, becoming sticky and forming a plug. Chemical signals trigger the coagulation cascade, converting fibrinogen into fibrin threads that stabilize the plug. This prevents bleeding but can obstruct vessels if overactive or misplaced.

Allergies occur when our immune system mistakenly considers a substance a threat

Immunoglobulin E antibodies, or IgE antibodies, may bind to an allergen, effectively labeling it as a threat. That triggers a cascade of actions in the body, including the release of histamine, which causes the characteristic itching and hives of allergies. Sometimes a cooked version of an allergen—like a cooked carrot—may look different enough from its raw form to the immune system that antibodies ignore it, and no allergic response takes place.

Japanese scientists develop an eco-friendly plastic that dissolves in saltwater

The strong and flexible plastic is made from molecules held together by saltwater-sensitive chemical bonds. The components left after the plastic breaks down within hours contain phosphorus and nitrogen, allowing them to serve as soil fertilizer.

'This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun.'

- Chef Julia Child (1912-2004)

Stacking nucleotide molecules like toy blocks helps build DNA's structure

Each nucleotide is made up of a sugar—deoxyribose—a phosphate group, and one of four bases that contain nitrogen. Like building a two-tone, spiral staircase from the ground up, nucleotides are linked one on top of another so that sugars and phosphates alternate. The twisted strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between base pairs.

Authentic storytelling and audience awareness drive effective science communication

Bill Nye suggests that making people care about science requires limits on technical jargon, ensuring content is relatable to viewers, and injecting some comedy to help make the ideas stick. Having clear learning objectives can help educators stay on track and efficiently write content.

White powder on cheese is rarely mold

The white, powdery substance that forms on cheese is not mold but crystals that typically signal a well-aged cheese. There are two types: inorganic crystals, which result from the cheesemaking process, and organic crystals, which occur from the natural breakdown of amino acids.

The history of soap and how it forms bathtub scum and white spots in old oil paintings

Soap has been produced since at least 2,200 BCE via a chemical reaction between fats or oils and a base. This creates salts that act as molecular bridges, helping water lift dirt and grease from surfaces. The same chemistry produces scum when metals in hard water bind to soap molecules, as well as white spots in paintings when metal ions in pigments react with fatty acids in the oil binder.

Learn why magnets, like statically charged balloons, can deflect water

While the oxygen atom in water molecules strongly attracts hydrogen's electrons—producing an uneven charge distribution that pulls water toward balloons that have been rubbed against surfaces—the presence of a magnetic field alters the path of these electrons, which produce their own tiny magnetic fields. The interaction of these fields repels water away from magnets, making it diamagnetic.

Bacteria use chemical signals to communicate and coordinate with one another

Through a system called quorum sensing, bacteria produce and absorb compounds from their environment to identify allies or competitors and adjust their behavior accordingly. Some bacteria produce food-digesting enzymes only in the presence of similar bacteria, thereby preventing competitors from consuming their meal.

Pooping or puking out pathogens is sometimes recommended with food poisoning

Sometimes stopping food poisoning-linked diarrhea with over-the-counter medications is a bad idea because it may prolong illness. Doctors can advise you if your diarrhea or vomiting is severe about what medications to take and when, but generally doctors recommend trying to stay hydrated during a bout of food poisoning and letting the body naturally remove pathogens from the body via vomiting or diarrhea, as needed.

Layers in sediment cores hold clues to Earth’s past climate

By analyzing materials such as pollen and algae within the layers of these cores, which are collected from lakes and oceans, scientists can learn what the environment and climate were like when that layer formed.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Poison ivy's rash-causing compound is found in the plant's roots, stem, and leaves—so coming into contact with any part of the plant can lead to rashes for the 85% of people who are allergic to it.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.