Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
Chocolate flavor varies worldwide due to different recipes, production methods, and consumer preferences. US chocolate is known for being particularly sweet, often consisting of high sugar, corn syrup, and vegetable fats—giving it a slightly sour note unfamiliar to many Europeans. American chocolate also tends to be thicker and filled.
Cottage cheese “cookie dough.” Pizza cottage cheese bowl. Cottage cheese queso dip. TikTok influencers are suddenly posting nonstop cottage cheese recipes. It might be echoes of the 1990s weight-loss obsession, when diet culture encouraged the consumption of questionably tasty low-fat foods and not much else. Now, cottage cheese’s high protein content has made it an intriguing prospect for online fitness gurus who say that it’s the key to building muscle.
Vending machine food, in general, gets a bad rap for its seeming lack of freshness, but whether the food you eat is safe usually depends on the quality of the cold chain supply logistics that brought it to the point of sale. Most prepackaged sushi fish has been flash frozen, and the rice has been mixed with vinegar to inhibit bacteria.
An omakase restaurant allows sushi chefs to craft custom-made rolls for patrons. The meals are often expensive, but there are good reasons for that: They include the freshest ingredients the restaurant has to offer and usually have limited spots. This short documentary focuses on Royal Sushi and Izakaya in Philadelphia.
In recent years, researchers have discovered ticks can induce spontaneous meat allergies in people they bite, a particularly problematic condition for previous meat lovers. This 18-minute podcast from RadioLab breaks down the cause.
Molecules with resonant frequencies within the microwave range vibrate, producing heat between adjacent matter, just as hands warm when rubbed together. The mesh in front of an oven's door confines the microwaves to the container, while the rotating plate allows different parts of food to travel through regions of maximum vibration.
From limitations in panda taste receptors and a surprising food that has been forged into diamonds to the origins of chili pepper heat and the Maillard reaction, test your knowledge during a game of Super Food Science Excellence Trivia Blowout.
Astronauts primarily consume freeze-dried meals, which are rehydrated with water recycled from urine and perspiration, directly from bags. Condiments and select cultural items from crew members can enhance the meal experience by boosting flavor. Many individuals report experiencing "food fatigue" due to a lack of fresh produce, limited menu variety, and lingering scents.
Most of the United States' Heinz ketchup is produced at the northeast Ohio plant, which has been open since 1937.
In the 1980s, archaeologists finally deciphered Maya hieroglyphs in part by identifying known words. Maya scholar David Stuart notes that cacao—still used today—was one of the key linguistic anchors that unlocked ancient Maya texts.
3D printing food requires integrating ingredients with a variety of properties, which may not all resist the physical stress of stacking. This means successful 3D printing of food may require rethinking how ingredients are layered and modifying ratios of each, potentially sacrificing taste for structural integrity.
Art, music, sports, entertainment, movies, and many other subjects—these elements define who we are as a society and how we express ourselves as a culture. Take a deep dive into the topics shaping our shared norms, values, institutions, and more.