The science of spiciness
Adults FoodWhen you take a bite of a hot pepper, your body reacts as if your mouth is on fire -- because that's essentially what you've told your brain! Rose Eveleth details the science and history behind spicy foods, giving insights into why some people continue to pay the painful price for a little spice.
The Way You've Been Cutting Cake Is Wrong. Here's The Best Way To Do It.
Adults FoodOkay, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is: you've spent your entire life cutting cake the wrong way. The good news is: the right way, which you can learn how to do below, will help keep your cake from getting stale before you're through enjoying it!
The Barbecue Book
Adults FoodThe Barbecue Book takes readers through the entire barbecue process. There is a page in the book that is made of charcoal while other pages are a firestarter, apron, knife sharpener and fan. Each chapter of the bible covers a different grilling process and comes with everything including a cutting board which serves as the cover for the book.
Why is ketchup so hard to pour?
Adults FoodEver go to pour ketchup on your fries...and nothing comes out? Or the opposite happens, and your plate is suddenly swimming in a sea of red? George Zaidan describes the physics behind this frustrating phenomenon, explaining how ketchup and other non-Newtonian fluids can suddenly transition from solid to liquid and back again.
The chemistry of cookies
Adults FoodYou stick cookie dough into an oven, and magically, you get a plate of warm, gooey cookies. Except it's not magic; it's science. Stephanie Warren explains via basic chemistry principles how the dough spreads out, at what temperature we can kill salmonella, and why that intoxicating smell wafting from your oven indicates that the cookies are ready for eating.
Dead stuff: The secret ingredient in our food chain
Adults FoodWhen you picture the lowest levels of the food chain, you might imagine herbivores happily munching on lush, living green plants. But this idyllic image leaves out a huge (and slightly less appetizing) source of nourishment: dead stuff. John C. Moore details the "brown food chain," explaining how such unlikely delicacies as pond scum and animal poop contribute enormous amounts of energy to our ecosystems.