To celebrate the launch of my recent book, The Science of Cooking: Every question answered to give you the edge, published by DK Books, I am starting a special series of posts about food science. The book answers 160 commonly asked cooking questions, busts lots of culinary myths (no, don’t throw away the mussels that haven’t opened), and gives you lots of how-to and hands-on guides for shopping and cooking impressive dishes without pricey equipment.
Not wanting to spoil any of the surprises within the book itself, consider this series of titbits a something of a hour derves… Read more
Once upon a time, vegetarians were seen as weirdos who had to make do with a cheese omelette when dining out. Today, non-meat eaters get some of the tastiest options. There is no shortage of meat substitutes foods to sink our laughing tackle into, like Quorn, ‘soy mince’ and tofu. But there is a newcomer crawling onto that non-animal list is heralded as the ‘next protein’. It is apparently going to feed the world, help undo climate change and make us slimmer and healthier into the bargain. The only fly in the ointment? This wonder food is insects. 
As a child, I thought “go to work on an egg” was an advert for oval shaped cars. Starting soon after the end of World War II, “Go to Work on an Egg” was a long-running campaign that became one of the most successful food promotions of all time. Humorous television (see below) and newspaper ads encouraged the British public to eat an egg at breakfast and, by the 1960s, we were each dipping, scrambling and frying our way through five a week. Back then, every doctor in the land said eggs were good for health but come the 1970s our love affair with them started to crack. Medics warned that eggs could raise cholesterol levels and when Conservative MP Edwina Currie suggested that all British eggs might be infected with Salmonella in 1988, egg sales went splat – dropping by 60% overnight. 
Jamie Oliver has been stirring the pot again and getting all het up. In the run-up to a recent Channel 4 
“You are only as old as you feel,” or so the saying goes. This adage is great for cheering yourself up when the grey hairs start to take root, but science has recently revealed that the time-honoured expression is alive and kicking – the younger you feel, the younger you actually are.
Milk prices are sinking fast and UK dairy farmers are fighting to stay afloat. The ‘milk trolley challenge’ and supermarket protests have helped raise the profile of their plight but our appetite for the white stuff has never been lower. Twenty years ago we 
Lady Macbeth kept scrubbing but she couldn’t get the marks out. Shakespeare’s character was so wracked with guilt that imaginary blood stains appeared on her hands and, try as she may, she couldn’t get herself clean. It’s not just fiction: 
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January is the month of the jogger. Every evening for the past three weeks, regular-looking folk have been bouncing their bits up and down our streets, running in the pursuit of getting a bit fitter. No doubt prompted by a New Year’s resolution or ill-considered pledge to run this year’s half-marathon, such noble joggers oftentimes prefer an air-conditioned gym. Away from the wind and snow, the treadmills and ‘cardio’ machines offer music, television and – the greatest motivator of all – the digitised calorie counter. Trundling away on a treadmill while watching ‘Cash in the Attic’ is soul-crushingly dull but the knowledge that twenty minutes of puffing will burn off the a chocolate bar’s worth of calories can help keep your legs pounding. It’s such a shame, then, that the treadmill is lying to you. The truth is that if you want to justify a chocolate indulgence then you’ll probably need to sweat for just a bit longer than the computer tells you.