#kitchen
Questions about “kitchen”.
19 articles
How are seedless grapes made?
Seedless grapes you can pop straight into your mouth, skins and all. Behind that everyday convenience lies a long story of ingenuity by Japanese researchers and farmers.
Why does cutting onions make you cry?
Nothing sad has happened, yet the tears keep rolling at the cutting board. Researchers at a Japanese food company played a big part in working out why.
Why are potato sprouts poisonous?
Leave potatoes in the kitchen too long and sprouts start poking out. We’re told to cut them off before cooking, but why do the sprouts contain poison in the first place?
How does a microwave oven heat food?
No flame, no hot plate, yet your food is steaming in minutes. What on earth is going on inside that box?
Was the can opener invented after the can?
Cans, but nothing to open them with. That awkward situation lasted for decades. So how on earth did people get into their canned food?
Why does popcorn pop?
Little kernels leaping out of the pan with a pop. Ordinary corn won’t do this. Inside each kernel lies something like a pressure cooker, and an unexpected “leg.”
Why is the sour umeboshi called an “alkaline food”?
Japan’s pickled plums are sour enough to make you pucker, yet they’ve long been held up as a model “alkaline food.” The reason involves setting food on fire.
What is the world’s most expensive spice?
A spice like fine red threads turns paella and bouillabaisse a brilliant gold. Behind its eye-watering price lies a staggering amount of work.
Are tomatoes and potatoes related?
One bears red fruit on its branches; the other swells into tubers underground. These two vegetables look nothing alike, yet they share a surprisingly deep connection.
Why is milk white?
Milk poured into a glass is a dazzling white. Yet search the milk from top to bottom, and you won’t find a single “white pigment” responsible for it.
Why does water boil at a lower temperature on a mountain?
Water boils at 100°C—or so we learned in school. That rule doesn’t hold everywhere. High on a mountain, a pot of water behaves very differently.
How did people keep things cold before refrigerators?
Life without a refrigerator in the kitchen is hard to imagine today. Before electricity, people went to astonishing lengths to get their hands on a little cold.
Do cows really have four stomachs?
At a Japanese barbecue restaurant, the menu may list mino, hachinosu, senmai and giara. All four are cow stomach. So what exactly is going on inside a cow?
How long has soy sauce been around in Japan?
Sashimi, simmered dishes, rice with raw egg: none would be the same without it. Its story leads to a legendary Zen monk and the Dutch ships that took it abroad.
Why does Swiss cheese have holes?
The cartoon mouse always clutches a wedge full of holes. But who made them? The answer involves a tiny ingredient that went overlooked for almost a century.
Where does the name “mayonnaise” come from?
Mayonnaise goes on everything from salads to okonomiyaki. Trace its name and you reach the story of a war, or so it is said. But the tale is not quite that simple.
What does the “shoku” in Japanese “shokupan” mean?
All bread is for eating, so why is only Japan’s square white loaf called “eating bread”? A name seen at breakfast tables every day turns out to be surprisingly hard to explain.
Do all shaved ice syrups taste the same?
Strawberry, melon, lemon: the syrups lined up at a summer festival stall. That moment of agonizing over which one to choose is said to hide a little trick.
Did ketchup start out as fish sauce?
It goes on fries, burgers and Japanese omelet rice alike. But follow the name of this red sauce back far enough and you reach a condiment that looks nothing like tomatoes.