COOL KITCHEN SCIENCE

SUCROSE MOLECULE - What is sucrose? What happens when you heat it? How can you keep your fudge from getting that grainy crystal texture?

SCIENCE OF EGGS - Why does an egg turn solid when you cook it? Why does beating air into egg whites uncurl the protein molecules? What's that green stuff on the yolk of my hard-boiled egg?

BREAD SCIENCE 101 - Is my bread really alive? What's gluten?

FERMENTATION AND FOOD - What do pickles, wine, and cheese have in common? Does that green stuff in the container in the back of my fridge count as fermentation?

THE SCIENCE OF YUMMY - How is flavor different from taste? How many flavors are there? What does a flavor scientist do?

SEARING MEAT TO SEAL IN FLAVOR - Will it make my steak juicier? If it seals in the juices, does that mean my steak is waterproof?

WHAT DOES BAKING SODA DO IN THE REFRIGERATOR ANYWAY? - I suspect it talks to the condiments when the fridge door is closed. Does it really help with odors, or is it a vast conspiracy by the baking soda lobby?

WHY DOES PASTA BOIL OVER? - Why does the phone always ring just as the pasta is beginning to boil again?

THE RACE OF MICROORGANISMS - What do salinity, temperature and pH have to do with the race between good and bad bacteria?

THE SCIENCE OF COOKING MEAT - What gives meat its' flavor? What makes it tender and juicy?

PROTEINS - Do I really want to know my food THIS intimately?

GRILLING ON A MOLECULAR LEVEL - What really happens under the grill hood when you're not looking?

THE SCIENCE OF FLAVOR - How do your senses of taste and smell work together to come up with a fabulous array of "tastes?"

THE CHEMISTRY OF CAKES - What's an emulsion and what does it have to do with cake? How does it affect your cake if you change the amount of fat? or sugar? or eggs?

SPUD GUN - How can you hurl a potato hundreds of feet at nearly 400 miles per hour? Is this a good idea?

CHEWING GUM - Why doesn't it dissolve in your mouth? What happens if you swallow it? Did you know that it is illegal to manufacture, import or sell gum in Singapore?

HOW POPCORN POPS - Did you know that keeping your popcorn in the fridge or freezer will dry it out FASTER, leaving more old maids in the popper?

TEARFUL ONIONS - Why? Is there any hope?

PINEAPPLE JELLO - Will it gel? Should it be legal?

CORNED BEEF - What IS corned beef? Do I have to be Irish to eat it?

THE CHEMISTRY O CAFFEINE - What's going on inside your body when you're jazzed up on a Grande Latte?

TIRED TURKEY - Does eating turkey really make you sleepy?