Sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles — all of these delightful delicacies are made via fermentation, the transformation of one food into another with the help of microbes. Yulia Naumenko/Yulia Naumenko | Getty Images hide caption
food science
Tuesday, researchers at Ozyegin University and Middle East Technical University published a paper in the journal Physics of Fluids that investigates various formulations and storage settings for gummy candy. Cosmin Buse / 500px/Getty Images/500px hide caption
Scientists finally know the secret to creating — and storing — perfectly gummy candy
J. Kenji López-Alt's new cookbook The Wok features more than 200 recipes highlighting the versatility of the wok. Along the way, he shares the science behind that versatility and how to master cooking basics. J. Kenji López-Alt hide caption
TK splatchcock turkey Derek Campanile / Dad With A Pan hide caption
Kenji López-Alt says spatchcocking the turkey is the best way to overcome the common problem of light meat overcooking by the time dark meat is ready. The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Im hide caption
One Woman's Quest For The (Scientifically) Best Turkey
Butyric acid gives some cheeses their distinctively strong scent. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images hide caption
From Stinky Cheese To Cat Pee, Author Takes A 'Nose Dive' Into The Science Of Smell
The key to making the quintessential biscuit of the American South, like these from Callie's Charleston Biscuits Bakery in Charleston, S.C., is more about technique than a specific flour, some bakers say. Brett Flashnick/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption
Samin Nosrat travels to different countries to learn how salt, acid, fat and heat affect food on her four-part Netflix series. Netflix hide caption
On Netflix, Chef Samin Nosrat Goes Global To Demystify 'Salt Fat Acid Heat'
"Our data suggests that something about baking seems to be changing the hands of the people who do the baking," says ecologist Rob Dunn. Rick Gayle/Getty Images hide caption
Brian Wansink demonstrates his "bottomless bowl of soup" — used to show that people eat more when served in a bowl secretly replenished from the inside — after he was awarded a 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in 2007 at Harvard University. Wansink made a name for himself producing pithy, palatable studies that connected people's eating habits with cues from their environment. Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Okra slime changes when its pH changes. To make okra less slimy, says botanist Katherine Preston, cook it with an acid, which changes the properties of the molecules in the mucilage and renders it far less viscous. Southerners cook okra with tomatoes, which provide plenty of acid. Mary Mathis/NPR hide caption
Brick transfers heat to dough more slowly than steel, allowing both pizza crust and toppings to simultaneously reach perfection. Aldo Pavan/Getty Images hide caption
A block of Tomme de Savoie cheese ages with a sweater of Mucor lanceolatus fungal mold. Mucor itself doesn't have a strong taste, but more flavorful bacteria can travel far and wide along its hyphae â the microscopic, branched tendrils that fungi use to bring in nutrients. Benjamin Wolfe/Benjamin Wolfe hide caption
Cloud eggs: It's not just Instagrammers who find them pretty. Chefs of the 17th century whipped them up, too. Then, as now, they were meant to impress. Maria Godoy/NPR hide caption
Cloud Eggs: The Latest Instagram Food Fad Is Actually Centuries Old
NadaMoo!'s Birthday Cake Cookie Dough vegan frozen dessert uses coconut milk as its base. Because of its fat and sugar content, many vegan dairy producers say coconut is simply the easiest vegan platform to build a milk or cream out of. But almond milk is also a common choice, in part because it's so popular with consumers. Courtesy of NadaMoo! hide caption
Ever wonder how many different dyes are used to color Skittles? John W. Poole/NPR hide caption
Flour and water on the left; just starter on the right. Courtesy of Lea Shell/Sourdough Project hide caption