Gel

Did you ever wonder about how a wobbly pudding is wobbly, almost liquid, yet stays on your plate? When you shake it, wonderful waves go across its surface, as if it were a pool. But stop and it is a solid again. This wonderful crossing between a liquid and solid is called a gel. In this episode I hope to make you curious about what they are and how they are made.

Foam

Espresso crema

A nice espresso in the morning does wonders for a person. The golden crema over a strong caffeine rich liquid is the secret to a good espresso. The crema is a foam. Also cappuccino froth is a milk foam. Have you ever beaten egg whites? After some time a foam appears and when you do it long enough the foam is firm enough to stay in its given form. When baking bread or a cake with yeast or baking soda, the batter becomes a foam when it is heated in the oven as carbon dioxide is produced inside. Today I want to talk about foam.

Sustainability and food

At the Food Film Festival (in dutch) I was surrounded by friends and people I felt had a dash of idealism. I usually don't give much for -isms but the point of the festival was to appreciate food, where it comes from and where it's going to. I like food, I like optimistic people and I like to believe in a few good idea(l)s. The main idea(l) that the festival wants people to take home is the durability (or rather sustainability) of food. Do the production, transport and consumption help to create a sustainable world? I never really thought about it much, but this is an excellent opportunity to find out what it is all about.