Food Science

A vintage ad for Coca Cola from around the late 19th or early 20th century.

Coca-Cola’s Creator Said the Drink Would Make You Smarter

Like the wine and cocaine drink that preceded it, Coca-Cola was first marketed as a brain tonic

The Patents and Trademarks Behind Lucky Charms Cereal

There's a lot of food science that goes into those marshmallow clovers

Tootsie Rolls contain small amounts of cocoa and also an ingredient you might not expect—orange extract.

Tootsie Rolls Were WWII Energy Bars

The candies were included in rations because they stayed fresh for a long time

The packaged foods you get at the grocery store are all regulated by the FDA. So are drugs, medical devices, cigarettes and condoms.

Where Did the FDA Come From, And What Does It Do?

From unglamorous origins, the federal agency has risen to ensure the safety of everything from lasers to condoms

Diet Deficiency Can Lead to Cannibal Hamsters

A new study may explain why the rodents are declining in western Europe

Appert devised the canning process using that old standby, trial-and-error.

The Father of Canning Knew His Process Worked, But Not Why It Worked

Nicolas Appert was trying to win a hefty prize offered by the French army

The bigger the tomato, the blander the taste.

The Quest to Return Tomatoes to Their Full-Flavored Glory

We’ve bred the original tomato taste out of existence. Now geneticists are asking: Can we put it back?

For British food scientists, toast color is no longer a matter of personal preference—it's a matter of health.

Why Food Experts Are Warning Not to Burn Your Toast

Is it time to bid brown toast farewell?

The First Non-Browning GMO Apples Slated to Hit Shelves Next Month

The new Arctic apples take weeks (rather than minutes) to turn brown

A Physicist Figured Out the Best Way to Get Ketchup Out of the Bottle

Tapping the “57” has nothing to do with it

Essento mealworm burger, with all the fixins'

This Swiss Grocery Will Soon Sell Mealworm Burgers

In the continued quest for sustainable proteins, another company is wriggling into the market

According to one group, animals consume eight times more antibiotics than human beings each year.

It Just Got Harder to Give Antibiotics to Farm Animals

New regulations take aim at antibiotic resistance

The Fight to Save Thousands of Heirloom Apple Trees

There’s more to apples than the supermarket selection may suggest

How do you know when urine too deep?

Once a Year, Scientific Journals Try to Be Funny. Not Everyone Gets the Joke

Holiday editions add a much-needed dose of humor to boring journal-ese. But is entertaining readers worth the risk of misleading them?

An ancient grape seed found at the Lake Hula site

The Paleo Diet May Need a Rewrite, Ancient Humans Feasted on a Wide Variety of Plants

Archaeologists in Israel have counted 55 species of plant foods a an early hominid site on Lake Hula

An early cotton-candy machine.

People at the 1904 World's Fair Paid Half the Price of Admission for a Box of Cotton Candy

Celebrating cotton candy's sugary, innovative goodness

Feeling down? Many would reach for comfort food like pasta casserole—but you may as well go for a salad, research says.

Comfort Foods Aren't Magic, But Memory Might Be

On National Comfort Food Day (yeah it's a thing), dig into the powers of food and how it makes us feel

Feeling Down? Scientists Say Cooking and Baking Could Help You Feel Better

A little creativity each day goes a long way

The aftermath of the 1919 Great Molasses Flood

The Sticky Science Behind the Deadly Boston Molasses Disaster

Nearly 100 years after the massive molasses tank ruptured, scientists are finally sussing out how this tragedy occurred

Astronauts enjoy a Thanksgiving feast on the International Space Station in 2014. Turns out that modern space food is something to be grateful for.

What Do Astronauts Eat on Thanksgiving?

It’s not as bad as you might think

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