The Science of Food

The home kitchen of 2050 may be almost unrecognizable compared with its present-day counterpart, as evolving technology promises to boost interactivity between consumers and appliances in dramatic ways. Find out more about hyperconnected "smart" appliances, kitchens that can keep you healthier, and the vast potential of 3-D food printers, plus an exclusive slide show: “10 New Tools for a Foodie’s Kitchen.” [MORE]

The science and magic of jam-making

Commercial jams are the sickly sweet sisters of homemade jam, but a grasp of the science will help you get yours just right. [MORE]

Scientific Reasons to Respect Light Beer

It's common to disparage light beers. As craft beers have elbowed their way into American refrigerators and taps, light beers have become punch lines. What few drinkers know, however, is that quality light beers are incredibly difficult to brew. "Light beer is a brewer's beer. It may be bland, but it's really tough to do.[MORE]

Slimy soy, decomposed shark, and maggot cheese

Food is a marvelous window through which to examine the multifaceted emotion of disgust. Food is a great passion, but it can also inspire terrible repulsion. Strangely, as with almost all facets of disgust, it is in our nature to be attracted to this repulsion. Who, uninitiated to the actual foodstuff, isn't at least a little curious about tasting some soft and stinky hákarl or a wormy morsel of casu marzu?

What human beings find disgusting varies greatly not just from place to place but across time. It cannot be separated from what the object of our repulsion means to us. [MORE ]

The Inside Scoop on Ben & Jerry’s

Yep, the Penn State folklore is true. Ben & Jerry’s got its start at Penn State through a $5 correspondence course on ice cream making. Founder Jerry Greenfield gave the inside scoop on the business during a recent lecture at Penn State Altoona.

After completing the Penn State correspondence course on ice cream making in 1978, Jerry Greenfield and friend Ben Cohen opened Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream Scoop Shop in an old gas station in downtown Burlington, Vt. Two years later, the pair upgraded their digs to an old spool and bobbin mill and began packing their ice cream in pints. Today, Ben & Jerry’s is a producer of specialty ice cream with 64 flavors available in 31 countries. The company now has almost 200 franchised shops. [MORE]

http://www.benjerry.com/

http://creamery.psu.edu/

Penn State Ice Cream Short Course