Life lessons from a cookie
What the science of baking taught me about leaving home and entering a new environment
One of the most famous movie quotes is Forrest Gump’s, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” As a hobby baker with a mega sweet tooth, I feel obligated to come up with my own metaphor: Growing up is like being inside of a baking cookie. To me, […]
Tomatoes, parmesan, bread… oh, my!
A No-Knead Focaccia Recipe
Focaccia – Your favorite (or soon to be favorite) dimpled bread that seems to have taken the world by storm recently. For those who haven’t heard of it, focaccia is a type of Italian oven-baked bread famous for its distinctive dimpled crust. It can be served in many ways, but my personal favorite is just […]
Making kofta in an air fryer
Balancing cultural identity as a second-generation American
“Dinner is ready!” The smells of tahini and allspice waft through my house, while plates and utensils clatter around the kitchen. My family meanders around the kitchen in hungry anticipation, like so many wolves circling their prey… Growing up as a second-generation American, I primarily connected to my Egyptian heritage through food. From kofta and […]
The perfect recipe doesn’t exist
Making connections between baking and experimental materials science
In March 2020, a breadmaking epidemic struck the world. Legions of Youtube gurus, bloggers, and social media users began posting their recipes and adventures in breadmaking, especially sourdough, the type of bread which uses a live starter culture. The creators of xkcd even demystified this phenomenon, implying that coronavirus and bread yeast are symbiotic due […]
A food scientist’s views on instant foods
How to consciously generate instant happiness!
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “instant”? How about “instant foods”? When it comes to food, people tend to relate instantaneity with unhealthy, “bad for you”, or processed. All those associations were also on my mind as a consumer. However, other questions were: Why do people still consume instant foods regularly? What benefits does […]
