Salt is used across industries and cultures, and has held an important place in society for over four millennia. But where does this versatile mineral come from?

One of our favourite beans. Well, actually it is a legume. And to be scientifically correct, it is part of the Fabaceae family, in the subfamily Faboideae called Cicer arietinum.

CRISPR stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. Quite a mouthful to say, isn’t it? Frankly, the acronym is a lot nicer.

At the heart of many an Asian dish is the deeply flavoured, ebony brown liquid called soy sauce. If you’ve only ever thought of it as an alternative to salt, then you’re missing out on an incredible seasoning that can introduce complex and savoury depth to your marinades, sauces or soups

So how does wheat go from grass to flour? How are some flour mixes fortified with certain vitamins? How are there different types of flour? Well, take a quick look here to see how flour is made!

I typically use frozen peas when cooking things like fried rice, pea soup, or mashed peas. But how are pre-packaged peas frozen? Take a look at how frozen peas are produced!

Olive oil - you can use it for cooking, with salad, or even on bread with some balsamic vinegar. YUM! Have you ever wondered how it’s made? And what’s the difference between extra virgin, virgin and plain old olive oil anyway? Find out how the humble olive becomes the precious oil we all love and admire.

Growing up in India where saffron is synonymous with luxury, I knew saffron as the ‘we’re expecting guests’ spice. Today at €25,000 a kilogram, it is the most expensive item in my neighbourhood’s supermarket!  Let’s take a look at what makes saffron the most expensive spice in the world.

Whether we’re in a supermarket or digging through the contents of our own fridge to make dinner, most of us make decisions about what to buy, cook, or eat by looking at the “use by” or “best before” dates on our food. But what actually determines a food’s shelf life?

You’ve probably heard that eating insects can be a more sustainable alternative for protein. But, maybe you’re like me and love seeing sustainable changes, but just can’t bring yourself to eat them. Well, you can still have best of both worlds with insects as food for agricultural livestock. 

Animals are exposed to diseases just like you and me. And just like us, they can be protected by vaccines. For example, a human disease that was eradicated through vaccination is smallpox. For animals, Rinderpest (the cattle plague) was a disease that was completely eradicated through vaccines.

A large, spiky, green coloured fruit called ‘jackfruit’ has been making appearances at markets and restaurant menus around the world. In 2017, Pinterest even declared it to be the top food trend of the year. Its fans in non-native countries often get to see jackfruit in the form of neat cubes packed in cans. Let’s take a look at what the jackfruit looks like before it is packed and exported.

G-M-O. You probably know what it stands for: genetically modified organism. I know there’s been a lot of controversy around it. You might think it’s unnatural, that’s it’s bad for your health. Others say that it’s actually a cool technique to make crop production more efficient. So, is it good or is it bad? Well, GMO has its pros and its cons. Maybe learning how it actually works might help you make up your own mind about it.

“I cannot live without rice” – my mum has said this to me on more than one occasion. Perhaps that’s a tad exaggerated, but many people might actually agree with her because rice is a staple food for more than half the global population. You might have had it in sushi, with curry, or even baked into pudding. So, what do these grains go through before they end up in your favourite dishes?