Countries: CA

Its invention was probably an accident. Someone left a bunch of grapes in the bottom of a pouch, tasted it a few weeks later and bam, they were hit with a buzz. Since then, winemaking has become a sophisticated scientific process, from the grafting of two different types of vines to make growing possible anywhere in the world, to the technology used to create a red or a white. Every step is precisely thought out. Pheromone strips are used to control bug populations. And it may come as a surprise that this intoxicating mix of grapes and yeast is actually good for you!

Corn is king. It’s in the food you eat, it’s in the pen you write with, it’s in the car you drive. Indeed, it’s one of the most versatile substances on the planet. It’s also a very different product than the one that once grew wild across North America. We’ll see how corn’s evolution has been shaped, and how a tiny kernel becomes a piece of popcorn.

The birth of breakfast cereal was the birth of the health food movement. Before that, breakfast was usually a fatty and vein-clogging combination of bacon, fried eggs, flapjacks and a mound of butter. The advent of corn flakes, oatmeal and other quick-to-prepare breakfast foods changed the way we start our day and the effect that our morning meal has on us.

It really does grow on trees, but you probably wouldn’t want to eat it right off the branch. The chocolate we know and love is the result of a chemical processing method so intricate that many people are surprised it was ever discovered. This episode reveals the secrets of chocolate production and some possible health benefits of this sweet treat.

That egg in your fridge is a miracle of technology, biology and genealogy. It starts with a line of purebred chickens and goes through four generations of hens before the perfect egg is produced. Then it has to be graded and transported… and sometimes broken. This episode looks at the science behind egg production, analysis and even preparation.

For years people have thought of ketchup as a condiment packed with flavour, but light on nutrition. Oh, how wrong we were! Recent research has shown that heated tomato products are loaded with a form of molecule called lycopene that the body can easily absorb and which may fight cancer, heart disease and possibly even osteoporosis. This episode tells you all about lycopene, the history of tomatoes and how ketchup is made.

Originally, soft drinks were sold as medicine and contained ingredients like cocaine. Now, soft drinks are tamer in content and better understood as merely a refreshing beverage. We’ll see how they’re made and find out exactly what they do when they get into your system.

It’s the most popular artificial flavour in the world. You can find it in all kinds of products. Despite a raging debate over whether natural vanilla is indeed superior to artificial vanilla, the molecules are actually exactly the same. So what’s the big deal? You’ll have to watch this episode to find out! Discover the unique method required to produce natural vanilla and how artificial flavours are created.