Languages: English

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.

It’s the most common food in the world, subject to thousands of years of culinary evolution. It’s changed everything from diet to the way civilization has developed. It also may contain ingredients that hype up your kids. We’ll get the dish on dough and unlock the mystery of the Montreal bagel.