Why does gelatin set? Gelatin sets because the protein strands in it go soft when they are heated and then form into a tangled mass when they cool. Gelatin is an ingredient we use for cooking and it is taken from the collagen found in animal parts. You can get vegan gelatin, but unless it […]
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Why do things go stale? Things go stale because they either lose water or they gain water, making them difficult to eat. If you leave food out on your kitchen counter, it very quickly starts to go stale. Foods that are soft tend to get hard, and foods that are hard tend to get soft.
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What is self-raising flour? Self-raising (self-rising in the US) flour is wheat flour that has the leavening agent (usually baking powder) and sometimes salt already added to it. The purpose of self-raising flour is to (as it says in the name) rise on its own, which means without adding any other ingredients. When you are
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Can alcohol keep you warm? No, alcohol can’t keep you warm. It might make you feel warm for a short period of time, but it will actually make you lose heat in the long term. There is often a scene in a movie where someone comes in from the cold and has a quick shot
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What is a calorie? A calorie is a unit of energy. There are small calories and large Calories. A small calorie is a measurement of the energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius at 1 atmospheric pressure (or sea level). What is a small calorie and a large calorie? A
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How does cling film stick? Cling film (also called plastic wrap, saran wrap, cling wrap, and food wrap) sticks to surfaces because of static electricity and because of the properties of the plastic it is made of. Cling film (Saran wrap) is another of those products that we can’t live without, but which were discovered
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How does artificial flavoring work? Artificial flavorings work by replicating the natural chemicals in foods that our taste buds detect. Before we look at how artificial flavoring works, we need to look at how we taste. We taste in the same way that we see, hear, and smell. We take physical things from the world
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Why don’t things stick to Teflon? Things don’t stick to Teflon because the bonds between the atoms in Teflon are so strong that nothing else can stick to them. Teflon is actually a plastic, not a metal. Its chemical name is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Teflon is a brand name, which is why it is always written
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What is the fizz in fizzy drinks? The fizz in fizzy drinks comes from carbon dioxide, which is why the process is called carbonation, and they are called carbonated beverages. A lot of drinks have a natural fizz. Beer has fizz and bubbles because it is made with yeast. The yeast eats sugar and releases
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Why do they put fluoride in water? Not a lot of countries puts fluoride in their water supply, but those that do use fluoride, do it to strengthen people’s teeth and make them more resistant to tooth decay and cavities. There are two types of fluoridated water: artificial and natural. 5 countries in the world
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