Why Buttermilk Was a Life-Saving Innovation

Every day, we eat scientific innovations, and not just when we’re eating powdered cheese flavor. Our food is the result of remarkable discoveries by long-forgotten scientists. Here’s a look at the weird, and innovative, chemistry of buttermilk.

…buttermilk makes an important source of nutrition available to a whole new section of the population. Lactose isn’t easily digestible. Most animals, including certain humans, lose the ability to digest it as they age. Premature infants often don’t have the ability to digest lactose. When bacteria break lactose down to smaller components, they are pre-digesting it for people. People with mild lactose intolerance can take in buttermilk, and pre-formula medical guides recommend feeding premature babies buttermilk to keep them healthy.

Source: Kitchen Chemistry: Why Buttermilk Was a Life-Saving Innovation

What Determines Whether Candy Is Hard Or Soft?

Whilst there are a huge variety of candies available, we can actually divide them into just two main categories: crystalline and non-crystalline (or amorphous). These designations are derived from the arrangement of the sucrose molecules within the candy, which is deliberately controlled during the candy-making process. Before we consider these categories, though, we need to consider how candy is made. The sugar will be mixed with the other required ingredients and water, then heated to a desired boiling temperature which influences the final sugar concentration. It is then allowed to cool – and it is the difference in the processes that occur during the cooling which dictate the type of candy formed.

Source: The Chemistry of Candy

Not to be confused with Hard Candy, the movie starring Ellen Page. But it is an interesting movie.