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Afternoon Snack 12.11.12

I’m in the thick of finals right now, which is why you haven’t heard from me in ages. But I just HAD to drop in to share some food science nerdery from Kenji over at Serious Eats.

First up, what Kenji says on Facebook “may well be the nerdiest article I’ve ever written,” a scientific exploration of why pepperoni curls up into “little chalices of grease” on the top of a pizza. TL;DR: it’s a combination of how the sausage is stuffed, heat sources while the pizza is being cooked, and moisture retention in different parts of a slice–but you should really go read the whole thing. If nothing else, it’s an excellent example of how Kenji applies the scientific method to food science.

Second, a slightly less nerdy but still very thorough guide to the best way to cook a pan seared steak. How important is size, salt, temperature, fat? Kenji will tell you.

Happy meating!

All photos from Serious Eats

Anne S

Anne Sauer is an atheist with an appetite for science, good food, and making connections between the two. She is currently pursuing her MBA in Sustainable Management at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. Her favorite foods are salted caramel ice cream and chicken tikka masala. You can find her on twitter @aynsavoy.

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3 Comments

  1. I’ve been wanting to learn how to cook steak, and I think your linkage just inspired me to take the plunge. What a cool blog!

  2. I just want to say that, as someone for whom pepperoni pizza is one of the few instances of meat-eating, the term “grease chalice” comes close to striking it off of my list. (Fortunately for me most pizza places keep their pepperonis flat these days, as the article notes. But even just thinking about it leaves me a bit queasy.)

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