Harold McGee on “Flavor”
Chef Michael and Harold had an extemporaneous discussion on what the meaning of the word “flavor” should be, prompted by different meanings in the scientific community. This is a somewhat technical discussion, but it’s a fascinating and important topic.
Umami, Kokumi, and Taste
This is the recording of a talk Chef Silver gave at the Research Chefs Association national convention in Denver (2026). The talk covers: what umami is, how taste receptors work, umami and kokumi in foods, and how to best select and combine foods to enhance umami taste. The audience was primarily food scientists, university professors, […]
Culinology Certification Course
This is a 40-hour, self-paced course on Culinology (restaurant and commercial food production) that was created for the Research Chefs Association and the American Culinary Federation. It is designed for people who work with food professionallly, but home cooks and others interested in learning the science behind commercial food production will find it interesting and […]
Chocolate Ice Cream and Creami vs Pacojet Shootout
In this tutorial you’ll learn to make delicious, creamy chocolate ice cream and we’ll compare two blade-driven ice cream machines: the Ninja Creami and the Pacojet. Recipe Formula (Ingredients): 125g sugar20g malt powder37g Dutch-process cocoa powder (natural cocoa powder will also work)1.5g salt (anywhere between 1 – 2 grams is fine)1/8 tsp espresso powder 160g […]
ACF Food Science Course
This is a 40-hour, self-paced course on food science for food professionals, home cooks, scientists, non-scientists, or anyone who works with food and wants to understand what’s going on under the hood. The ACF food science course is available here. Overview This online course represents over a thousand hours of curriculum development, including many improvements […]
Caramel Ice Cream and Sugar Science
In this tutorial you’ll learn to make delicious, creamy caramel ice cream and also learn a bit about sugar science along the way. Recipe Formula (Ingredients): 100g water 165g sugar (sucrose) 510g 36% cream (see notes below) 170g 4% milk (whole milk) optional: 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean (see notes) Notes on […]
Cooking Sugar Perfectly
Cooking sugar is a critical skill in baking, and it’s not hard to do if you just learn a few key food science facts about sugar and crystalization. Watch the video and then answer the questions in the quiz. Then go and cook some sugar! When we talk about “cooking sugar,” we can mean: * […]
Food Science Lectures
Note: This is a new class, and the lectures will be posted here as they are created. They should all be available by the end of June 2026. There are also two talks, an interview, and a lecture I gave at a college in Seattle (food molecules). 1: Intro & Heat 2: Water — (coming […]