The next time a kid asks how learning chemistry applies to their life, tell them how chemistry plays a huge role in cooking and baking.

The miniseries Lesson in Chemistry demonstrated this beautifully. It’s on Apple TV+ if you missed it. The show was based on the popular novel by Bonnie Garmus. You might want to add the book to your Christmas gift shopping list.

Watching a recipe short on Instagram inspired me to reflect on the power of “show and tell” as both a storytelling and teaching technique.

Driven by curiosity, fuelled by experiment results

While I was searching for new potato recipes to cook for dinner, I came across a short on Instagram. I was particularly intrigued to know why Kenji López-Alt adds half a teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water when cooking potatoes. I had never heard of this before. It seemed like a strange idea, but I told myself: it must have a purpose.

I searched for the full recipe on Serious Eats. There, Kenji gave us the perfect example in a show-and-tell post. You get more than plain explanations and instructions — you see photos that illustrate the results of his experiments. Thanks to this show-and-tell approach, I remember exactly what to do, when to do it, and why it’s the best way to do it.

I learned something new!

One more thing…

Yesterday, I read reports about the negative effects on our health and weight of frequently eating ultra-processed food. That’s why I hope you’ll find time to prepare at least one home-cooked meal this weekend.

As for me, I’ll be giving The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever a try. Thank you, Kenji, for this recipe.

⚠️ Spoiler alert:

Kenji adds a little bit of baking soda (alkalinity) to achieve the starchy paste you’re looking for on the outside of your potatoes before roasting them.

+credits: Pixabay