Maybe it's your first time on the site, maybe you're here all the time but want an easy compendium of Brainery factoids. Either way, we have an amazing guide for you:
What we do!
Classes. All kinds of them, on all kinds of subjects, from historic gastronomy to cursive to DNA.
The fun part is that all of our course topics are dreamed up and suggested by you, and our teachers are a group of awesome p...
OK, so you've made candy cigarettes (or you've read about it, enraptured). You're left with a ton of leftover gum paste, with nary a clue what to do with it.
Allow us to be of service! Faux Altoids, here we go.
First, you need to make gum paste. Don't know how to do that? Check out our DIY candy cigarettes post, or this Instructables. It's basically egg white and sugar thickened to the point where it can dry ...
At last month's MSG I shared the result of my quest for a cold, cold confection: candy menthol cigarettes. The peppermint and menthol flavors trick you mouth into thinking it's colder, while they also use xylitol instead of sugar so it's actually lowering the temperature in your mouth.
First we need to make gum paste. It's basically play doh made out of sugar you can use to make chalky candy (think ...
Tuesday night was Masters of Social Gastronomy: The Flavor Battles. Vanilla extract and Ceylon cinnamon squared off against artificial vanilla and ersatz cinnamon (née cassia) in snickerdoodle form: but which cookie took the cake?
First, a bit of history.
VANILLA
Vanilla is an orchid and, in the tradition of orchids, is quite tempermental. It refused to grow anywhere but its native Mexican soil thanks to the...
Each month, the Society for the Advancement of Social Studies brings you three short lectures on a different historical topic. It's like history class but with lots of drink specials and much prettier powerpoints.
This month's all about the government's long and tumultuous history with illicit substances, and it promises to be quite the evening. You'll get glimpses into "the history of marijuana in the State...
If you haven't read Fast Food Nation, I'll go ahead and recommend it. You probably know what it's about, so I won't waste your time explaining!
In doing some research for the artificial vs. natural flavoring Masters of Social Gastronomy, I came across a pretty fun excerpt about what makes fast food so tasty:
A typical artificial strawberry flavor, like the kind found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contain...
Do you like facts? Do you like bags? Do you like anything? In any case, we recommend popping over to the Brainery shop for all sorts of fun purchasables, such as...
THE BRAINERY TOTE
If that's not self-explanatory I don't know what is! It has gussets, so you can tote your erudite tomes around without too much trouble.
THE MEAT CARD
Ever felt fear in the meat aisle? Fret no more - our wallet-sized card wil...
We have lots of free/not-free-yet-awesome things coming your way this week!
First, on Tuesday, come on up to Public Assembly for our the next installment of our Masters of Social Gastronomy lectures. They're free monthly talks on all things food history and science, presented by Sarah Lohman of Four Pounds Flour and our very own Jonathan Soma.
This month, we're taking on imitation ingredients, and, bes...
Charlotte's teaching a three-week course on everyone's favorite literary sisters, the Brontes, and we're pretty thrilled to be hosting. Below's a preview of the class, and you can rest assured that you don't need to have had to read their entire ouevre to enjoy it. Details and register.
From Charlotte:
Some literature just shouldn't be taught in schools. Not because it's too racy or too incomprehensible...
Our next MSG lecture is on Tuesday, March 27, and it's going to be the most epic yet, as we take on the history and science of imitation ingredients. There'll even be a sample-heavy showdown where you get to definitively decide if there's any difference between artifical and natural flavorings. RSVP now!
As for the lectures, Sarah will explore the history of artificial food, starting with medieval f...
