From unleavened Iron Age loaves to the ubiquitous sliced white, Ever Wondered brings you the story of the staff of life - Bread.
It’s the meal that fuelled the industrial revolution and helped Britain win both world wars - Ever Wondered explores the history of fish ‘n chips.
It was the first fusion food and spawned the country’s favourite dish - Ever Wondered goes Indian to explore the legend that is Chicken Tikka Masala.
Take one chef and one scientist, throw in a selection of favourite dishes and combine the delights of cooking with the technology, social history and science behind each recipe.
From filter, to percolator, to instant, we drink 600 billion cups of it a year - coffee. Who invented espresso, and why were 17th century coffee houses hotbeds of revolution?
It's the quintessential fast food. The Americans claim it but where did this food icon actually come from? What does the price of a burger have to do with the economy?
How did the humble pancake help devout Christians cleanse their souls? And what's the best way to successfully toss a pancake? Kathy gives us her secret for the perfect pancake.
This episode pours everything you need to know about beer into half an hour. Why were monks the experts on brewing this ale? What does seaweed do to a beer's flavour?
Healthy, hearty, and warming, it's the classic - tomato soup. But why did the early Europeans think tomatoes were poisonous? Which is the best tomato to use for this soup?
You can get it in thin crust, stuffed crust, Hawaiian, Supreme - chart the evolution of the pizza. How does a dish fit for an Italian queen become a popular take-away?
The Egyptians worshipped them, the cowboys baked them. Being full of beans is good for your health but not necessarily good for the environment. And why do beans mean Heinz?
In the first episode, Paul tackles some classic cheese recipes and reveals the scientific secrets of their success. He gives an Italian twist to the cheese fondue and shows what actually happens when cheese melts. He also explains the science behind making a great sauce for the ultimate macaroni cheese and explores what happens to ricotta when you use it for a cheesecake.
Ever Wondered dives to the bottom of the ocean to bring to you the story of seafood. The Romans had a particular passion for oysters but is there any truth behind oysters being an aphrodisiac? Casanova is said to have eaten 50 a day. In the 19th century a new age of transportation dawned and seafood stopped being just a coastal food - trains allowed it to be readily available in towns and cities.
Paul makes an authentic Spanish omelette, and also explains the science behind cooking a perfect poached egg, the secret to creating superb soufflés, and how to rustle up scrumptious eggy bread.
Paul reveals how to make perfect chips with garlic mayo and reveals the secret to making delicious potato pancakes. He explains why you need the help of science and a potato ricer to create the perfect mash, and investigates why the humble spud is the most popular vegetable on earth.
Paul demonstrates how understanding science and a good red wine can produce a great coq au vin, and looks at what's needed to create a spicy marinade for tandoori kebabs. He cooks the perfect roast chicken, and reveals the secret part of the chicken that all chefs love to eat.
Paul shows us how to achieve the perfect warm mushroom salad and explains the science behind some of the spices used in a mushroom bhaji. He also reveals the secret to making the ultimate mushroom risotto and demonstrates how to cook mushrooms on toast perfectly.
Did you know a strawberry isn’t technically a berry, but grapes and kiwi fruits are? Paul traces their history from one of man’s earliest sources of sustenance to their current status as a super-food.
The Christians tried to ban them; Queen Victoria loved them. 175,000 tonnes of sausages are eaten each year. But what's in our sausage? Where does it come from? And is it good for us?
Nuts have been nibbled the world over since dinosaurs roamed the earth. Crack open the history of the nut to reveal its journey from King Solomon's palace to outer space.
350 million people eat rice every day - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The story of rice charts our own history - from pre-historic caves, to the 'caviar' of the Middle Ages.
We dive into the past where the fish was a secret cult symbol, we find out how one Clarence Birdseye led a food revolution and we unravel the mystery of omega 3.
Paul explains why sugar is the perfect preservative. We'll discover how white gold transformed the Caribbean and how to satisfy a sweet tooth without losing teeth.
Peppers were once a well-kept secret deep in the heart of the South American jungle but now a quarter of the world’s population eat chillies or other peppers every day and chilli powder is the world’s most popular spice. Chef Paul Merrett explores why we are so addicted to the taste and kick of peppers. He: * reveals that a pepper contains more vitamin C than an orange; * discovers why the British Parliament mutinied when asked to forgo their fiery fix; and * uncovers how chilli powder was once used as an aphrodisiac. In the kitchen, Paul takes our taste buds on tour, from spicy Thai green curry to the classic Italian supper dish, pepperonata with scallops. He also shows us how to roast the perfect pepper for antipasti and how to tame that chilli burn.
We think of honey as a local product, but it’s big business; the world trades nearly half a million tonnes of it every year. Chef Paul Merrett traces the production of honey from the bee hive to your toast, learns why honeys don’t all taste the same and finds out why bees are moving to the heart of London. In the kitchen he creates a sumptuous honey sponge pudding and gives some handy tips on how to store your honey. He shows us how to get the right mix of sweet and sour for his marinated pork chop and explains why his honey-coated cereal bars are a great energy booster. But don’t limit honey to the larder; its medicinal and nutritional health benefits are just as impressive. Paul reveals: * how an Egyptian queen used honey to keep her young and beautiful; * why one of the greatest sportsmen of all time swore by it; and * why even the NHS uses it on patients.
If you’ve ever wondered what goes into the perfect cuppa, prepare to be enlightened. Chef Paul Merrett reveals the answers, from the quality of the water to the shape of the teabag. To accompany the perfect cuppa, he indulges in a classic afternoon tea with scones, jam and lashings of clotted cream. To top it all, he cooks up tea smoked chicken and makes a refreshing green tea ice cream to finish. Paul also explores the history behind the global tea phenomenon, with more than 3.2 million tonnes of tea consumed every year. He reveals why it was once so valuable that it was hidden away in locked chests and explains the science of why tea really can help to settle our nerves.
The banana is not only the world’s most popular fruit, it’s the fourth most consumed product on the planet. In the UK alone we eat ten million of them every single day but there’s real fear that the banana we love may be facing extinction. Chef Paul Merrett will be meeting the man whose life's mission it is to rescue the banana. He’ll also be revealing the banana’s unsavoury political influence and finding exactly why this perfectly packaged item is ideal for sportsmen and women. In the kitchen, Paul will be showing us how versatile the banana is with a creamy banana cheesecake, and a plantain and chicken satay – and we’ll find out why his delicious banana smoothie is the perfect hangover cure.
Milk has been part of our diet since we first domesticated animals and is the essential base of many other foods, including cheese, butter, yoghurt and chocolate. We investigate some of the myths and fads about milk to discover the proven health benefits and find out that a glass of semi-skimmed is the best way to cool the palate after spicy food.
The world’s third most popular ingredient after salt and pepper, onions and garlic have traditionally been just as common in the medicine chest. Egyptian slaves were given daily rations of garlic and Alexander the Great wouldn’t march before feeding his army onions. Modern medical research is focused on possible uses in the treatment of breast cancer, heart disease and MRSA.
