The Great Expedition Series, Book 9

A Million Whys: The Food Expedition for Curious Kids

By Crafty Clover. Published by Million Whys Press.

Why Are Ice Cubes Cloudy in the Middle? Why Do Bakers Let Dough ‘Proof’ Before Baking? Why Do Farms Use Soil So Carefully? This book answers 150 questions like these, one question per page, each with a short video answer. Six expeditions: Kitchen Chemistry, Taste, Smell & Cravings, Bread, Bubbles & Baking, Fruits, Veggies & Plants We Eat, From Farm to Plate, and Food Detectives & Kitchen Safety.

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All 150 questions

Tap a question to watch its video and read the answer.

Expedition 1: Kitchen Chemistry

1. Why Are Ice Cubes Cloudy in the Middle?
2. Why Does Ice Cream in a Bag Need Salty Ice?
3. Why Does Mayonnaise Stay Creamy When Oil and Water Usually Split?
4. Why Does Pepper Run Away From a Drop of Dish Soap?
5. Why Does Sugar Stop Dissolving If You Keep Adding It?
6. Why Does Hot Cocoa Form a Skin on Top?
7. Why Does a Drop of Water Make Hot Oil Spit and Pop?
8. Why Does Lemon Juice Taste So Sour?
9. Why Does the Fizzy Mix of Baking Soda and Vinegar Get Cold?
10. Why Does a Hard-Boiled Egg Get a Green-Gray Ring Around the Yolk?
11. Why Does Metal Feel Colder than Wood in the Same Room?
12. Why Do Tiny Bubbles Cling to the Pot Before the Water Boils?
13. Why Does Pasta Water Get Cloudy?
14. Why Does Honey Turn Grainy and Hard in the Jar?
15. Why Do Some Candies Feel Cold When They Dissolve?
16. Why Does Bread Get Stale Even If It Isn’t Moldy?
17. Why Does Gelatin Turn Liquid Into Wobbly Solid?
18. Why Do Fizzy Drinks Go Flat?
19. Why Does Whipping Cream Become Fluffy?
20. Why Does Lemon Juice Keep Cut Apples From Browning?
21. Why Do Microwaved Foods Have Hot and Cold Spots?
22. Why Does an Old Egg Float in Water?
23. Why Does Salt Make Food Taste More ‘Alive’?
24. Why Does Yeast Need Sugar or Starch?
25. Why Is Kitchen Chemistry Safe Science When You’re Careful?

Expedition 2: Taste, Smell & Cravings

26. Why Does Food Need Smell to Taste ‘Complete’?
27. Why Is the ‘Tongue Map’ a Myth?
28. Why Does Milk Calm a Spicy Mouth Better than Water?
29. Why Does Cold Water Feel Icier After You Eat Mint?
30. Why Do Cravings Happen?
31. Why Does Hunger Make Food Smell Stronger?
32. Why Is Umami Called the Fifth Taste?
33. Why Do Some People Dislike Bitter Greens?
34. Why Does Orange Juice Taste Weird After Toothpaste?
35. Why Do Fizzy Drinks Tingle?
36. Why Can the Smell of One Food Make You Feel Queasy Years Later?
37. Why Does Food Taste Blander on an Airplane?
38. Why Do Companies Design ‘Crunch’?
39. Why Does Sweetness Make You Smile?
40. Why Do Pickles Taste Sour and Salty Together?
41. Why Does Smelling Food Make Your Mouth Water?
42. Why Do Some Smells Seem ‘Loud’ Even in Tiny Amounts?
43. Why Does Temperature Change Flavor?
44. Why Do Kids’ Favorites Differ From Grown-Ups’?
45. Why Is Your Tongue Covered in Tiny Bumps?
46. Why Can the Color of a Plate Change How Food Tastes?
47. Why Does Salt on Caramel or Chocolate Work?
48. Why Do You Get Tired of One Candy Flavor?
49. Why Does Smelling Vanilla Make Things Seem Sweeter?
50. Why Is Mindful Tasting a Superpower?

Expedition 3: Bread, Bubbles & Baking

51. Why Do Bakers Let Dough ‘Proof’ Before Baking?
52. Why Do Bakers Knead Dough?
53. Why Does Gluten Matter in Wheat Bread?
54. Why Do Some People Need Gluten-Free Bread?
55. Why Do Some Recipes Need Both Baking Soda and Baking Powder?
56. Why Must Oven Spring Happen Fast?
57. Why Are Some Cookies Chewy and Others Crispy?
58. Why Do Cooks Pat Food Dry Before Browning It?
59. Why Does Caramel Need Careful Heat?
60. Why Does Steam Help Some Bread Crusts?
61. Why Do Pancakes Make Bubbles That ‘Tell You’ to Flip?
62. Why Does Sourdough Smell Tangy?
63. Why Rest Cookie Dough in the Fridge?
64. Why Do Muffins Get Tunnels If You Mix Too Much?
65. Why Does Pie Dough Like Cold Butter?
66. Why Can a Slammed Oven Door Make a Cake Fall?
67. Why Measure Flour Carefully?
68. Why Does Yeast Need Warm Water, Not Hot?
69. Why Do Bagels Get Boiled Before Baking?
70. Why Does Laminated Dough Make Croissants Flaky?
71. Why Do Ovens Have Hot Spots?
72. Why Does Altitude Change Baking Recipes?
73. Why Do We Grease or Paper Pans?
74. Why Does Bread Sing When It Cools?
75. Why Is Sharing Baked Bread a Science Celebration?

Expedition 4: Fruits, Veggies & Plants We Eat

76. Why Are Fruits Often Sweet When Ripe?
77. Why Do Bananas Ripen in a Bag Faster?
78. Why Is a Tomato a Fruit to Scientists?
79. Why Do Leafy Greens Wilt in the Fridge?
80. Why Are Carrots Orange?
81. Why Do Carrots Taste Sweeter After a Frost?
82. Why Soak Beans Before Cooking?
83. Why Do Apples Float?
84. Why Are Chili Peppers Spicy for Mammals But Not Birds?
85. Why Do Onions and Garlic Make Savory Magic?
86. Why Is Fiber in Plants Helpful?
87. Why Do Potatoes Turn Green in Light?
88. Why Sprout Seeds on a Windowsill?
89. Why Are Berries Often Tiny and Many?
90. Why Do Dried Lentils Cook Faster than Dried Chickpeas?
91. Why Do Herbs Smell Strong When Rubbed?
92. Why Is Corn a Seed, a Grain, and a Vegetable Depending on Talk?
93. Why Do Cucumbers Feel Cool?
94. Why Ferment Cabbage Into Sauerkraut?
95. Why Are Mushrooms Neither Fruits Nor Veggies Exactly?
96. Why Blanch Veggies Before Freezing?
97. Why Do Citrus Peels Smell Stronger than the Juicy Insides?
98. Why Rotate Crops on Farms?
99. Why Does Red Cabbage Juice Change Color with Lemon or Baking Soda?
100. Why Thank Plants at Dinner?

Expedition 5: From Farm to Plate

101. Why Do Farms Use Soil So Carefully?
102. Why Irrigate Fields?
103. Why Do Bees Matter for So Many Foods?
104. Why Harvest at Peak Ripeness for Some Crops?
105. Why Do Farms and Stores Chill Milk and Meat Quickly?
106. Why Pasteurize Milk?
107. Why Do Eggs Have Dates on Cartons?
108. Why Truck, Ship, and Fly Food Around the World?
109. Why Do ‘Food Miles’ Matter to Some Families?
110. Why Package Foods in Different Materials?
111. Why Do People Can Food in Jars and Cans?
112. Why Freeze Vegetables?
113. Why Do Grocery Stores Mist Veggies?
114. Why Are Grocery Stores Laid Out the Way They Are?
115. Why Do Bakers Start Before Dawn?
116. Why Does a Package Say ‘May Contain Traces of Nuts’?
117. Why Refrigerate Leftovers Promptly?
118. Why Compost Food Scraps?
119. Why Do Farmers Markets Feel Different From Megastores?
120. Why Is Food Waste a Big Deal?
121. Why Do Nutrition Labels List Serving Sizes?
122. Why Wash Produce Even If You’ll Peel It?
123. Why Do Some Fish Need Cold Trucks More than Apples?
124. Why Celebrate Cultural Foods?
125. Why Say Thanks Along the Food Chain?

Expedition 6: Food Detectives & Kitchen Safety

126. Why Wash Hands Again After Touching Raw Eggs or Meat?
127. Why Use Separate Boards for Raw Meat and Veggies?
128. Why Cook Burgers to a Safe Temperature?
129. Why Thaw Meat in the Fridge, Not on the Counter?
130. Why Isn’t a Sniff Test Enough to Tell If Food Is Safe?
131. Why Keep the Fridge at About 4°C (40°F)?
132. Why Should We Throw Out Jars with Bulging Lids?
133. Why Tie Hair Back in the Kitchen?
134. Why Wipe Spills Right Away?
135. Why Read Recipe Steps Fully First?
136. Why Measure with the Right Tools?
137. Why Taste with a Clean Spoon Each Time?
138. Why Be Careful with Raw Cookie Dough?
139. Why Store Cleaning Sprays Away From Food?
140. Why Use Oven Mitts with No Wet Spots?
141. Why Are Some Foods Choking Hazards?
142. Why Does Raw Meat Go on the Bottom Shelf of the Fridge?
143. Why Keep Pets Off Kitchen Counters?
144. Why Cool Big Soups in Shallow Pans?
145. Why Check for Food Recalls?
146. Why Adapt Recipes for Allergies Politely?
147. Why Should You Get Out and Tell a Grown-Up If a Fire Starts in the Kitchen?
148. Why Should You Change Only One Thing at a Time When You Tweak a Recipe?
149. Why Teach Younger Siblings Kitchen Rules?
150. Why Is a Kitchen the Best Science Lab You Already Own?