How ingredients actually taste

Not recipes. Not health claims. One ingredient at a time: what it tastes like raw, and what changes when you slice it, crush it, boil it, roast it, or fry it.

Latest

• Gochujang

  Gochujang has an official five-step heat scale with a published formula. Using it is voluntary, no Scoville conversion exists, and the numerator is ambiguous.

  Seasonings · October 28, 2026

• Miyeok (Sea Mustard)

  English pages say dried miyeok expands ten times. Japan published 250%, 590% and 1173% for three miyeok products, with the conditions attached.

  Seafood & Seaweed · October 23, 2026

• Perilla Leaf

  The same species, a different variety, and a different dominant aroma compound. Plus the question nobody seems to have answered: what does cooking do to it?

  Aromatics, Herbs & Spices · October 21, 2026

Browse by category

• Vegetables & RootsPotatoes, radish, carrots - starch, water, and what heat does to them.
• Aromatics, Herbs & SpicesGarlic, onion, ginger, chilli - the sharp things that mellow with heat.
• Meat & EggsCuts, fat, and the temperatures where texture flips.
• Seafood & SeaweedFish, shellfish, and the sea vegetables that carry umami.
• Grains, Beans & TofuQuiet staples that take on whatever you cook them in.
• FruitsSugar, acid, and what happens when you put them near heat.
• MushroomsWater, glutamate, and why drying changes everything.
• SeasoningsSoy sauce, doenjang, vinegar, oil - the flavours you build on.