Gallery: How to Make Baby Bees and Other Weird Stuff Great to Eat

  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    01

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    Lars Williams is R&D chef at the Copenhagen restaurant Noma. Here, he extracts flavor from rose petals using a rotary evaporator.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    02

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    A test subject at the University of Florida undergoes the Blue Stain Tongue Test. A lab worker has stained her tongue blue and is about to photograph it. Counting the number of papillae on the tongue reveals whether or not she is a super taster.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    03

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    Dr. John Caprio studies catfish at Louisiana State University's Department of Biological Sciences to better understand how taste works. Catfish are super tasters, with over 100,000 taste buds covering their bodies.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    04

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    A worker at the Taste Testing Labs passes a tray of tomatoes to participants in a taste test.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    05

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    A plant basks under the glow of purple light in a lighting chamber at Fifield Hall at the University of Florida Gainesville. Scientists are studying whether different wavelengths of light impact how vegetables and fruits grow and taste.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    06

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    A man inhales a cloud of flavor at BevLab workshop, put on by Future Food Studio in Toronto.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    07

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    A participant preserves flowers with juice and liquid nitrogen at a BevLab workshop presented by Future Food Studio in Toronto.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    08

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    Josh Evans works as lead researcher at the Nordic Food Lab in Copenhagen. He is straining fermented garum made from insects.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    09

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    Staff at the Copenhagen restaurant Noma dip elderflower in liquid nitrogen to preserve its freshness.
  • Image may contain Human Person Clothing Hat Apparel and Appliance
    Brian Finke
    10

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    Students at the Culinary Institute of America make cheese powder to garnish cauliflower and corn. It’s an intense process that takes more than a day.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    11

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    Head of Research Arielle Johnson measures the savoriness of various ingredients using a homemade umami meter.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    12

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    Nordic Food Lab head chef Roberto Fiore stirfrys bee larvae.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    13

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    Head Chef Roberto Flore freezes bee larvae with liquid nitrogen.
  • Image may contain Human Person Chef Clothing Hat and Apparel
    Brian Finke
    14

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    Students learn about different kinds of food equipment at a lab at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    15

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    Dr. John Caprio works inside a faraday cage recording the nerve impulses that emanate from catfish’s taste buds.
  • Science of Taste
    Brian Finke
    16

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    Participants at the Taste Testing Labs at the University of Florida Gainesville sit in neutral rooms when trying fruits and vegetables growing by the university’s horticulturists. The neutrality is supposed to eliminate sensory distractions that might impact taste.
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