Chemistry

When it comes to bread, supermarkets have a dizzying array of choice. Yet the bread we eat can have a surprising impact on our health.

Honey is a natural sweetener, and bacteria loves to feast on sugar. But honey is remarkably resistant to spoilage. What's behind its ability to beat the bugs?

We're told an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but does this humble fruit really have an outsized positive effect on our health?

Seed oils like canola and sunflower oil have attracted controversial claims about harmful effects in recent times. Is there any truth to them?

Invented to make beef last long journeys to market, Bovril became a famous British kitchen staple. Less well-known is its link to an odd, pioneering science fiction novel.

Scientists are analysing the smells of space – from the aroma onboard space stations to planets hundreds of light years away – to learn about the makeup of the Universe.

Our lives are surprisingly dependent upon this extremely light and unreactive gas, yet supplies of it are remarkably fragile.

Custard powder makes a delicious dessert but also has a rather less savoury potential – in certain conditions, it can be a powerful explosive.