THE SCIENCE OF COOKING

Show title: The Science of Cooking
Run time: 50m × 4eps
Director: Jang Huyeong
Producer: EBS
Exec Producer: Jang Huyeong
Genre: Documentary
Demographics: Family

ELEVATOR PITCH

Humankind has been creating countless ways of cooking food as long as we can remember.
This documentary series takes a look at the world of cooking which is a series of endless accidents, adventures and unexpected connections.

EPISODE SYNOPSIS

Part 1, ‘Heat’
“Heat” covers the temperature, which is key to cooking. A major part of cooking involves delivering heat energy to natural things and transforming them to the state where they can be digested and absorbed. This technique does not stop at simply making food taste good. Professor Wrangham of Harvard University says the ability to produce food through heat is what helped humans evolve.

Part 2, ‘Force’
“Force” is about how to change ingredients using physical force. Mankind has realised that making dough to make bread, noodles, rice cake, and tofu and consuming them is far more effective than consuming crops as they are. In terms of preserving, texture, convenience, and nutrient intake, this revolutionary cooking method provided the foundation for cultural development.

Part 3, ‘Microorganisms’
“Microorganisms” is about the fermentation that takes place by them. Fermentation is an advanced cooking method of using microorganisms’ life activities to cook food, and it can synthesise new components and remove toxicity from food. But because it uses microorganisms, it is a unique cooking method that causes both aversion and preference.

Part 4, ‘Taste’
This episode covers the five taste receptors which are sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, and sour. “Why is sugar sweet?” is the wrong question. “Why does sugar taste sweet to us?” is the right question. Taste doesn’t exist in things. It is something our brains create. It is a type of antenna that mankind has developed for survival. It is the ability to consume nutrients and avoid poison. The Korean proverb “Swallow what is sweet and spit out what is bitter” describes that ability perfectly.

COMPANY PROFILE

EBS is Korea’s educational content specialist broadcasting company. Currently, EBS operates eight channels including two terrestrial channels, one radio channel, three satellite education channels, one child channel and one channel for overseas Koreans. Terrestrial channels broadcast educational programmes for infants and children, cultural and documentary programmes for adults, VOD services through various internet/mobile sites, and e-learning content for each level.
EBS is a broadcasting company that makes world-class children’s programmes and documentaries beyond Korea. EBS science, history and nature documentaries are already recognised in the world market and are exported to North American and European broadcasters such as PBS, Smithsonian Channel in the USA, France5, Arte and RAI in Europe.

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