Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio The Science of Food: Steaks, Bugs and Expiration Dates
10 snips
Jan 27, 2026 
J. Kenji López-Alt, chef and food writer who decodes expiration dates and storage. Meathead Goldwyn, barbecue authority who breaks down steak grilling techniques. Dr. Arielle Johnson, flavor chemist and fermentation expert who explores taste chemistry, insects as food, and smoke taint in wine. They dive into steak technique, flavor chemistry, fermentation experiments, and what expiration dates really mean.
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Match Cut To Method
- Choose cuts by cooking method: ribeye for rich marbling and juiciness, flank for hot-fast searing and strong flavor.
- Cook flank very hot and fast to medium-rare with a deep brown crust and char for best texture and taste.
Flavor Is Molecular And Emotional
- Flavor arises from molecules plus neurobiological and emotional processing in the brain.
- Most of what we call flavor is smell signals routed through emotional memory centers before conscious perception.
Insects Share Flavor Molecules
- Ants and other insects use terpenes for communication, which overlap with fruit and herb aroma compounds.
- That chemical overlap explains why some insects taste unexpectedly citrusy or herbaceous.
