Blueberry syrup, sodium alginate and calcium chloride is all you need to make these spheres that look a little like caviar.
For more info on molecular gastronomy and popular food science, visit http://blog.khymos.o rg
Dried and wrinkled salad/lettuce can be "refreshed" by immersing it in cold water. This is due to osmosis. The process is shown in a time lapse video where things are speeded up 720x.
Chocolate beef stock cream (contributed to the food blogging event TGRWT #5). Visit http://blog.khymos.o rg for more info on TGRWT, molecular gastronomy and popular food science.
No color change observed for saffron. Turmeric however turns deep red upon reaction with ammonia. This is a simple way to check if you saffron has been adulterated with turmeric.
Browning of onions can be significantly speeded up by adding a pinch of baking soda (=sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3). This time lapse video (10x) shows chopped onions being fried with and without baking soda, side by side for comparison.
You can read the accompanying blog post at http://blog.khymos.o rg/2008/09/26/speedi ng-up-the-maillard-r eaction/
