Food  

Chris Kimball and his Test Kitchen crew are back for a fifth season, bringing you the best regional home cooking in the country with family-friendly recipes scientifically reimagined for the modern home cook.

Wednesdays at 8:30pm on WGBH 44

Scientist Adam Steltzner worries about whether the Mars rover landing equipment he helped design will work. But in his garden, where he approaches things like the engineer he is, he is firmly in charge.

Originally just a convenient boxed lunch for Japanese field workers, bentos today can be high art, with flower-petal carrots, hard-boiled eggs shaped into bunnies, broccoli sculpted into trees.

There's much more to slaw than the creamy muddle of carrot-flecked cabbage found on many a picnic table. Forgo the mayo — and even the cabbage — with these shredded salads reflecting flavors from around the globe.

The website Snack Data blurs the lines between an art installation and a database of food facts. It may not be the most authoritative source of information, but it's a fun place to explore one web designer's take on the world of snack food.

Say the words "brown rice," and people of a certain age might conjure images of hippie communes. But the whole-grain product has been slowly gaining in popularity over the last decade. Here are some tips to bring it into the everyday dinner repertoire.

In the Obama household, there are some rules at mealtime. The Obamas eat brown rice instead of white, limit dessert to a few times during the week, and pack lots of vegetables into dinner.

We talked with David Edwards on the mad science behind his food inventions, like inhalable chocolate and caffeine.