Ingredipedia

A magical superfood that pours out of trees onto our pancakes? It's maple syrup! We chat about the multi-million-dollar maple syrup heist, whether you're being duped when you buy it from the supermarket and spend way too much time trying to turn it into maple butter.

It's delicious, it deep fries our cheese-based delights, it holds chilli incredibly well and it's not the worst way to start the day. It's oil. And beware...it's dangerous!

It's an ancient ingredient that's been adopted by plant-eaters, but we dig deep into tofu to find out what happens when you freeze it, press it or fry it. And above all that, how did it make it onto our plates anyway?

We're back with everybody's favourite bivalve. But are they vegan? How do you eat them? Are they better iced? And most importantly, did they feature in the American Civil War?

For this year's festive episode, we've chosen ginger. You make it into houses and people before Christmas, then you use it to detox after Christmas. It's also chewy AF, hard to make and dates back to Ancient Greece.

All you need to know is that we mash our face into soft white bread for some reason.

They might just be the future of food. They're plentiful, good for the environment and packed with protein. But does that mean we should eat them? And what does an ant pavlova taste like. Featuring an interview with Attica's Ben Shewry.

Ah, delicious processed cheese. Full of preservatives, shelf-stable, worryingly orange...In this episode we cook with it, print it, look into its terrifying contents and speak to the creator of Homemade McDonalds - a Facebook group dedicated to...um...homemade McDonalds.

It is ancient and therapeutic and caffeinated and delicious with dumplings. But does it even make beer better? Yes it does. It's tea!

A waste of space or a flavour sensation? It depends if it's wrapped in prosciutto, apparently. Yes we're back for 2018 and we're talking about melons. How we eat them, where they came from and how to blow them up.

It's sweet, it's tropical, it's Christmassy. But it's also fever-inducing, rashy and incites rage. It's the mango and while we're all for it, you need to understand the dangers.

We need a little bit of it to live, and a lot of it to get over the 3 pm slump. It's sugar and this episode we roll it up, turn it into cubes, smash it at 3 pm and use it to blow Tic Tacs wiiiiide open.

Emily uncovers the truth: Christianity is a sex mushroom cult while Ben plans a Mormon funeral. Yes, we are talking about mushrooms.

Ben cooks something questionable and Emily gets the therapy she needs. Is there nothing the mandarin...rine...rin...can't do!?

It's the original fruit from the Garden of Eden, but can it kill you? Is it really in your favourite fried snack treats? Why are some of them so terrible? We answer these questions and Emily has therapy.

What comes first? The egg. Well, it comes first for 2017 as we return from our hiatus. And what about eggs? How did they make their mark on 80s movie cocktails? Do they ruin hamburgers? And can humans hatch them?

Symbol of fertility, inspirer of songs, flavourer of drinks. But does the cherry have a dark side? Also, we might have invented the best drink ever.

It gets us drunk, smells nice and it's good for us. But it's also the symbol of the opulence and corruption of a disgraced despot. So yeah, our relationship with coconut is kind of complicated.

It's comforting, readily available and amazing with clams. But where does it ACTUALLY come from? And why do we bother eating it in restaurants? And how has it caused a social media storm in Melbourne? And how is it responsible for THE GREATEST JINGLE OF ALL TIME? Find out in our pasta episode.

It’s time to talk about one of the greatest ingredients in the entire world: figs. Yes, they’re out of season so Em had to ask her talented sister to paint a picture of them because they are unavailable in ALL THE STORES. What do figs have to do with genitals? Ben looks into that. Why is Maggie Beer burnt fig, salted caramel and honeycomb ice-cream the best flavour ever? Em looks into that. Plus: a theory into why Australian athletes didn’t perform so well at the recent Olympics, and a fail-proof plan on how they can do better next time.

We return for SEASON TWO! (Did we mention Season One was over? No? Soz.) Em has been on holidays and brought back an exotic fruit/vegetable…the tomato! But does the Italian kind taste better? Where do you keep your sauce? What is the number one tomato soup recipe? And why is it called ketchup? All will be answered in a brand new Ingredipedia.

For the very first Ingredipedia live event as part of the Emerging Writer's Festival, we chose the big one. The avocado - the world's most Instagrammed ingredient (probably). We cooked it, blended it, got to the bottom of conspiracies and traced it around the world. Find out what you missed.

It's the giver of life and perfect for a tradie-style smoko. But what's its history, when did it stop get it delivered, is it really in chocolate and most importantly, can it be mixed with gin?

We figured it was time to add some culture to our podcast. SEE WHAT WE DID THERE? But seriously, we look at why it is spelled 37 different ways, how it's advertised and why it may be the perfect work snack.

Saffron, the forbidden spice. Sure it tastes pleasant and makes things yellow but saffron is so dang expensive that it's basically cocaine. Find out how it's faked, smuggled and where to find it on the dark web.

Egg yolk, oil, something acidic. That's what goes into the creamy, rich joy that is mayonnaise. Or is it? We deconstruct it, construct it again, put things in it, explore why it's loved, hated and mixed with green jelly. Also, expert help from Ben's mum Gail.

It can be as beautiful as a shimmering gem, as ugly as a beer belly on a rat and as beguiling as a Mexican psychotropic drug. It's corn. And we got an expert, food writer and Masterchef graduate Anna Webster, to tell us all about it.

It inspires great art, makes a handy postal service and makes questionable toys, but what the hell do you call it when it's sliced into discs and deep fried?

We should make it clear that we don't hate capsicum. It's just a stupid, pointless vegetable that makes lousy snacks, makes you sick, costs too much and makes Pixar re-cut their movies. That's all.

For the chocolate episode we use the power of Excel spreadsheets, the powerful testimony of Augustus Gloop and the harrowing screams of Aztec sacrifice to crack beneath its glossy, delicious, sugary surface.

It's the breakfast food that sustains us all, but WHY is it a breakfast food? And what exactly IS it? And how does it make bombs? And is it good for babies? And can I eat it raw? (Sort of) answers to all of these things lie herein.

It's a staple food for billions, but is it an ancient grain? We find this out, as well as why it isn't thrown at weddings any more, how it can make babies cuter and what 'McMiracle Rice' is.

Taste the minty freshness of the mint episode, where we explore discontinued confectionery, herbal remedies, brain trickery, toothpaste and the world's creepiest ever commercial.

The episode where we go bananas for bananas. From their fake origins to the very real things we can learn from monkeys, with two separate references to Neighbours in between, we peel the skin off the banana.

A very special, flood-interrupted episode where we explore the wonders of the eye-closingly, lip-puckeringly sour (and ugly) fruit, tamarind. Whether it's in a drink, a snack or a lead poisoning scandal, tamarind has it all. Listen out for the authentic 'us at the pub' atmosphere of round three.

It's as modern as a meme and as ancient as folklore. It is bitter and sweet. It is savoury and sweet. It is haute cuisine and packet alfredo. It is all things to all people and we can tell you how to stop it from making you stink. It's garlic, and we're joined by Alice In Frames to help us make sense of it.

Rhubarb, the silent killer. Ben dices with death, salutes science and masterfully takes us to the civil war. Em remixes rhubarb, cooks meatloaf best before 1937 and takes us to Iceland. And they both get shown up by actual expert, writer Dani Valent.

You say coriander, I say cilantro. I use the leaves, you use the seeds. You hate it (genetically), I put it in or on everything I can. Let's call the whole thing off and drink a whole lotta coriander-infused booze. Yeah, tough episode.

"Hey, here's an idea. Let's leave some milk to curdle in a cave and get mould into it, then we'll eat it." That's what our forebears said, and thanks to them, we have delicious cheeses that can be stuffed into things, made into perfume and maybe even save our lives. We're joined by expert cheesemonger Anthony Femia of Melbourne's Maker and Monger to set us straight.

Ah, sweet nectar of the gods. Also, bee vomit. It can be crazy colours, feed bears, wash your face and be the centre of international crime rings, but can it be eaten on toast? Well, yes. Idiot.

Ah, sweet life-giving coffee. You can drink it, coat meat with it, win a war with it, insert it into ungodly places and make adorable and undrinkable giraffes out of it. We talk about all of this, and get some expert help from specialist coffee expert Tim Varney, founder of the World AeroPress Championship.

It is a large, stupid-looking bird that we eat once a year. But the turkey is also celebrated in air freshener form, unfairly blamed for our drowsiness and has a way better name in ancient Aztec. Let's talk turkey.

Can delicious, creamy butter survive deep frying, being buried, being applied like chap stick, being thrown at gods and yoga...and still remain delicious? Probably not, but listen just in case.

It's an ingenious way to preserve foods, to maintain wicker furniture, to make one feel bling af, to inspire creepy German kids' songs and to get Ben to talk about the civil war again. But can salt do everything? Spoiler alert, no.

There's something about a sauce that makes no bones about being made from fermented soy beans. So it's no surprise that it bridges, art, science, space exploration and absolute vomit-inducing grossness. Pour a little with us.

Warning: Contains traces of nuts. Actually, more than traces. A whole episode about peanuts and how they have pervaded history, advertising, the brain and humanitarian causes.

Consider this. The pineapple, a sweet, tropical fruit is actually trying to eat you. And that’s when it’s not ruining your pizza, your fashion or your fridge. Sure, they seem all exotic and shit, but we lift the lid on the fruit world’s silent killer. Or something.

They’re small, they’re hairy, they’re polarising. We know that much. But how have they inspired Hollywood, dirtied our airwaves, stunk up history, flavoured our snacks and galvanised an entire country? Let’s open the tin and get into the salty goodness.

Everyone knows what pickles are. If we have to spell it out for you, you haven't lived. So you know they taste like sour, crunchy magic... but do you know everything about them? Learn about their strange effects on your body, how they've been used to gain gender equality and what the hell a 'koolickle' is.