Food Tech

A cheeseburger and a side of fries--last year, Americans ate over 7 billion of them. And there's an amazing story behind every one. Any idea how they get the sesame seeds to stick to the bun? What does it take to stuff 20 tomatoes inside a ketchup bottle? And what's the secret to getting the dill in dill pickle chips? Host Bobby Bognar sets off on a quest to find out, as he travels the country to unearth the hidden mysteries inside our cheeseburger and fries. It's the science behind perfectly melting cheese, the production of jet-black seeds that sprout into Spanish onions, and a French Fry factory where every day mountains of potatoes are sliced and diced in to 36 million French fries.

Since an influx of Chinese immigrants to America in the mid 1800s, Americans have devoured Chinese take-out. But have you ever wondered what's really in an egg roll? What is the secret ingredient in beef and broccoli? And did you know a fortune cookie can actually make you rich? Host Bobby Bognar is off to the far reaches of America to find some ancient Chinese secrets. From the amount of salt in those hard to open soy sauce packets, to the waxing of Pekin Ducks, it's time for take out ...Chinese style.

From playgrounds to office cubicles, we love chowing down a meal from the lunch box. Ever wonder why a peanut butter sandwich sticks to the roof of your mouth? Did you know baby carrots might all be purple if it weren't for the Dutch? What mysterious filling other than vanilla creme used to be inside a Twinkie? Host Bobby Bognar seeks out the answers to these and other intriguing questions as he travels across America uncovering the secrets of our favorite lunch box treats. Along the way, he discovers everything from how the juice starts flowing into a juice box before it has a bottom to hold it...to the surprise that awaits us if we look inside a Goldfish cracker after we bite it.

With Americans eating more than 85 billion tortillas a year, Mexican Food is very popular. But did you know that a donkey is a key to great tequila? Ever wondered how many times they refry refried beans? And what do sound waves have to do with guacamole? Watch host Bobby Bognar as he travels south of the border to help an old artist make a classic Mexican cooking dish from volcanic rock. On the high seas, he'll try to keep his cookies in a rough and tumble hunt for mahi mahi. And he'll show us how a fruit that resembles a human brain becomes a classic Mexican after-dinner drink.

Nothing beats the taste of a Southern fried meal--and host Bobby Bognar traces its amazing journey to your plate. In Alabama, Bobby wades among 275,000 catfish during feeding time--and discovers how each fish scooped from the pond becomes a fillet within just one hour. At a Louisiana alligator farm, he dares to grab a gator from its holding tank, and learns how gators owe their survival--in part--to those who eat them. Did you know that one popular Southern favorite, rice, reaches your plate by falling from the sky? Or what it takes to extract frying oil from a lint-covered cottonseed? Or what makes the South's favorite spicy condiment, Tabasco sauce, so hot? And what do giant fans, fire and cannons have to do with putting peach cobbler on the table?

From IHOP's to greasy spoons, there's nothing sweeter than a pancake breakfast. Did you know that the secret to making pancakes rise lies 800 feet below the earth's surface? What's really in breakfast sausage? And how can orange juice be fresh all year round? Host Bobby Bognar crisscrosses the country to reveal what's behind a seemingly simple pancake breakfast. He'll drop in on a pig farmer whose prize hog has fathered thousands of offspring, and then get fresh with a cow in a quest to learn if there really is butter in buttermilk pancakes.