There is a large energy cost to breaking apart and mixing the water and oil layers. The secret to blending them is to add an extra ingredient known as a ‘surfactant’ or emulsifier, like mustard.
Kew Palace, where King George III liked to spend Christmas.
Roasting meat sets off a cascade of chemical reactions. With a bit of kitchen chemistry know-how, you can use these reactions to your advantage when you make gravy.
The gingerbread house traces its origins to 18th-century Germany.
Tatiana Gordievskaia/ Shutterstock
When British colonials came to Australia, they stuck to their winter Christmas traditions of roast meats and plum puddings. But over the centuries, Australians found their own ways to celebrate.
Vegeterian and vegan food is often marketed as close enough to meat that you can hardly tell the difference. This devotion to mimicking meat stifles creative alternatives to Christmas dinner.
Cover of the menu for the AIF Christmas Dinner, Hotel Cecil, London, in 1916. Illustration by Fred Leist.
Museums Victoria collection, donated by Jean Bourke