Never Put Meatballs on Spaghetti, with Samin Nosrat

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 11.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Every day we’re all doing a little bit of chemistry: when we bake potatoes, add a little salt to our pasta, or even bake a box cake. And award-winning chef Samin Nosrat just loves to nerd out over all this. She's the author of the best-selling book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” and has a new book out called “Good Things.” Today, Samin joins us to talk all about the science and art of cooking. Plus — why you should NEVER put meatballs on spaghetti. Video available on Spotify. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsSaminNosrat Samin’s Book: https://ciaosamin.com/shop/good-things In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Welcome to Science Chats with Samin Nosrat (01:27) Samin’s childhood in California (06:05) Samin’s obsession with boxed cake mix (14:29) Why salt, fat, acid and heat matter (17:17) The magic of salt (21:11) Why soy sauce and cheese can bring out big feelings (32:26) Why we bake with room-temperature eggs (34:32) Why tomatoes don’t belong in the fridge (37:00) The geopolitics of cinnamon (40:07) Why vanilla beans cost so much (42:15) The value of handmade food (47:10) Why you shouldn’t put meatballs on spaghetti This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Michelle Dang, and Rose Rimler. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Video editing and sound design by Bobby Lord. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wylie, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Thanks to Roland Campos, Skyline Studios and Humdinger Studios. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm snorting. I'm snorting already. Already. We haven't even started. What's going to happen?
0:09.5	Do-do, science chats with our favorite nerds. Yeah.
0:18.2	Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman, and you're listening to Science Verses.
0:21.6	Today on the show, the wonderful chemistry and science of food.
0:27.6	Yeah, because even if you've never set foot in a lab, you are doing a little bit of science every day when you add a little salt to your pasta or you cook your vegetables or even if you
0:39.3	make a Betty Crocker cake, you are doing some really cool science. And one award-winning chef who's
0:45.9	thought a lot about all this is Samin Nosrat. She's the author of the best-selling book,
0:51.7	Salt Fat, Acid Heat. She has a new book out. It's called Good
0:55.0	Things. And I've wanted to get Savin on the show for ages because she makes me think about
1:00.8	cooking and the food that I shove in my mouth in this completely new and very nerdy way.
1:08.2	And so that's what we're talking about today, the science of cooking.
1:11.7	Plus, why you should never put meatballs on spaghetti. My interview with Samin Nostrat is coming
1:19.3	up just after the break.
1:27.4	Why are businesses like HelloVet choosing Apple products and services?
1:32.1	So we started the business two years ago.
1:34.5	We had a few people who were used to PCs and this was their first foray into Macs.
1:39.8	But it's been super smooth getting everyone onto those devices and everyone seems really, really happy.
1:45.4	Find out how Mac can help you run and grow your business
1:48.5	at apple.co forward slash hello vet.
1:53.2	The Infinite Monkey Cage returns imminently.
1:56.8	I am Robin Ince and I'm sat next to Brian Cox
1:58.9	who has so much to tell you about what's on the new series.
	...

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