Awesome Food

Whether served fresh from a handmade noodle shop, or cooked up quick from a package of the instant stuff, Ramen is one of the world’s favorite dishes. Mental Floss digs into the origins of the dish, as a specific kind of noodle made its way from China to Japan, and eventually led us to the delicious meal we enjoy today.

Stop-motion animator Bebop cooks up a delicious pizza with the help of some unconventional ingredients, including 2×2, 2×3, 2×4, and other studded plastic blocks. The 2-minute film is comprised of roughly 3,300 photos, and an unknown quantity of LEGO bricks.

Every time pastry artist Amaury Guichon creates a dessert, we can’t decide whether to stare at our screen or drool on the keyboard. For this bake, he created a set of tiny edible skateboards, each with a faux wood cookie deck layered with gooey caramel, riding on chocolate wheels, and sparkly “deck tape” decoration on top.

We’re not sure who the chef is behind this video, but he’s got some serious knife skills. Our jaws dropped when we saw the amazing lattice that emerged after he made a series of partial cuts through a slice of potato. Sure, the video has been sped up, but his precision is still on point.

Butter is one of those food staples that we often take for granted. But at Le Beurre Bordier, every pat of the creamy dairy product is a handmade work of art. Food Insider introduces us to this French shop dedicated to preserving 19th-century techniques, including the use of a spinning wooden wheel to knead the butter.

There are lots of pasta shapes out there, but some take up more shelf space than others. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University came up with an innovative method to make pasta that starts out flat but takes a 3D form when cooked. The process involves scoring pasta dough with varying depths and spacing.

Energy bars shouldn’t taste like sawdust or be as caloric as candy bars. Kate’s Real Food Bars stand out in a crowded field by delivering delicious, nutritious whole-foods bars made from organic ingredients like nut butters, fruit, and the complex carbs of oats and crispy brown rice. No soy, gluten, GMOs, or junk. Sold in 12-packs.

Every time we’ve tried to write “Happy Birthday” on a cake, it comes out a sloppy mess. Pastry artist Manna-Tanuki shows us how it’s done, creating incredibly precise and clean lines in the icing of a Pocket Pikachu cookie. Check out their YouTube channel for more complicated designs, like this epic My Neighbor Totoro cookie.

Photographer Troy Litten challenged himself to photograph every bowl of noodles he ate across Southeast Asia. From crowded Hanoi food stalls to Bangkok skyscrapers, he documented his delectable lunches then turned it into a colorful 500-piece Galison jigsaw puzzle guaranteed to whet your appetite.

German supermarket chain EDEKA enlisted musician Marc Rebillet to create a song about shopping for groceries in their stores. The result is this delightfully silly commercial spot. Naturally, the robe-wearing performer turned the fruit and veggies into musical instruments.

Paletas and flan are two of the greatest sweet treats on the planet. In this video from Eater’s Sugar Coated, host Rebecca DeAngelis visited NYC’s Newyorkina, where she and chef Fany Gerson experimented to create a yummy flan-paleta hybrid, melding the frozen summer treat with creamy egg custard and runny caramel.

As we’ve witnessed before, pastry chef Amaury Guichon is a true master of chocolate. Watch as he transforms a puddle of chocolate into an intricate sculpture of a mama turtle and her baby, swimming atop a brilliant blue anemone. It took him four days to create this incredible, edible masterpiece.

This cutie pie baker makes the cutest 4” single-serving pies in minutes to satisfy sudden cravings. Salivating for a fruit pie while RVing or living in a dorm? Hangry for a quick breakfast quiche or chicken pot pie? Just plug in the non-stick Dash Mini Pie Maker anywhere, assemble the ingredients, and voila.

Opopop injects new life into a snack staple with its line of “flavor-wrapped” kernels. The crunchy popcorn comes in sweet and savory flavors like Vanilla Cake Pop, Salted Umami, Cinnalicious, and Chedapeño. Grab their $40 Discovery Kit, and you’ll get a microwaveable popping bowl along with sample packs of six flavors.

Now that indoor dining is starting to return to normal, it’s a great time to get out to your local restaurants. This special deal gets you a $100 e-gift card to spend on Restaurant.com establishments for just $18. Available for a limited time from The Awesomer Shop.

Grow healthy and tasty greens, fruits, and herbs indoors with the Click & Grow 25. This indoor gardening system uses automatic watering, light scheduling, and biodegradable “Smart Soil” pods to ensure perfect growing conditions. They’re stackable too, so you can grow multiple crops in a small footprint.