Brave

When searching for information, I've learned one thing about writing: you have to be brave.

I've been researching candy chemistry to learn more about candy experiments (see www.candyexperiments.com, which will continue to be updated). My three years of high school chemistry were enough to get me started, but not enough to answer all my questions. My latest question: why do candy makers put hydrogenated palm kernel oil in candy? I put out a query on profnet.com but got no answers, so I had to be more creative. After emailing a few universities, I decided to go write to the source: Herve This, author of Molecular Gastronomy and science editor for Cook's Illustrated, but fully expected to be ignored. To my surprise, he promptly wrote back! He didn't have much of an answer for me, but a food scientist at BYU did. So, note to self: learn the material, exhaust local resources...then don't be afraid to reach out and ask!