Food Unwrapped

Christmas Special, Monday 23 December, 8pm, Channel 4

Jimmy Doherty, Kate Quilton and Matt Tebbut present the food and science series that travels the world to lift the lid on what's really in the food we eat. The team are back with a Christmas Special, to unearth the secrets behind our festive fare.

Jimmy, Kate and Matt investigate the potential dangers in our Christmas kitchen and unearth some fascinating facts about the food we put on our dishes. Brussel sprouts are a Christmas dinner staple, but why do children hate them? At Christmas time wine is often swapped for a celebratory glass of fizz, but do the bubbles in bubbly really go to our heads? Up and down the country millions tuck into a turkey on Christmas Day, but should we be swapping this popular bird for one of Santa’s troupe – reindeer?

For many people a Christmas dinner isn’t complete without a roast turkey on the table.  At this time of year over 10 million turkeys are heading towards the oven.  Jimmy investigates the safest way to cook a turkey – can they ever be cooked from frozen and why do they need to be cooked so carefully?

On Christmas Eve it’s traditional for children to leave out a snack for Father Christmas and a carrot for his reindeer. But do reindeer actually eat carrots? Kate is off to Lapland to find out, meeting the reindeer being bred to end up on shop’s shelves.    

Do the bubbles in Champagne go to your head and make you feel tipsy sooner than other tipples? Matt has kindly offered to check it out and reveal the serious science behind the bubbly. Kate’s also on a mission to find out what’s in the suet in your Christmas pud and Jimmy wants to know why kids hate Brussel sprouts – and if food scientists can come up with a solution.