Channel 4 - Food Unwrapped: Series 4 (2014)

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.

Part 1:
Jimmy wants to know why so much of the bacon in supermarkets comes from Denmark. He crosses the North Sea to visit one of the largest pork abattoirs in Europe, which operates 24 hours a day. Kate meets mozzarella makers in Italy. What is the liquid that mozzarella balls are bobbing in? In the Campania region, she learns the ancient techniques used to produce the cheese. And snails are served as a delicacy in French restaurants, but Matt asks: can you snack on the snails in your garden? He finds out how our common garden snails can go from potentially poisonous pests to delicious delicacies.

Part 2:
Kate wants to know where liquorice comes from. She's not a fan, but will she be converted once she's seen the experts in Calabria, Italy, turn bitter-tasting liquorice roots into sweet treats? The mushrooms available in shops come in many shapes and varieties but Jimmy wants to know what makes them grow. He finds that some of our favourite fungi don't come from woodlands, or even outdoors. Expert mushroom producers show him the techniques needed to make it autumn all year round. Plus, Matt uncovers the nasty bacteria potentially lurking in raw beansprouts. He's astounded to discover that consuming his favourite East Asian vegetable raw could be as risky as eating some oysters, so he heads to a factory in Northern Ireland to find out how some beansprouts can be labelled 'ready-to-eat'.

Part 3:
One of Jimmy's old favourites is black pudding. He learns about the amazing properties of blood and discovers how it's becoming trendy in gastronomy. Could desserts like Pavlova be made from no-egg blood meringues? Meanwhile, Kate investigates how it's possible to grow juicy watermelons in one of the driest parts of Europe. She visits an enormous city of greenhouses in the Andalusian dessert where millions of melons are grown. But they need lots of water; where does it all come from? And Matt wants to know how they get the letters in the middle of a stick of rock. He visits a confectioner in Bridlington where they've been making the seaside classic using a technique perfected for over a century.

Part 4:
Most people want to eat less salt, but how do you make something 'low-salt'? Jimmy finds out how some food producers are using seaweed to reduce their salt content. Nationwide sales of that traditional East London favourite, jellied eels are booming. Kate learns about the extraordinary journey that eels make across the Atlantic Ocean to end up in our rivers before being jellied. Tonic water glows under ultraviolet light. Matt puts on his lab coat to find out more about what gives a G&T its bizarre luminescence.

Part 5:
Matt wants to know how it's possible for British onions to be sold in supermarkets all year round. The answer lies not in our soil, but in a disused aircraft hangar. Is pricey aged steak worth the wait? Jimmy visits a top butcher to find out how aged beef is produced and whether it's possible to mature-age your own steaks at home. Kate is intrigued about what goes into a stuffed olive. In Greece, she discovers that the filling in pimento olives is not just red pepper, but also contains another, surprise ingredient: Food Unwrapped's old friend, seaweed.

Part 6:
Jimmy wants to know what gives stout its smooth texture. In Dublin he learns that the key ingredient is nitrogen. But how does a gas make something creamy? Kate's on the trail of the ultimate superfood. We all want to make healthy choices but when it comes to fruit and veg; do we really know what's the pick of the bunch? One of these nutritional stars is watercress. But why don't we know much about it? And why is English mustard hot while the Dijon variety is relatively cool? Matt visits a leading factory to find out how they're made.