how-things-are-made

Paper is made by breaking wood or recycled fibres into a watery pulp, spreading it into thin sheets, then pressing and drying them.

Cheese is made by curdling milk with bacteria and rennet, separating the solid curds from liquid whey, then pressing, salting and often ageing the curds.

Green coffee beans are soaked in water and then treated with a solvent, activated carbon filters or pressurised carbon dioxide to remove most of the caffeine before roasting.

Most plastic is made from oil and natural gas, which are refined into small molecules called monomers and then linked into long chains called polymers.