These Photos Show the Hidden Chemistry of Cooking

Crafting beautiful dishes can be an art form, but we don't often associate the process of cooking with beauty. However, when you zoom in close, the oils and spices we use to bring our dishes to life take on a whole new appearance.

Two artists recently set about capturing this world in a series called "Bubbles." Photographer Adrian Mueller and food stylist Takako Kuniyuki used a kitchen studio to unveil the secret patterns and designs hidden away in routine cooking processes.

According to Mueller's website, the project concentrates on "highlighting the interactions of common ingredients that are often overlooked, and generally not immediately appreciated."

By focusing on the details that we usually neither see nor recognize when we cook and eat, the duo strives to show the beauty of small things: the wondrous and serendipitous patterns that occur when different ingredients are mixed together. They give us a representation of different combinations that the nose can easily discern but the brain cannot quite translate visually.

Scroll down to check out more of Mueller's work. Maybe next time you heat up a pan of oil, you'll take a closer look at what you're doing—just don't look too close.

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