The Science of Herbs and Spices

[liuzhou]

Another great article from the great Harold McGee. "The Science of Herbs and Spices" on Lucky Peach.

 

Fascinating as ever.

 

Now I just need to find the Chinese for "chitosan".

[huiray]

The grassy smell of cut grass, for example, is not due to just hexanal or hexanol (which is practically odorless (I used to work with it too)) as McGee states, but is primarily (but not only) due to cis-3-hexenol and cis-3-hexenal, the latter of which is somewhat unstable and isomerizes into trans-2-hexenal.

Edited January 12, 2016 by huiray (log)

[liuzhou]

Got it! 壳聚糖 (ké jù táng)

 

 

[Anna N]

Nice read, liuzhou.  Not sure I will remember to make use of some of the suggestions but I was most fascinated by the discussion of spanking herbs rather than crushing them.  I knew it was a practice used by bartenders but the science behind it was never explained.