Food Science Articles and Links

[chromedome]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/09/the-physics-of-salt-water-taffy/

[chromedome]

Some of the work that's going into the improvement of non-dairy cheeses. It's potentially a big market (as the rise in non-dairy milks attests) if they can get it right.

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/plant-based-cheese-may-be-getting-more-appetizing/

[Alex]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

Some of the work that's going into the improvement of non-dairy cheeses. It's potentially a big market (as the rise in non-dairy milks attests) if they can get it right.

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/plant-based-cheese-may-be-getting-more-appetizing/

 

That would be nice. I've yet to taste one that would be even shouting distance from "reasonably pleasant."

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Alex said:

 

That would be nice. I've yet to taste one that would be even shouting distance from "reasonably pleasant."

Honestly, I think they'll get there. I expect texture will actually be a bigger challenge than flavor in the long term, because we're getting better at manipulating flavor molecules either directly or through manipulation of yeasts, bacteria, fungi etc.

 

I don't feel a strong imperative to curb my dairy consumption for environmental or other reasons, because it's already pretty minimal, but I know a lot of people who are lactose-intolerant (and vegans are a steadily growing contingent as well). The market is absolutely there, if they get it right. Logic suggests we'll see an initial "artisanal" product to generate a halo effect while they're working out how to manufacture at scale (ie, Tesla's progression from Roadster to Model S to Model 3), though if somebody makes a breakthrough on the manufacturing side we may see a mass-market "good enough" product followed by niche specialty products afterward. I have no crystal ball, but I'm all in on having options.

 

ETA: I actually popped for an "artisanal" vegan cheese at the supermarket a few months ago, simply because it was marked down to half price. It was a Boursin-ish soft, flavored cheese, with lime and jalapeno. The flavor was perfectly acceptable for what it was, but the texture was slightly wrong in a way that was difficult to articulate. The best I can get is that it had a hint of that cream-cheese gumminess about it, as opposed to the fine-grained smoothness of the real thing.

Edited October 15, 2023 by chromedome (log)

[Alex]

A sixth basic taste? 

 

Quote

The tongue’s response to ammonium chloride, a component in some candies, may indicate a sixth basic taste. The study illuminated that OTOP1, a protein receptor that signals sour taste, also responds notably to ammonium chloride.

 

[chromedome]

I'm not sure how I feel about this as a physical reality on the table, but the technology is certainly interesting. 

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/go-ahead-and-play-with-your-food-with-this-electrode-enhanced-3d-printed-plate/

[Maison Rustique]

6 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I'm not sure how I feel about this as a physical reality on the table, but the technology is certainly interesting. 

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/go-ahead-and-play-with-your-food-with-this-electrode-enhanced-3d-printed-plate/

I'd rather eat than play with my food. Seems a bit silly to me.

[chromedome]

15 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

I'd rather eat than play with my food. Seems a bit silly to me.

Oh, unquestionably. I suppose this application of technology could be construed as the reductio ad absurdam of the aphorism that "we eat with our eyes first". But I feel the same about many of the showier aspects of molecular gastronomy, which nonetheless have been taken seriously by critics and diners alike. I suppose it's my blue-collar upbringing showing through (..."maybe so, but I eat with my mouth most!").

[chromedome]

Thanks to a shout-out from Tamar Haspel on social media, I've just discovered the writing of a UK-based chef, food writer and food product developer named Anthony Warner (aka "The Angry Chef). I haven't explored much of his blog yet, but I've just finished reading through a really fascinating six-parter (and counting) on the role of dietary fibre (or "fiber," for the Americans). Money quote is early in Part 5: "...food is complicated, and anyone telling you otherwise is trying to sell you something."

 

I'd have appreciated some explicit links to sources (because I'm "That Guy") but this is his everyday work and area of expertise, and I've read enough of the basic research to be confident in the broad accuracy of what he's passing along.

 

Here's a link to the first part: https://www.the-angry-chef.com/blog/7qmkvuzn0i90vq4xei5t4crinjxy3q

You can just keep clicking through at the bottom to get the rest.

 

 

[chromedome]

In other news: Sky remains blue, ocean still wet. Film at 11.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/27/revealed-industry-figures-declaration-scientists-backing-meat-eating

[chromedome]

An interesting "thought experiment" on the potential - and potential downsides - of chemically synthesizing nutrients, specifically fats, as opposed to the currently extant agricultural processes. The meat of it is in the "Main" and "Discussion" sections, if you want to skip over the technical bits.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01241-2

[Alex]

Red wine-triggered headaches decoded, in part.

 

Quote

In a new study, scientists at the University of California, Davis, examined why this happens — even to people who don’t get headaches when drinking small amounts of other alcoholic beverages. Researchers think that a flavanol found naturally in red wines can interfere with the proper metabolism of alcohol and can lead to a headache. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

 

[chromedome]

This is more "agriculture" than "food science" per se, but we've veered into food production previously on this thread (and mods, I *did* look for a thread on agricultural innovations, because I thought I remembered one existing, but failed to find one). A reasonably rigorous life-cycle analysis of urban farming, with mixed results. More importantly, it sheds some light on how these operations can be refined depending on their individual goals.

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/01/urban-agricultures-carbon-footprint-can-be-worse-than-that-of-large-farms/

[chromedome]

I believe we have a thread somewhere revolving around sustainability in agriculture, but I'll put this here instead. It's not new research, but a researcher spitballing the potential for cutting the carbon-generating impact of conventional agriculture at one of its key sources: fertilizer manufacturing.

https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2024/03/11/can-we-electrify-our-food/

[chromedome]

"Blue" cheese in bespoke colors? Maybe...

 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/blue-cheese-shows-off-new-colors-but-the-taste-largely-remains-the-same/

[Alex]

Wasabi—is there anything it can't do? 

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wasabi-preserves-papyrus

 

Quote

 ...a team of researchers primarily based in Egypt have found a way to safely and effectively remove fungus from papyrus, without harming any pigments: using the Japanese plant wasabi.

 

[chromedome]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/tastes-like-chicken-think-again-edible-ants-have-distinctive-flavor-profiles/

[liuzhou]

17 minutes ago, chromedome said:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/tastes-like-chicken-think-again-edible-ants-have-distinctive-flavor-profiles/

 

I regularly eat ants, as reported here.

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/139109-eating-jiminy-cricket-insects-as-food/page/3/#comment-2405720

 

[donk79]

"Scientists are exploring how tuning the genomes of mushrooms and molds can transform these food sources into gourmet, nutrient-packed meals made with minimal processing and a light environmental footprint."  Article explores the use of genetically modified koji and a fungus from Indonesia (Neurospora intermedia) to produce food with a low environmental impact.

 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240314122135.htm

[chromedome]

Some of you may be seeing these headlines already in your morning news, but the avian flu virus (H5N1) has been detected in grocery-store milk; or more accurately fragments of the virus' RNA have been detected in milk. There is further testing underway to see if a viable virus can be cultured from any of the test samples, but the expectation is that the answer will be "No" (this is what pasteurization is for, after all). RNA fragments would be present even if the virus itself was killed.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/23/health/bird-flu-milk-fda/index.html

 

After the events of the past few years epidemiologists and virologists are well-represented in my Twitter feed, and the consensus at present could be described as "this is concerning, but not yet alarming." The real threat (touched on in this article, and amplified in several I've seen elsewhere) is that the virus mutates enough to spread to hogs, either directly from cattle or after jumping back into birds. Viruses that adapt to hogs can then make the jump to humans, and in the (so far rare) cases when H5N1 has made that jump it has not gone well for the human involved.

[Maison Rustique]

3 hours ago, chromedome said:

Some of you may be seeing these headlines already in your morning news, but the avian flu virus (H5N1) has been detected in grocery-store milk; or more accurately fragments of the virus' RNA have been detected in milk. There is further testing underway to see if a viable virus can be cultured from any of the test samples, but the expectation is that the answer will be "No" (this is what pasteurization is for, after all). RNA fragments would be present even if the virus itself was killed.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/23/health/bird-flu-milk-fda/index.html

 

After the events of the past few years epidemiologists and virologists are well-represented in my Twitter feed, and the consensus at present could be described as "this is concerning, but not yet alarming." The real threat (touched on in this article, and amplified in several I've seen elsewhere) is that the virus mutates enough to spread to hogs, either directly from cattle or after jumping back into birds. Viruses that adapt to hogs can then make the jump to humans, and in the (so far rare) cases when H5N1 has made that jump it has not gone well for the human involved.

That story just came on my local news within 2 minutes of reading your post.  Scary.