Ever contemplated if the coffee grounds you’re about to toss away could be put to better use? Quite a number of scientists have, with proposed uses in fields ranging from bioenergy to food and pharmaceutical industries [1-3]. Some proposals involve recovering a chemical of interest from the coffee grounds, but a collaboration among researchers in … Continue reading
Heavy metals, such as cadmium, lead, and mercury, leach into our food supply through the air and water; these undesirable additives come from industrial processes such as mining, smelting, battery manufacture, electroplating, and pesticide production. Cadmium and lead are the chief contaminants of rice, wheat, and foods containing these cereals [1]. Mercury is often found … Continue reading
Melted Cheese Frize [Photo Credit: Pittaya Sroilong] Whether you are making cheese fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, baked cheese bites, or homemade mac and cheese, choosing the right type of cheese can make or break these comfort foods. The key to all of these dishes is cheese that produces an even and homogenous melt. Cheeses … Continue reading
Is there anything more disappointing than finding a chocolate bar in the back of the desk drawer, anticipating a tasty treat, then unwrapping the bar only to find a dull, grey haze has overtaken your dear candy? Seeing as bloomed chocolate is still edible, yes, there are many things more disappointing than that. But surely … Continue reading
The historic drought in California and other U.S. states challenges us to rethink the way food production and consumption shapes our available water supply. To that end, one adventurous brewing club, The Oregon Brew Crew, collaborated with Oregon’s water utility, Clean Water Services, to brew beer from waste water. This comes as part of the … Continue reading
Think of any task and chances are someone is developing a new mobile electronic device for it. Technologies exist that pay for your coffee, track your UV light exposure, and even drive your car, but can one also simulate flavor? With that question in mind, scientists led by Nimesha Ranasinghe at the National University of … Continue reading
In the not-so-distant future, surfing the web at 35,000 feet will be just as reliable as going online at your favorite coffee shop. Who do we thank for this aeronautical innovation? Teams of engineers have been leading the charge to bring us quality in-flight internet, but there’s another WiFi hero you probably didn’t expect… potatoes! … Continue reading
In 400 BCE, the Greek admiral Androsthenes wrote* of a tree that “opens together with the rising sun . . . and closes for the night. And the country-dwellers say that it goes to sleep.” Over the next 2000 years, researchers discovered that the daily cycles first observed by Androsthenes fall into 24-hour periods similar … Continue reading
Have you ever been offered a fancy cheese that smelled more like a used gym sock than something edible? Odor artist Sissel Tolaas and researcher Christina Agapakis took this idea and ran with it, with their project Synthetic Aesthetics. The duo used bacteria isolated from human hands, feet, noses, and armpits to generate cheese! Many … Continue reading
Imagine taking a bite of your favorite food. Is it sweet? Salty? Does it have a sour bite or a hint of bitterness? Maybe even a touch of savory umami? Every time we eat, our taste buds sample these five basic taste qualities. Taste receptors decorating the surface of each taste bud interact with specific … Continue reading
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