The highly prized white truffle, Tuber magnatum, can easily cost a fortune. The coveted fungus can run up to $200 per ounce, and in December 2014, a 1.86 kilogram white truffle was sold for $61,000. With skyrocket prices for a small hunk of fungus, cheaper alternatives were developed for obtaining that14 distinct truffle aroma and flavor … Continue reading
Category Archives: What We’re Reading
Apple Orchards & Apple Washes
To keep up with the national demand for apples, apple trees are not grown from apple seeds, but rather, spliced together from different sources onto a dwarf “rootstock”. This enables increased production of more uniform apples, but unfortunately also decreases genetic diversity among apple trees. Vulnerability to any one disease could decimate the entire apple … Continue reading
Earth Day & Sustainable Diets
With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, use this time to reflect on how the things we eat, and the choices we make surrounding what we eat, impact the planet. Continue reading
Fish Scarcity & Canola Crops
Tonle Sap Lake in the heart of Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The fish from these waters feed millions across Southeast Asia–or at least, used to. A combination of development, drought, and climate change has devastated the lake, threatening the livelihood of those who depend on this body of water. Climate … Continue reading
Protein Plastics & Protein Supplements
There are scientific discoveries that are the result of serendipitous accidents. The “most beautiful of plastics”, a popular polymer in the early 20th century made from a protein found in milk, was accidentally invented by a cat. Proteins, of course, are better known for their nutritional necessity than as a component in plastic buttons. With … Continue reading
Burger Nanomaterials & Chicken-free Chicken
Cooking, such as intensively heating a burger patty, is considered a form of food processing. Heating meats at high temperatures generates compounds such as benzene and polyaromatic hydrocarbons that are known to increase the consumer’s risk of developing cancer. Researchers in China found that grilling beef patties at extremely high temperatures produces carbon dots. Furthermore, … Continue reading
Organic Onions & Tear-free Onions
Studies investigating the chemical differences between organic and conventionally grown produce are difficult to carry out, in part because many factors cannot be ruled out, such as annual differences in weather and other environmental factors. A six-year study in onions shows that organically grown onions contain higher levels of phytochemicals. The authors of the study … Continue reading
Perennial & Seedless Avocados
With 2 billion avocados consumed in America every year, avocado production has to be able keep up. The majority of avocados sold in the U.S. are imported from Mexico, where the fruit is able to grow year-round. California, the biggest domestic producer of avocados, may someday be able to grow avocados all year. Researchers are … Continue reading
Eating Moldy Bread & Building Better Bread
When one slice of a loaf of bread begins to grow fuzzy, green mold, do you throw out the whole thing or get rid of the affected parts and save the rest? Food safety experts weigh in on how to handle certain fungi found in your kitchen. In another bread scenario, when handed a whole-wheat … Continue reading
Wild Berries & Cashews
The schisandra berry, also known as the five-flavor berry, has been consumed in China in juices, jams, savory soups, and as medicine long before it was touted by Dr. Oz and became a superfood in the U.S. This berry is now back in the spotlight with increasing focus on conservation efforts surrounding the forest where it … Continue reading