As the peak of summer approaches, we here at Science & Food love to reach for one of our favorite frosty treats: the ice cream sandwich. Being true Science & Foodies, we started to wonder about this amazing composite material- how do you get the coexisting chewy cookie yet firm ice cream? We began to … Continue reading
Brian was Executive Sous Chef at The Tasting Kitchen, an ingredient-driven restaurant on Abbott Kinney in Venice that has received much acclaim. He is now moving on to open a new project in Los Angeles. Brian is a UCLA alumnus who majored in European Studies and minored in Italian. He was inspired to become a chef after many trips … Continue reading
Spring has sprung! Which means we have another stellar lineup of speakers slated for our third annual offering of Science & Food: The Physical and Molecular Origins of What We Eat. Although the course is only open to current UCLA students, we will be posting highlights from the course right here on the blog. And don’t forget: … Continue reading
The 2017 UCLA Science & Food public lecture series is here! FOOD WASTE: Solutions Informed by Science (and what to do with your leftovers) Tuesday, May 2nd 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall World-renowned chef Massimo Bottura, UCLA professor Jenny Jay, Zero Waste Consultant and “Waste Warrior” Amy Hammes will participate in a … Continue reading
Dining out or shopping in a grocery store are seemingly straightforward: as the consumer, you make your selection and exchange money for goods. These interactions are based on an implicit trust that you get what you paid for. However, in recent years consumers have begun to demand more transparency with reports of mislabeled seafood at … Continue reading
Eat local. Avoid red meat. Beef is bad. The media is full of messages about food. Navigating the world of food choices can be challenging and overwhelming. Here is where some knowledge of food, and bit of science, can help. With science, we can identify the number of calories in a food item. We can … Continue reading
Freezing is an indispensable tool in modern cooking and eating. The biochemical processes that typically occur in meats cause decay, fat oxidation, and rancidity; the higher the temperature, the faster these reactions occur. Thus, we can largely thwart off these undesirable processes by keeping meat chilled. But tossing meat into the freezer rarely results in … Continue reading
Guest post by Christina Jayson Watch a barista at work and you will observe the art of preparing a perfect café au lait, cappuccino, macchiato, or mocha – all of which involve different quantities of steamed milk. Behind the artistic foam hearts and milk mustaches lies a science to steamed milk. Students of UCLA’s SPINLab … Continue reading
At UCLA, researchers reveal another benefit of yogurt: probiotics found in yogurt can help improve brain function. Learn more about the world that probiotics occupy in a podcast about the “messy mystery in the middle of us” over at Radiolab. Continue reading
How We Taste Featuring Dr. Dana Small, Chef Wylie Dufresne, & Peter Meehan May 14, 2014 As part of our 2014 public lecture series, we explored the concept of taste from the perspectives of a scientist, a chef, and a food writer. Dr. Dana Small described how our brains respond to flavors. Chef Wylie Dufresne … Continue reading
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