Feb
26
26
Chemistry and Food
How Grainy Is The Salt Picture?
Posted by Carmen Drahl on February 26, 2010 in Chemistry and Food, Chemistry in the News
Sodium chloride is in the spotlight at the New York Times once again this week. John Tierney’s column and blog post delve into what scientists really know about the effects of reducing salt in people’s diets.
It isn’t just an academic question. A movement to cut sodium intake in the population at large is afoot. It’s based on public health data that say lowering NaCl consumption in a population lowers blood pressure on average, and can thus reduce the risk of diseases such as stroke. And
it involves chemists, from those trying to determine how we taste salt to those working on making salt taste enhancers.
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Baked Goods Periodic Tables
Dec
11
11
Posted by Rachel Pepling on December 11, 2009 in Chemistry and Food
There’s not much to say about these periodic tables constructed out of cookies and cupcakes other than that they’re just plain awesome. And it’s Friday. Enjoy.
Via GeekDad:
The Chemistry of Thanksgiving Dinner
Nov
23
23
Posted by Lauren Wolf on November 23, 2009 in Chemistry and Food
Safety First: Chief Redox (left) and Princess Avogadro are ready to do some kitchen chemistry. Lauren Wolf/C&EN
In this week’s Newscripts, I wrote about Diane M. Bunce, a professor at Catholic University of America (CUA), in Washington, D.C., and her quest to make chemistry accessible to the public, as well as her students. She gave a public lecture (with accompanying demonstrations) about the chemistry of Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday evening at CUA.
Approximately 100 attendees—mostly students—came out to watch Bunce and her teaching assistants, Maribeth “Princess Avogadro” Armenio and Evan “Chief Redox” Bordt, demonstrate some key concepts of kitchen chemistry. A contingent from ACS, including this reporter, also attended, learning about how pop-up turkey timers work, why muffins rise without yeast, and which antacids work best to tame that post-Thanksgiving-dinner indigestion. (more…)
A Carbon-Free Curiosity
Sep
11
11
Posted by Faith Hayden on September 11, 2009 in Chemistry and Food, Chemistry is Everywhere
A friend of mine sent me this peculiar photo of carbon-free sugar and I couldn’t help but wonder: What in the world is hiding in this bag? Because the last time I checked, sugar was composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Carbon isn’t exactly a negotiable ingredient within this tasty trifecta.
A quick visit to the Florida Crystals website, however, reveals the truly unfortunate nature of this wording. In the organic sugar world, “carbon-free” doesn’t mean the sugar is free of carbon. It apparently means the sugar has a low carbon footprint.
Whew! Glad I cleared that up. Carbon-free “sugar” isn’t anything I want going anywhere near my morning coffee. It’d probably just water it down.
“Snickers Is Almost A Perfect Food,” And Other Food-Texture Musings
Aug
25
25
Posted by Daniella Jaeger on August 25, 2009 in 2009 Fall National Meeting, ACS Meetings, Chemistry and Food
On the menu at last Tuesday’s food-texture talks at the ACS national meeting was a circus of flavors and sensual experiences (if only via PowerPoint): force deformation curves of fractured foam cell-walls for starters, an entrée of roasted-nut plot distributions, and a milky-smooth monologue on the pleasures and pains of food texture for dessert. (Regrettably, hotel catering didn’t contribute to the spread, as the session was over before lunchtime, and we all left salivating.)
After a couple detailed recounts of experiments dealing with cell-rupturing crispiness and nut-cracking crunchiness, Gail Vance Civille of Sensory Spectrum, Inc., wrapped everything up by bringing us back to the basics. Texture, she defined, is the sensory measure of structure or inner makeup of foods and other materials. We measure it with our skin and muscles, and we need people to evaluate it; machines can only help simulate textural experiences. We break down foods in three ways—mechanical, salivary, and thermal—and when foods don’t break down the way they’re supposed to, we reject them. For example, a waxy piece of chocolate that doesn’t melt on our tongues as it should is, well, waxy and unappetizing. (more…)
From Fake Pharmaceuticals To Serbian Sausages—Ah, IUPAC
Aug
4
4
Posted by Sarah Everts on August 4, 2009 in Chemistry and Food, Uncategorized, Where is C&EN?
Yesterday at the IUPAC conference in Glasgow, I was reminded of a fascinating but disturbing factoid: that Viagra and the appetite suppressant sibutramine are among some of the common ingredients snuck into counterfeit drugs and herbal remedies from the UK to China. That is, when an “active” ingredient of any type is added. There are lots of cases of plain old talc pills. Or fakes with really nefarious additions, like heavy metals or diethylene glycol–which has caused deaths from the USA to Bangladesh.
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Chemicals To Save The Garden
Jul
31
31
Posted by Kenneth Moore on July 31, 2009 in Chemistry and Food
With the problems a lot of gardeners across the country have had with the wetter and cooler than normal summer, adding diseased tomatoes on top of that could be the straw that breaks many backs.
Late Blight at Red Fire Farm
Late blight, an infection of tomato and potato plants caused by Phytophthora infestans, gained infamy as the cause of the Irish potato famine. Now, it is rearing its head in one of the worst outbreaks in North America, mostly on the east coast, due to large retailers sourcing possibly infected tomato seedlings from a single nursery, Bonnie Plants, which has since recalled $1 million worth of plants. (C&EN requested comment from Bonnie Plants, and if the company gets back, this post will be updated.)
Such threats to crop production have led to myriad methods by which a grower can determine when to preventatively spray a chemical to protect his or her crops from any number of insects, fungi, or bacteria. For example, a Beaumont Period (during which the temperature is not less than 68 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is not less than 75% for 46 of 48 consecutive hours) encourages P. infestans proliferation, and if such a period occurs or is predicted to occur, fungicide application is recommended.
The Chocolate Grail
Jul
24
24
Posted by Faith Hayden on July 24, 2009 in Chemistry and Food
Swiss company Barry Callebaut has reportedly accomplished what most candy-makers only dream of: creating a melt-resistant chocolate. Copyright Barry Callebaut
While I was visiting a good friend on one very hot and humid weekend in North Carolina, she bypassed a typical lunch in favor of a giant chocolate bar. It was too large for her to eat all in one sitting, so when we stopped in a store to browse, she left the half-eaten bar unattended in the car.
Big mistake. We returned an hour later to find the formerly solid candy bar melted into a half-liquid mess all over her gray leather interior. Considering that the average piece of chocolate starts to melt at 85ºF and that, when parked in direct sunlight, vehicles can quickly reach highs of over 100ºF, that poor little candy bar didn’t stand a chance. Heat 1, chocolate 0.
But Swiss chocolate-maker Barry Callebaut might have stumbled upon a way to even the score: a melt-resistant treat able to withstand temperatures up to 130ºF. Called Vulcano, Barry Callebaut spokeswoman Gaby Tschofen described it as an “aerated chocolate” with a “crunch texture and a light mouth feel” that will melt in your mouth and not in your vehicle.
“The Vulcano chocolate is hygroscopic,” she told C&EN. “Once our chocolate gets in touch with saliva, it starts melting.” Tschofen wouldn’t reveal how the chocolate is made, but did say a “special production step” is what increases the melting point.
That answer, however, just wasn’t good enough for me.
(more…)
Take This Post With A Grain Of Salt
Apr
10
10
Posted by Carmen Drahl on April 10, 2009 in Chemistry and Food, Where is C&EN?
Tuesday’s New York Times contained a column (and accompanying blog post) that questioned the merits of New York City’s efforts to convince restaurant chains and the food industry to halve the amount of salt in their products.
Lowering processed foods’ sodium content is not a new idea, but the idea always runs smack into debates among many parties who each have their own priorities. Cutting salt intake lowers blood pressure on average, which is why government agencies such as the USDA advocate keeping salt intake within a specific range. But that relationship is based on a measure of a population, and what works for an individual person doesn’t always mesh with what’s best for the greater good.
More interesting than rehashing that debate, at least to me, is the concept of “stealth” reduction– that is, gradually lowering the amount of salt in foods so that people won’t notice. I attended a March 30 workshop about developing strategies to reduce sodium intake, which was run by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, where I was surprised to see the extent to which some large food companies are reducing sodium in their products without explicitly telling consumers what is replacing the sodium. (more…)
Burt’s Bees Gives Its Ad A Makeover
Feb
13
13
Posted by Carmen Drahl on February 13, 2009 in Chemistry and Food, Chemistry is Everywhere
Not long ago, C&ENtral Science called out skincare and beauty product company Burt’s Bees, pointing to an ad that seemed to equate IUPAC’s scientific names for molecules with suspiciousness.
So you can imagine my surprise when I chanced upon a new version of that ad earlier this week. Check out the old ad (left) and the new (right).
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The new ad gets rid of the “uglier name” section that ticked me off in the first place. Now, I still contend that a product’s name alone shouldn’t warrant a demerit, but I know I’m up against some powerful psychological impulses. For instance, researchers at the University of Michigan recently found that when presented with a list of made-up food additives, people in their study perceived easy-to-pronounce names as familiar, and they tended to rate things with harder-to-pronounce names as riskier or more harmful. See here for a highlight of that study.
So, although Burt’s Bees still should have thought of something else to put in their “minus” column, I think this ad is an improvement over the last one. I wonder what motivated them to make as many changes as they did.
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