The Science of Food

The rise and fall of white bread

We learned to hate the processed loaves not just because of health -- but because of class, status and race

Whole wheat bread “signifies the sophistication of your 
palate, your appreciation for texture and variety…. The grainier you like it, the more refined your sensibilities. The darker it is, the greater your chance for enlightenment.” Industrial white bread has completed its two-hundred-year trajectory from modern marvel to low-class item. As the spokeswoman for a food industry–affiliated nonprofit nutrition policy organization concluded, “It used to be, ‘Oh, you poor thing, you have that nasty brown bread.’ … Now it’s, ‘Oh, you poor thing. You have that nasty white bread.’ ” [MORE]

Cryogenic Cooking

Liquid nitrogen can transform oil, berries and even hamburgers 

Scientific American Magazine » August 2011 (subscription required for complete article)

Since man’s discovery of fire, cooking has been mainly a process of subjecting food to high temperatures that chemically alter its color, taste and texture. But the invention of cryogenic technology has handed chefs an exciting new tool—liquid nitrogen—for transforming food in fun and surprising ways. [MORE]

More on "molecular gastronomy" here.

From supernova to supermarket: How NASA food science can benefit consumers

Lessons learned improving the quality and nutritional content of food for astronauts could open up opportunities for the food industry back here on earth, says Dr Michele Perchonok, manager of NASA's shuttle food system and advanced food technology project.

In this exclusive interview, Dr Perchonok explained that the food system will have to evolve if we are to successfully send humans to the planet Mars. [MORE]

Developing the NASA Food System for Long-Duration Missions. 2011. Maya Cooper, Grace Douglas, and Michele Perchonok Journal of Food Science March 2011 [Download article]

 

Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags

Chips are disappearing from bags, candy from boxes and vegetables from cans.  As an expected increase in the cost of raw materials looms for late summer, consumers are beginning to encounter shrinking food packages. [MORE]

See also "Objects in store are smaller than they appear" from the Los Angeles Times, 2008.

and, ""Shoppers beware: Products shrink but prices stay the same" from USA Today, 2008.

Freakonomics Radio: Waiter, There’s a Physicist In My Soup

In the first segment of a two-parter about food and food science; it’s also about why we eat what we eat, and how that may change in the future. The first episode takes a look at the “molecular gastronomy” movement, which gets a big bump in visibility next month with the publication of a mammoth cookbook called Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking. Its principal author is Nathan Myhrvold, the former chief technology officer of Microsoft who now runs an invention company called Intellectual Ventures.

In Part 2, we get out of the kitchen and take a broader look at the past, present and future of food science. (You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed, listen live via the link in box at right or read the transcript here.) First, we hear from John Floros, a food scientist at Penn State who co-authored a paper on the history of food science. (Special thanks on this episode go to the Institute for Food Technology.) He explains why we have Napoleon Bonaparte to thank for canned food. He also explains why anyone who’s alive today might want to thank a food scientist.

Beware the Myth of Grass-Fed Beef

Cows raised at pasture are not immune to deadly E. coli bacteria.

James E. McWilliams Slate.com

The comparative health benefits of grass-fed beef are well documented. Scores of studies indicate that it's higher in omega 3s and lower in saturated fat. But when it comes to E. coli O157:H7, the advantages of grass-fed beef are not so clear. In fact, exploring the connection between grass-fed beef and these dangerous bacteria offers a disturbing lesson in how culinary wisdom becomes foodie dogma and how foodie dogma can turn into a recipe for disaster [MORE].

Organic Nutrient Quality

May 14, 2009

Current data from on and between farm comparisons conducted over several growing seasons suggest that there is no simple answer to the organic vs. conventional comparison. The effects of the cultivation system are often obscured by other environmental and genetic factors. However in all the research reported, the organic cultivation system performed as well as the conventional system. Thus, organic produce is not likely to be inferior to that produced by conventional methods [MORE].

J. Lynne Brown, Professor of Food Science, Penn State University 

More on nutritional aspects of organic food from the Institute of Food Technologists: Scientific Status Summary - Organic Food

Organic Food Not Nutritionally Better Than Conventionally-produced Food, Review Of Literature Shows. ScienceDaily (July 30, 2009) — There is no evidence that organically produced foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally produced foodstuffs, according to a study published July 29 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The Food Miles Mistake - Saving the planet by eating New Zealand apples

Reason Online | November 4, 2008
Modern technologies like canning and refrigeration made it possible to extend the food trade from staple grains and spices to fruits, vegetables, and meats. As a result, world trade in fruits and vegetables—fresh and processed—doubled in the 1980s and increased by 30 percent between 1990 and 2001. Fruits and vegetables accounted for 22 percent of the exports of developing economies in 2001. If farmers, processors, shippers, and retailers did not profit from providing distant consumers with these foods, the foods wouldn't be on store shelves. And consumers, of course, benefit from being able to buy fresh foods year around....

But for some activists, eating local foods is no longer just a pleasure—it is a moral obligation. [MORE]

Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States

An article from Environmental Science &.Technology illustrates another view on the "buy fresh, buy local produce" trend.

Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States

Despite significant recent public concern and media attention to the environmental impacts of food, few studies in the United States have systematically compared the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with food production against long-distance distribution, aka “food-miles.” We find that although food is transported long distances in general (1640 km delivery and 6760 km life-cycle supply chain on average) the GHG emissions associated with food are dominated by the production phase, contributing 83% of the average U.S. household’s 8.1 t CO2 e/yr footprint for food consumption. Transportation as a whole represents only 11% of life-cycle GHG emissions, and final delivery from producer to retail contributes only 4%. Different food groups exhibit a large range in GHG-intensity; on average, red meat is around 150% more GHG intensive than chicken or fish. Thus, we suggest that dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than “buying local.” Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food [MORE].

Scientific Proof That Ice Cream Makes You Happy!

At last!  we have an answer to that elusive question...Does ice cream make people happy?  Neuroscientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London scanned the brains of people eating vanilla ice cream. They found an immediate effect on parts of the brain known to activate when people enjoy themselves; these include the orbitofrontal cortex, the "processing" area at the front of the brain [MORE].

Learn more about the science and technololgy of ice cream making from the Unversity of Guelph here.

And while we're on the subject, visit the Penn State Creamery web site for more reasons why everyone loves ice cream.