The Science of Food

Why does grape candy taste so fake? What on earth is blue raspberry, anyway?

Throughout human history, if you wanted to make a dish taste like strawberry, you had no choice but to add a strawberry. But in the 19th century, scientists began to understand how to synthesize flavor chemicals, whether from plants or from byproducts of coal processing, to evoke familiar flavors.

While the technology to evaluate the flavor molecules of a particular food have become increasingly sophisticated in the past century, the basic concept of synthetic flavor has remained unchanged. Until now. In this episode of Gastropod, molecular biologists explain how they're designing yeasts to ferment the tastes of the future. [MORE]

Probing Question: What is the difference between ice cream and gelato?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for . . . gelato? Frozen treats used to be a simple summertime pleasure, with the toughest choice being chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla. In many supermarkets today, the frozen dessert aisle is packed with options ranging from imported Italian hazelnut gelato and French grapefruit sorbet to Japanese green tea mochi.

Are all of these products simply ice cream with different names? Or is there a substantive difference between them?

 [MORE]

Cheese is the chameleon of the food world

. . . as well as one of its greatest delights. Fresh and light or funky and earthy, creamy and melty or crystalline and crumbly — no other food offers such a variety of flavors and textures.

But cheese is not just a treat for the palate: its discovery changed the course of Western civilization, and, today, cheese rinds are helping scientists conduct cutting-edge research into microbial ecology. [MORE]

The home kitchen of 2050 may be almost unrecognizable compared with its present-day counterpart, as evolving technology promises to boost interactivity between consumers and appliances in dramatic ways. Find out more about hyperconnected "smart" appliances, kitchens that can keep you healthier, and the vast potential of 3-D food printers, plus an exclusive slide show: “10 New Tools for a Foodie’s Kitchen.” [MORE]

Can Biohackers Succeed At Making 'Real Vegan Cheese'?

A group  of Oakland, California-based biohackers believe they can create “real vegan cheese.” Their goal - a cheese made with no animal products that fully evokes the real dairy deal The team will insert bovine DNA — which is chemically synthesized and does not come from an animal — into living baker's yeast cells, temporarily turning the yeast into a so-called "protein factory" that produces milk protein.

The biohackers then extract that protein from the yeast and combine it with water, vegetable butter, and vegan sugar (instead of lactose), to make a milk substitute. Finally, this vegan milk can be turned into Real Vegan Cheese in the same way that normal cheese is produced from cow milk. The final food product will be a semi-hard cheese like Gouda. It will be totally vegan — and lactose-free. [MORE]

Why do we love snack food?

Penn State food science experts study why we love chips, chocolate and other famous Pennsylvania foods, and offer expertise to the state’s snack food industry.

Although the Steelers and Eagles didn’t make it to the Super Bowl this year, Pennsylvania and Penn State will still be represented on game day — on your plate. And more likely than not, Penn State experts have had a hand in developing, or evolving, many of the Keystone State’s famous finger foods.

While Nittany Lion alumni will represent Penn State Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium, Pennsylvania food industries’ wares will be served at Super Bowl parties nationwide. Companies from around the commonwealth — referred to as the snack food belt — supply many of the Sunday afternoon munchies enjoyed while calling plays from the couch.

If your potato chips are from Utz, Middleswarth, Martin’s, Snyder’s of Hanover or Snyder of Berlin — just to name a few — the snack came from some region of Pennsylvania. [MORE]

Not All Industrial Food Is Evil

New York Time's Mark Bittman on food and all things related.

I’VE long wondered how producing a decent ingredient, one that you can buy in any supermarket, really happens. Take canned tomatoes, of which I probably use 100 pounds a year. It costs $2 to $3 a pound to buy hard, tasteless, “fresh” plum tomatoes, but only half that for almost two pounds of canned tomatoes that taste much better. How is that possible? [More]

Blessed are the cheesemakers

From Chemistry World 29 November 2013. As metal arms twirl across a vat of liquid whose buttery yellow colour hints at its destiny, bacteria, enzymes and proteins are doing their own dance beneath the surface. As a well-washed and sanitised hand reaches in, small particles emerge from the pleasant warmth of this molecular waltz. ‘Our aim is to make world-class cheese,’ explains Mary Quicke, managing director of Quicke’s Traditional, a small dairy based in Newton St Cyres, a village in the south west of England. And although producing the tastiest cheeses is an art, success depends on mastering complex biochemical processes like those in the vat. [MORE]

The science and magic of jam-making

Commercial jams are the sickly sweet sisters of homemade jam, but a grasp of the science will help you get yours just right. [MORE]

The History of Ice Cream

No specific person has officially been credited with inventing ice cream. Its origins date back as far as 200 B.C., when people in China created a dish of rice mixed with milk that was then frozen by being packed in snow. The Chinese King Tang of Shang is thought to have had over ninety “ice men” who mixed flour, camphor, and buffalo milk with ice. The Chinese are also credited with inventing the first “ice cream machine.” They had pots they filled with a syrupy mixture, which they then packed into a mixture of snow and salt. [More]

Learn more about ice cream manufacturing at the Penn State Creamery web site.