2024 March

A research team, affiliated with UNIST has achieved a groundbreaking feat by observing the dissolution of salt in water at the atomic level and experimentally uncovering the underlying principle.

Portugal is known for its delicious food, but it also has plenty to offer when it comes to drinks. Take a look at the liqueurs, coffee, and wines of Portugal.

Yes, your favorite fruity drink probably contains apple juice, but don't worry! There's no apple juice conspiracy afoot. It's always been there.

If you thought there was only one variety of dragon fruit, you might be surprised to learn that these delicious cactus fruits actually come in four types.

Looking for a healthy and tasty way to add seasoning? Made from a sea vegetable, green salt is the pantry item you'll be sprinkling on everything.

The disturbing new normal.

Earlier springs due to climate change are wreaking havoc in orchards.

NZ’s sheep industry could be one of the biggest losers with the rise of alternative proteins. Once profitable industries will need to be ready to pivot away from animal-based products.

Brazzein (Brz) is a sweet-tasting protein composed of 54 amino acids and is considered as a potential sugar substitute. The current methods for obtaining brazzein are complicated, and limited information is available regarding its thermal stability. In this study, we successfully expressed recombinant brazzein, achieving a sweetness threshold of 15.2 μg/mL. Subsequently, we conducted heat treatments at temperatures of 80, 90, 95, and 100 °C for a duration of 2 h to investigate the structural changes in the protein. Furthermore, we employed hydrogen–deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to analyze the effect of heating on the protein structure–sweetness relationships. Our results indicated that the thermal inactivation process primarily affects residues 6–14 and 36–45 of brazzein, especially key residues Tyr8, Tyr11, Ser14, Glu36, and Arg43, which are closely associated with its sweetness. These findings have significant implications for improving the thermal stability of brazzein.

Here's a refreshing look into how this odd little bit of consumer-minded science became a craze so quickly, and how it dissolved out of favor almost as fast.

Non-alcoholic beverages were on full display at Natural Products Expo West 2024 last week, as hop-heavy brands like Hoplark, H2OPS, and Lagunitas shared how they are tapping into consumer demands for bold and interesting flavors.

Here’s what that could mean for your garden.

We eat tasty and nutritious foods produced by nature and transformed through processing including cooking. Their unique microstructures started to be …

Heritage orchard at RHS Rosemoor to be sampled this spring as part of search for previously unrecorded ‘survivor’ cultivars

When it comes to eggs, you've probably heard that those with darker orange yolks are best. But is this true? Here's the meaning of orange egg yolks, explained.

Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return

Major African cocoa plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana have stopped or cut processing because they cannot afford to buy beans.

Contrary to prevailing logic, Nescafé, the world's first globally distributed instant coffee brand, wasn't developed as a modern convenience for homemakers.

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in America but the U.S. doesn't even come into the top 10 of worldwide producers. Here's the number one country.

A groundbreaking theory claims that everything in existence possesses some form of consciousness — including the Sun itself.

It's hard to imagine modern Italian cuisine without pasta, but these versatile noodles haven't always been intertwined with the nation's culture.

Predictions are part of the annual flavor trends forecast from Innova.

To truly grip us, philosophy must engage with the practical and animalistic. It’s time to stop turning its nose up at smell

Writer Danny Wallace celebrates his favourite aroma, with help from Michel Roux, an award-winning hot dog stand owner and the executive vice-president of the US National Onion Association

Nowadays, the truffle aroma attribute is not included as a quality parameter in the current recommendation that explains the truffle quality (UNECE standard 53 FFV3) and establishes the truffle commercial categories. However, the aroma is the main reason why truffles are worldwide appreciated. Indeed, more than 30 aromatic molecules compose it, and this is the reason why the human evaluation and identification of these odorants, without previous training, is quite subjective. Analytical techniques such as gas chromatography techniques, however, can establish an aromatic profile and detect potential aromatic markers. In this study, 16 tasting experts were trained to make more objective the truffle aroma evaluation and odorants identification. For this, a comparison between solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and sensory expert evaluation was carried out in six sessions during different harvesting times in the black truffle season (December, January, and February). Both techniques were able to separate truffles depending on the harvesting time. Also, a list of volatile organic compounds related to the aromatic attributes was reported. This information will help to provide a more objective T. melanosporum truffle sensory evaluation.

Is there anything coffee can't do?

Shrub sea buckthorn berries rich source of natural antioxidants may offer the untapped potential for a range of health benefits from cardiovascular protection to anti-inflammatory properties according to research recently published in the Society of Chemical Industry’s Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture which was carried out by researchers at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada.

Researchers find that rose essential oil activates tomato defense genes and attracts herbivore predators that protect th...

Outside the warehouse in northwestern Spain, it's a freezing, foggy morning but inside it's balmy, the warmth and LED lights fooling 360 hop plants to flower as if it were late August.