Fruit juice offers a fresh take on kombucha

30-Sep-2024 - Kombucha is a fizzy, tangy drink made by fermenting tea. But brewers are now fermenting other plant-based drinks to explore nutritional properties and flavors. Researchers inACS Agricultural Science & Technologycompared the biochemistry and flavor of kombucha with brews made from apple and ...

How milk proteins interact with caffeine in espresso

10-Jun-2024 - The swirl ofmilkand espresso — a small storm in your mug — doesn’t impact the dynamics of themilkproteins, according to research published inACSFoodScience & Technology. Researchers took a molecular view of howmilkproteins and caffeine molecules interact in water and in acoffeedrink. ...

Cocoa pods — a source of chocolate, and potentially, flame retardants

19-Oct-2023 - As Halloween approaches, so too does the anticipation of a trick-or-treating stash filled with fun-sized chocolate candy bars. But to satisfy our collective craving for this indulgence, millions of cocoa pods are harvested annually. While the beans and pulp go to make chocolate, their husks are ...

Using ‘spent’ coffee and tea to boost shelf life and nutritional value of cakes

22-Sep-2023 - On a crisp fall afternoon, there are few pairings better than a hot beverage and a sweet pastry. But what if you could use the left-over tea leaves or coffee grounds from the drink to make that tasty treat a healthier one, too? Researchers reporting inACS Omegahave done just that by ...

Using science to help avocados stay fresh

15-May-2023 - Smashed on toast, creamed in guacamole or blended into salad dressing, avocados always seem to be popular. However, the fruits are notoriously finicky, going from pale green and firm to brown and mushy in the blink of an eye. Now, researchers inACSFoodScience & Technologyreport a ...

Are your strawberries bland? Pesticides could be to blame

How fungicides can ruin the sweetness and nutritional value of strawberries

01-Mar-2023 - Have you ever bitten into a plump, red strawberry, only to find it bland and watery? Certain pesticides might be responsible. A team reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has found that two common strawberry fungicides can impact cellular mechanisms, creating berries with ...

Recent advances in chocolate research

31-Oct-2022 - Chocolate has been appreciated as a delicacy for thousands of years, and it’s easy to see why. The luscious and luxurious treat can give you a little pick-me-up toward the end of a hard day, or provide a sweet ending to a fine meal. You might think we know everything about chocolate by now, but ...

Toward a fully edible sensor showing if frozen food has previously thawed

17-Oct-2022 - When you’re standing in the frozen food aisle, it’s nearly impossible to know whether that Salisbury steak has thawed and refrozen — a process with potentially harmful consequences. So, researchers reporting in ACS Sensors have designed a food-grade device from edible materials, including table ...

Human cells take in less protein from a plant-based meat than from chicken

24-Jun-2022 - Many people have now embraced the plant-based meat movement. Plants high in protein, such as soybeans, are common ingredients, but it’s been unclear how much of the nutrient makes it into human cells. In ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers report that proteins in a model ...

A wild strawberry aroma for foods — from a fungus growing on fruit waste

19-Nov-2021 - The wild strawberry is even more highly prized than its store-bought cousin because of its intense aroma and uniquely sweet taste. However, they’re hard to find in the wild, so some companies make synthetic versions of this flavor. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and ...