$20K Food Analysis Contest: Utilize New Data

The American Heart Association invites investigators to use the first set of data from the Periodic Table of Food Initiative to study the role of food in health and medicine

06-Aug-2024 - The American Heart Association, celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health, announced the first data challenge inviting scientific researchers to use thefooddatabase from thePeriodic Table ...

What makes those pandemic-era sourdoughs so deliciously, uniquely, sour?

17-Aug-2023 - A few years ago, amid lockdown boredom, it seemed like everyone was perfecting their sourdoughs. A simple, fermented mixture of flour and water, the bread is powered by microbes that provide its one-of-a-kind tangy flavor. For over a hundred years, sourdough bread has been synonymous with San ...

Chocolate can be fruity or flowery — if you skip the roasting step

29-Jun-2023 - “Natural”foodsare trendy, and proponents claim that little or no processing helps preserve thefood’s inherent flavor. Research now published in ACS’Journal of Agricultural andFoodChemistryshows that, at least for certain artisanal, bean-to-bar chocolates, this could indeed be the case. The ...

Uncovering the Sweet Secrets of Snacks

01-Feb-2023 - Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, which means it’s time to buy chocolates and candies for that someone special. Or perhaps, you prefer healthier treats, in the form of fresh or dried fruits. Below are some recent papers published in ACS journals that investigate the complex way chocolate ...

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 ...

Wind turbine blades could someday be recycled into sweet treats

New turbine material by combining glass fibers with a plant-derived polymer and a synthetic one

25-Aug-2022 - Wind power is an increasingly popular form of renewable energy. However, when it’s time to replace the huge turbine blades that convert wind into electricity, disposal is a problem. Now, scientists report a new composite resin suitable for making these behemoths that could later be recycled into ...

Food allergies can be reversed in mice by targeting the microbiome

23-Aug-2022 - Although many people with dietary allergies experience mild symptoms when exposed to triggering foods, some face potentially fatal consequences. A bacterial compound called butyrate that’s made by healthy microbiomes has shown promise against allergic reactions in lab tests, but it’s nasty to ...

A bioelectronic tongue ‘tastes’ sweetness

01-Feb-2022 - Candy, cookies, juices. Just about everyone likes sweet treats, but what one person thinks tastes too sugary, another might think is just right. This variability makes it challenging to develop new foods and beverages, so companies have sought a more objective method. Now, researchers reporting ...

How the mold influences a chocolate bar's crystalline structure

02-Jun-2021 - When enjoying a chocolate bar, most people don't think about how the molecules within it are organized. But different arrangements of the fats in chocolate can influence its taste and texture. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Crystal Growth & Design have found that the side of a chocolate bar ...

Two compounds can make chocolate smell musty and moldy

29-Apr-2021 - Chocolate is a beloved treat, but sometimes the cocoa beans that go into bars and other sweets have unpleasant flavors or scents, making the final products taste bad. Surprisingly, only a few compounds associated with these stinky odors are known. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Journal of ...