DailyDirt: Cooking Up Something New...

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Fri, Sep 16th 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

The science of food has led to some pretty important discoveries as modern technology is applied to more and more food processing techniques. While some folks are suspicious of foods that have indefinite shelf lives, being able to avoid billions of tons of food waste can't be all bad. Here are just a few quick links on some interesting food findings.

Food scientists now know that the melting point of sucrose depends on how fast you heat it. Apparently, sugar decomposes with heat, and knowing this, researchers could develop tastier candies or better pharmaceuticals. [url]
Some harmless bacteria in the human gut produce bisin -- which could be the next "organic" food preservative. Bisin kills off stuff like E. coli, salmonella and listeria -- and could allow foods like meat, dairy and eggs to go unspoiled for years. [url]
Would you really want to eat a chili pepper that requires protective gear to harvest? The secret to growing them could be "worm juice" in the fertilizer. [url]
To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: bisin, chili, food, preservative, science, sucrose

6 Comments

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Beta (profile), 16 Sep 2011 @ 9:45pm

machismo is almost an anagram for masochism
Here in the U.S, anyone trying to sell a chili that must be harvested with protective gauntlets and respirator masks would be a fool not to use that in the advertising.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Sep 2011 @ 11:45pm

Re: machismo is almost an anagram for masochism
If these chilis are grown in significant quantity, won't machines be doing most of the harvesting?
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Sep 2011 @ 10:00am

Re: machismo is almost an anagram for masochism
You have to make the advertisement make it clear it is because of the hotness of the thing and not because it is toxic waste that could kill you.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2011 @ 6:26am

My question is this, and it happens on the food channel all the time with that jerkoff that goes around eating food. I think its "Man Vs. Food"

The guy watches the cook put the peppers in the food. He is told that the chef needs to wear goggles and not one, not two, but three pairs of latex globes. This is to keep the chili pepper oil off the chefs skin, I guess because that would be dangerous.

Then the host eats the food.

Why would anyone put in their mouth something that the chef wouldn't want to touch?
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2011 @ 6:40am

Re:
When preparing the food, you'll have much longer exposure to the hot food than when you just eat it.

This weekend, I made homemade jalapeno poppers and did not wear gloves...bad idea. My hand still burn (its Monday), but I ate them and my mouth and belly are just fine.

It's the length of exposure that matters and necessitates the protective gear for the food prep staff.
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Doug, 12 Oct 2011 @ 12:21pm

Re: Re:
I made salsa before a camping/kayaking trip, and the jalapenos were especially potent. Using my fingers to put in contact lenses DAYS LATER was impossible without searing my eyeballs, and I had to keep my hands dangling in the water for the whole kayaking trip. That stuff can really bond with your skin.
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