Many consumers have developed a taste for plant-based meat alternatives in the past decade. In the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News, we look at what these alternatives are made from and how chemistry is used to improve their appearance and flavour. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
December is here, and that means it’s Chemistry Advent season! It’s been a few years since I’ve put together a new edition, but it’s back this year with the theme “A Festive Food Journey Around the World.”
Cooking is chemistry, so it should come as no surprise that chemical knowledge can help in the kitchen. The latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN includes four practical tips and the science behind them. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
Alcohol: Well known to be carcinogenic to humans. Despite this, a large proportion of the population drink it regularly. More surprisingly, whenever the International Agency for Research on Cancer updates its carcinogen classifications for other substances with a lower cancer risk, there’s often media fanfare. In recent years, the IARC has upgraded classifications for red meat and aspartame, leading to a spate of panicked articles. This republished and updated post takes a look at what the classification groups actually mean, and how worried we should be about a substance’s classification.
The first vinegars were accidents of oxidation, wine left out too long which turned sour. The word vinegar even derives from the Latin for ‘sour wine’. Today, varieties of vinegar range from balsamic to rice vinegar, produced on a commercial basis. This graphic takes a look at some of the chemical quirks of the different types.
Though there are hundreds of different types of cheese, their manufacture follows some common steps. In the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News, we take a look at the biochemical processes that turn milk into cheese. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
