Each September, emissaries from some of the nation’s biggest food companies gather at Rutgers University’s New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, in New Brunswick, for a two-day crash course aimed at helping them decode the science of human taste. Attendees from brands like Nabisco and Chipotle, and from government agencies like the U.S.D.A., might learn to map the chemical flavor profile of apple juice in order to identify abnormalities by smell. They might create a vocabulary for the scent, sight, texture, and taste of toast, to create a common language with which to evaluate baked goods. And they might design a taste test to determine whether chocolate-chip-cookie consumers really prefer more chips per bite, or just like seeing the words “extra chocolate” on a label… Our first assignment was to learn how to “calibrate” our taste buds. Just as an orchestra gets in tune before each performance, professionals who are evaluating a food product should get on the same page with their terms. What, for example, qualifies as “salty” in a particular kind of cheese? What qualifies as “sweet”?… The most fun exercise – and the most useful one for an ordinary cheese lover – was the lesson on aromas.
Archives for September 2015
Forget the Mousetrap – Rutgers Builds a Better Catnip
First they bred a better strawberry. Next up, a retro tomato. Now the Rutgers Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station has tackled catnip, coming up with a variety that is taller, heartier, and more potent… The university – which owns the patent for the plant – recently licensed the new plant to an Illinois seed distributor for commercial use… “We developed a super catnip that can survive northern winters and produce copious amounts of aromatic oil, with a special composition that is rich in the bioactive compound that repels the mosquitoes away and drives cats wild,” said James Simon, a professor at the Rutgers School of Environment and Biological Sciences… The plant was cultivated through conventional breeding, where different strains are bred, then the most desirable offspring selected for the next round of breeding… Doctoral student William Reichert, who is studying the genetics of catnip for his thesis, said the new Rutgers variety outperforms all the commercial catnip currently on the market.
Scientists Are Now Saying That A Little More Vitamin D Could Go A Long Way to Prevent Cognitive Decline
Scientists have been very interested in finding ways to ward off cognitive decline and the latest studies now indicate that it could be as simple as spending more time in the sun… The study comes out of the University of California at Davis as well as some efforts from Rutgers University. Researcher Joshua Miller, of Rutgers, notes, “This work, and that of others, suggests that there is enough evidence to recommend that people in their 60s and older discuss taking a daily vitamin D supplement with their physicians. Even if doing so proves to not be effective, there’s still very low health risk to doing it.”… Miller comments that insufficient vitamin D has, in fact, been shown to be linked to significantly faster decline in both episodic memory and executive function. This is the difference between remembering isolated moments and organizational thought… Finally, the researchers conclude, “Independent of race or ethnicity, baseline cognitive ability, and a host of other risk factors, VitD insufficiency was associated with significantly faster declines in both episodic memory and executive function performance, which may correspond to elevated risk for incident AD [Alzheimer disease] dementia.”
Alumni Story: Jessica Ware (GSNB ’08) – Chasing Dragonflies
Celebrated in art and literature over the centuries, dragonflies continue to fascinate people, and none more than Jessica Ware (GSNB-Entomology ’08). An assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Rutgers-Newark College of Arts and Sciences, Jessica credits her Canadian upbringing for her passion for dragonflies. “I thank my grandparents, Gwen and Harold […]
Rutgers Announces ‘N.J.-Israel Healthy, Functional and Medical Foods Alliance’
On Friday, Representatives from Rutgers, Israel’s Tel-Hai College and its Economic Development Taskforce, Choose NJ and the New Jersey state government gathered at the new facility for Rutgers’ New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health… A…
Researchers Create Heartier Catnip Breed For Specialized Commercial Farmers
A bigger more hearty catnip plant – whose enriched oil not only promises to drive cats crazy with pleasure but also may be a safer, more effective mosquito repellent – has been developed for specialized commercial farmers by Rutgers University… The Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), which has spent more than a decade developing the new breed, CR9, for the insect repellant and pet toy industries recently licensed the product to Ball Horticulture, an Illinois company that will produce the seeds for commercial farmers… “In the past catnip wasn’t grown much because the plant itself was never developed to generate commercially acceptable yields from its leaves and flowers which produce its aromatic volatiles oils, and thus, wasn’t profitable” said James Simon, professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology at the Rutgers School of Environment and Biological Sciences who led the plant breeding in the development of the new catnip variety… Catnip oil has also been shown to repel flies, cockroaches, termites, dust mites and deer ticks and is being suggested as an organic pesticide for peach orchards and potato fields. The problem is that it has been too expensive to use as a repellent.
Rutgers Develops “Super Catnip”
A bigger more hearty catnip plant – whose enriched oil not only promises to drive cats crazy with pleasure but also may be a safer, more effective mosquito repellent – has been developed for specialized commercial farmers by Rutgers University… A super catnip has been developed by Rutgers that will allow commercial farmers to grow bigger yields at more affordable prices… The Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), which has spent more than a decade developing the new breed, CR9, for the insect repellant and pet toy industries recently licensed the product to Ball Horticulture, an Illinois company that will produce the seeds for commercial farmers… “In the past catnip wasn’t grown much because the plant itself was never developed to generate commercially acceptable yields from its leaves and flowers which produce its aromatic volatiles oils, and thus, wasn’t profitable” said James Simon, professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Pathology at the Rutgers School of Environment and Biological Sciences who led the plant breeding in the development of the new catnip variety.
The Quest to Resurrect America’s Best Tomato
It might seem strange that the state known for mobsters, gas refineries and toxic superfund sites also gave the world one of the most delicious fruits known to man: the plump, red and juicy Jersey tomato… Food scientists have been tinkering with the molecular structure of the tomato for years, so tomato processors who now harvest by machine could have fruit that easily falls off the stem. Scientists also thickened the tomato’s skin and interior walls so they were more durable during the shipping process… But scientists at Rutgers University want to change that – they’re trying to bring the Jersey tomato back to its mouthwatering heyday… “You don’t know how good they were until you’ve tasted one. They really were just out of this world,” said William Hlubik, a faculty member with the Rutgers Cooperative Research & Extension.
What Exactly Is The Microwave Doing To Your Food? Here’s The Science
Americans have been using microwave ovens for about 60 years, and we finally seemed convinced that they’re safe as well as convenient… But it seems we just can’t stop wondering if microwaved foods are somehow less nutritious than the same foods cooked on the stove or in a conventional oven. As it turns out, scientists say, microwaved foods may be more nutritious than you probably thought… “Any process that heats a food (microwaving, baking, boiling, frying, etc.) reduces the level of heat sensitive vitamins. The details depend on the time and temperature and the specific vitamin,” Dr. Don Schaffner, extension specialist in food science and professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, told The Huffington Post in an email.
Low Vitamin D Level Linked To Faster Cognitive Decline
Aside from maintaining healthy bones and boosting the immune system, vitamin D is essential to maintaining cognitive function, recent studies have shown… In fact, vitamin D deficiency may be causing a decrease in memory retention and thinking abiliti…