Food & Beverage Technology

See what I did there? For many people, the Monday after Easter is covered in basket lining and hard-boiled colored eggs. So today I'm going to give you some fun egg facts to amaze your friends and family.

An egg is composed of eight different components as seen in the image. An egg shell is covered with as many as 17,000 tiny pores and is made almost entirely of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) crystals. Air and moisture can pass through the pores but the outermost layer helps keep out bacteria and dust. Between the shell and the egg white are the outer and inner membranes. These layers are made partly of keratin. They are very strong and protect against bacteria. The air cell forms when the contents of the egg cool and contract after the egg is laid. Fun Fact: The air cell accounts for the crater often seen at the end of a hard-cooked egg. The albumen, also known as the egg white, is composed of four alternating layers of thick and thin albumen, which contain 40 different proteins. The yolk contains less water, more protein, some fat, and vitamins and minerals such as iron, vitamin A, vitamin D, phosphorus, calcium, thiamine, and riboflavin. The yolk is a source of lecithin, an effective emulsifier.

^{Image Credit:Exploratorium.edu}

Egg whites contain a high amount of protein, which change form when they are heated, beaten, or mixed. The proteins in an egg white are globular proteins, which are long protein molecules that are twisted, folded, and curled up into a spherical shape. Weak chemical bonds keep the protein curled and it floats in the surrounding water. As an egg is heated, the egg white proteins are agitated and the bonds keeping the protein curled begin to break. New chemical bonds form between the long proteins. After enough agitating, the proteins form a network of interconnected proteins and the water is captured and held in the protein web. Fun Fact: if you leave the egg at a high temperature too long, too many bonds will form and the egg white will become rubbery.

^{Image Credit: kitchensinkwisdom.com}

While they aren't relevant to the day after Easter, raw eggs can do some really cool stuff too. Egg yolks, which are largely made of fat and lecithin, are responsible for binding ingredients together and emulsifying sauces such as hollandaise. An emulsion is used when you want an oil-based and water-based liquid to mix together. Egg whites provide strength and stability to baked goods. A beaten egg white can increase to eight times its volume. This happens as air bubbles are added to the unfolded proteins. Egg white proteins contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic amino acids. When the protein is curled up, the hydrophobic amino acids are packed in the center, but as they are beaten the protein uncurls so the hydrophilic parts can be mixed with the surrounding water. Once the proteins uncurl, they bond with each other, creating a network that holds the air bubbles in place.

^{(How much do you want to bet he's already had a sip of one of those cups?) Image Credit: blog.magazine.com}

So did I amaze you? No…OK, well I hope I at least taught you something. If you want to be amazed, check out some of the links below as you're eating your egg salad sandwich!

Stupid Egg Tricks (including, but not limited to, a pickled egg, egg in a bottle, and secret message eggs)

How to make perfect hard boiled eggs

How to tell if an egg is raw or hard boiled

Post - Easter Meals

Cool things made from egg cartons

100 Ways to Crack an Egg

Fun and Easy Egg Experiments

Exploding Egg

Over the past few years I've learned to appreciate beer as one would appreciate wine. I love discovering unique craft beers and supporting local breweries. After visiting and touring several breweries, I've come to realize that making beer is as much a science as it is an art. While I've talked about beer before, I haven't addressed the many nuances that go into making beer.

^{Image Credit: Beernexus.com}

There's no way I could talk about all the different parts of beer in one post: if you're interested I could start a series similar to the Popular Science: BeerSci column, but today we're going to talk about froth.

Froth, foam, head; all terms used to describe the bubbles that sit on top of a beer when it's poured. Foam is one of the areas beer connoisseurs look for when evaluating a beer. It's important for not only aesthetics, but also for locking in the aromas which define the personality of the beer. The foam is tiny carbon dioxide bubbles and micobubbles. Tall and tick froth foams on ales and "lighter" beers, while a smooth, creaming foam appears on stouts and "darker" beers. Proteins in the yeast keep the bubbles stabilized and supported, preventing them from dissolving into the beer too quickly. Scientists from Spain and Australia made the discovery and explained that protein from the barley and yeast used to make beer contribute to the quality of its foam.

^{CO₂ also makes the blueberries dance. Image Credit: Personal photo.}

Foam is stabilized by molecules including hop-derived organic acids and glycoproteins around a volume of gas. Glycoproteins attach to sugar groups and come in many forms, such as mannoproteins, that is, each protein chain has many mannose - a six-carbon sugar similar to glucose - molecules attached to it. Glycoproteins are mostly hydrophobic (aggregate in water) due to the protein, but the mannose side-groups are hydrophilic (dissolves in water). This causes the foam stabilization: the hydrophobic proteins line the interface with the carbon dioxide gas, while the hydrophilic sugar groups hold onto a bit of the water in the beer and keep the walls intact.

^{Image Credit}

An article was recently published which explained the part of the protein which was responsible for lifting the foam and prevent it from dissolving. This foam-making gene is named CFG1(Carlsbergensis foaming gene 1) and is similar to other yeast genes found in other types of alcoholic beverages (wine and sake). CFG1 was isolated from Saccharomyces pastorianus and its function is to encode the cell wall protein.

The consequence of this discovery is that future beer may have pro

longed and more robust aroma. Since foam is already a natural occurrence in beer, many local and small scale breweries take pride in the head they've created for their beers. That being said, this discovery will probably be used by large production breweries that have the resources and the need to make their beers look and smell better. When the researchers deleted the CFG1 gene, the foam on the resultant beer was greatly reduced--great news for beer drinkers who view a big foam head as a waste of space in the glass where beer could go.

^{Image Credit: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry}

Resources

The Art and Science of Beer Foam

BeerSci: How to Make Beer Foamier

Several big name food companies are facing lawsuits about their genetically modified products and whether it is false advertising to label them as "natural." What makes a plant or animal product natural in the first place? Does genetic manipulation of any kind, including cross-breeding, render a product "unnatural?"

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Food & Beverage Technology, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Food & Beverage Technology today.

Global food safety is growing concern for many emerging economies. China and India are grappling, in many cases successfully, with ways to improve their products for export. But with the various governments and regulatory bodies at work, who becomes the ultimate arbiter for the safety of the world's food?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Food & Beverage Technology, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Food & Beverage Technology today.

Researchers at GE have been experimenting with transgenic salmon since the early 80's. They have engineered a Chinook salmon that can withstand lower temperatures, enabling it to survive cold winters. But, their work is not without controversy. Some argue that genetically altered fish may contribute to the extinction of native species. Will genetically engineered salmon be accepted by consumers? Are there ramifications for species in the natural environment?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Food & Beverage Technology, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Food & Beverage Technology today.

Many people who eat meat want factory farming and industrial agriculture to change their slaughterhouse practices to ensure the humane treatment of animals. There are some new technologies on the market that promise just that, including the use of low atmospheric pressure to stun chickens. Proponents claim the process is painless, but is improvement in the slaughtering process enough for a company to call itself humane? What about living conditions and feeding procedures?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Food & Beverage Technology, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Food & Beverage Technology today.