May 2013
1 post
9 tags
Reinventing the Egg
Even if you’re not watching your cholesterol, there are plenty of reasons to avoid eating eggs. Ethical issues aside, industrial eggs provide only about 20% of the energy it takes to produce them. And while some egg substitutes do exist, they often pale in comparison to the real thing. Josh Tetrick, the CEO of Hampton Creek Foods, thinks we can do better. Read more…
Video...
9 tags
Baking Without Eggs
With the Science of Pie coming up in just a few weeks, we’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about baked goods. And one ingredient in particular has really captured our imagination—the egg! In the realm of baked goods, eggs are highly revered for their binding and leavening abilities. The fats and proteins within an egg can also contribute to important properties like...
April 2013
3 posts
6 tags
Tropical Fruit Inspires Innovative Research
Two weeks from now, renowned Brazilian chef Alex Atala will be joining Science & Food for the first 2013 public lecture at UCLA. Chef Atala has generated a lot of buzz in the food world by discovering and classifying new ingredients from the Amazon basin. But Atala isn’t the only one looking to the South American rain forest for inspiration. By...
March 2013
1 post
7 tags
kitchen programming 101
For a long time, I wasn’t a big fan of rice. It just seemed so… boring. Sure, it was a great base for curry or stir fry, but I never caught myself thinking, “Hey, I’d really like to chow down on some rice right now.” Then I met my boyfriend husband*. He LOVES rice. Give him a big bowl of plain white rice and he’s good to go. Give him some rice with a little soy...
February 2013
2 posts
5 tags
The Flavor Network
Physicist Albert-László Barabási likes making connections. By studying networks, Barabási and his Northeastern University research group improve our understanding of everything from the internet to human disease.
Now Barabási and colleagues are using networks to learn more about the way we eat. Read more…
4 tags
Remember that time I told you about an amazing food science lecture series at UCLA? Well, Science & Food is back and better than ever. Not only will they be presenting three new public lectures this spring, but they’ve also been hard at work creating awesome new internet content. Oh, and yours truly will be helping out! It’ll be like Bite-Sized Biology on food science steroids.
...
January 2013
1 post
4 tags
WatchIt’s been said that to make a truly great discovery, a researcher needs two of three things: an outstanding work ethic, a touch of genius, and really good luck.
Hard work and a strong intellect make sense, but… Luck?
It’s astonishing how many breakthrough scientific discoveries can be attributed to chance. Sometimes it’s about being in the right place at the right time. And sometimes...
December 2012
3 posts
7 tags
"sweet, sweet nutmeg"
This time of year, I look forward to two things: pigging out on holiday cookies and watching cheesy holiday specials. Somehow the holidays don’t seem complete without a rousing chorus of “Christmas Time is Here” or a trip to the Island of Misfit Toys. And don’t forget about all the great food-related scenes! The Grinch carving the “roast beast” in Whoville;...
3 tags
Looking to mix things up this holiday season? Want your cookies to stand out in a crowd? Maybe you just like super awesome things? If you answered yes to any of these questions, be sure to check out this epic gallery of science cookies from Not So Humble Pie.
There you’ll find everything from edible circuit boards to surprisingly appetizing petri dishes. You’ll even see my favorite...
Bite-Sized Biology is now on Twitter!
Come chill with me (@bitesizedbio) in the Twittersphere — we can swap food science links, tweet at our food science heroes (I’m looking at you @altonbrown and @Harold_McGee), and make up crazy new hashtags like #thesugarcode.
Let’s do this!
November 2012
3 posts
5 tags
"Are you there Brain? It's me, Stomach."
Quick! What’s your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?
a. Spending time with friends and family b. The long weekend c. That crazy parade with all the floats d. Eating more food than you thought was humanly possible
Since you’re reading a food blog, I’m just going to assume you picked “d” and that, like me, you spend the weeks months before...
madelongline asked: I WISH YOU WOULD POST EVERYDAY. Your posts are awesome!
3 tags
srosehaynes asked: Hi there. I'm a Nutrition student and absolutely love you blog. I'm a California resident and with the elections going on tomorrow, I was wondering your stance on California's Prop 37: the labeling initiative of GMOs. Considering your background, I would love to hear your thoughts on this increasingly controversial topic. Thanks! Sara
October 2012
2 posts
Remember last year when the internet was freaking...
5 tags
does this triglyceride make me look fat?
While cooking, I usually make an effort to cut down the fat in my favorite recipes. If I can get away with it, I’ll swap out butter for vegetable oils or use low fat cheeses and milk in place of their heavier counterparts. But sometimes, I just have to give in. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a giant serving of ooey-gooey full-fat goodness. I mean, how could anyone say no to a...
August 2012
5 posts
...and we're back!
First things first: a BIG welcome to all you new followers and an even bigger thank you to all of you for sticking around while I was away. I promise there will be plenty of new posts here at Bite-Sized Biology!
Here’s something awesome you might have missed these last few months: a series of food science lectures at UCLA. Check out some of the highlights…
The Exploration of...
studyingcookbooks asked: Hey, I'm glad I found your blog! Seldom had insights such as these - and get to polish my biochemistry while reading about food..."Baby peppers" are a common occurence in my peppers and I always wondered about that (on of them once had twins - it was sort of sad killing a complete pepper familiy...). Thank-you!
sarayisthename asked: I am in absolute love with your blog. thank you!
humusandpeata asked: Your blog is excellent! This kind of scientific writing about everyday things is what my blog was intended to be, but now it's only every so often. I'm a college graduate with a bachelors of science in environmental biology and a minor in writing and I absolutely love food science and cooking. I find parallels between biology, chemistry, and cooking every time I cook. I believe I'm...
moderncooking asked: Man, I just came a cross your blog. I just started using tumblr after it was recommended to me by my girlfriend. I've always been fascinated by food which is why I'm graduating from culinary school this may (Johnson & Wales in Providence). The biochemistry of food fascinates me to the fullest. I love to read books by Harold Mcgee and Herve This, but I always have trouble with some of...
February 2012
1 post
5 tags
the peculiar case of the puny pepper
Have you ever cut open a bell pepper only to find a strange little surprise waiting for you inside? The first time this happened to me, it seriously freaked me out. I mean, just look at it! What on earth could that possibly be?! A pepper baby? A parasitic twin? An alien pod?
It turns out that these strange peppery growths aren’t that uncommon. Inside Insides caught a glimpse of one in an...
January 2012
3 posts
4 tags
the secret life of sugar
Happy new year from Bite-Sized Biology! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. One of my favorite ways to celebrate the holidays is to bake lots of holiday cookies, and this year I made a big batch of molasses spice cookies for my lab’s holiday cookie exchange. They were so tasty that they disappeared before I could even take a picture! In return, I received every kind of cookie from...
dlnpnndhk asked: your blog is REALLY amazing. you're kind of motivate me :) I study food technology (still grad student). maybe someday we can work together!
somuchbakwaas asked: I'm an undergrad student of genetics and I want to go to grad school... and my interest in cooking is growing. Your blog is so cool, I'm so glad I found it!
November 2011
1 post
3 tags
putting the "pop" back in popovers
Hi there! I hope you all had an amazing summer and are enjoying this fabulous fall season. While I was away, I spent two months playing mad scientist in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This involved lots of science, seafood and… popovers! For some reason I just can’t understand, California has yet to embrace the utter awesomeness that is popovers. So when this California girl met these bad...
June 2011
3 posts
4 tags
a bit of science for the summer
Bite-Sized Biology will be taking a short break over the summer. I know, I know… I’m bummed about it, too. But between being away for an intense seven-week cell biology class and studying for my PhD qualifying exam, I really won’t have any extra time for blogging. But don’t worry! There’s still lots of food and science fun to be had, and I’ll be back in action before you know it.
In the meantime,...
2 tags
"from silent spring to silent night"
About week or so ago, I went to a particularly fantastic research seminar given by Dr. Tyrone Hayes from UC Berkeley. In addition to being an excellent scientist, Dr. Hayes has gained a lot of attention for being a particularly outspoken advocate for the banning of atrazine.
First registered with the EPA in 1958, atrazine is now one of the most widely used agricultural herbicides in the world....
redblackapron asked: Your blog is amazing! I love to bake and always research on why certain reactions happen when you mix different ingredients together or when you cook things different ways. Most people may think that baking (or cooking) is just an art but it really is a science too! :)
May 2011
4 posts
How exciting to be featured alongside so many fabulous food blogs in Tumblr’s new Food Spotlight. A big thank you to Tumblr and an even bigger welcome to all of you who are new to Bite-Sized Biology!
Be sure to also check out the awesome blogging over in the Science Spotlight. There’s lots of great stuff you won’t want to miss!
stevenhle asked: What are you going to grad school for?
I'm currently pre-med, sorta and kind of want to switch to culinary arts.. I don't know what I should do. Haha. Right now, I'm thinking of switching to business and then going to culinary school later.
And also, I love your blog!
I'm currently pre-med, sorta and kind of want to switch to culinary arts.. I don't know what I should do. Haha. Right now, I'm thinking of switching to business and then going to culinary school later.
And also, I love your blog!
awainwright asked: I love biology and food. We really should be friends.
5 tags
adventures in growing sugar crystals
Lately I’ve been busy helping start-up a new science and engineering outreach program at my school. It’s been a ton of work, but it’s also been a fun and hugely rewarding experience. Earlier this year, we worked with a fifth-grade class in South Central LA and did everything from build speakers out of plastic cups to test the pH of common household liquids. We even helped the...
March 2011
2 posts
6 tags
beyond the novelty of "humanized" milk
There’s been quite a stir this week over genetically modified cows. These cows are capable of producing more “human” milk, which is expected to hit the Chinese market in just two years. My initial response to this news was on par with my reaction to the unveiling of “Baby Gaga” breast milk ice cream in London last month. Why do something like that? The very idea of...
6 tags
protein "egg"-regation
Here’s a meal that’s as fun to make as it is easy: eggs in purgatory. It’s pretty much just eggs cooked in a mess of tomato, olive oil, garlic, and basil.
But don’t let the simplicity of the dish fool you. As its epically awesome name suggests, eggs in purgatory is epically delicious. Especially if you add some crispy ciabatta to scoop up those runny yolks and all that...
February 2011
1 post
5 tags
growing plastic... from mushrooms?
I love mushrooms. Stuffed criminis, grilled portobellos, stir-fried shitakes, or even plain white mushrooms tossed in a salad. However you eat them, mushrooms are delicious. Eben Bayer from Ecovative Design also loves mushrooms. But he’s not interested in eating them - instead, he’s using them to grow plastic!
As Bayer shows in his talk, mycelium (basically mushroom roots) can be...
January 2011
1 post
5 tags
let's stay together
Being home for the holidays means getting to spend quality time with my family. More specifically, it means that I get to hang out with my little brother, a fellow biochemist and food enthusiast. And being around my brother means getting to eat all of the crazy delicious confections he whips up during the wee hours of the morning (yes, marshmallows were actually made at 3 am). They may not be the...
December 2010
1 post
9 tags
what's in a name?
I recently saw this commercial from the folks over at CornSugar.com. Their message? That high-fructose corn syrup (or “corn sugar” as the Corn Refiners Association likes to call it) is, wait for it … sugar. Okay so maybe I’m not being totally fair. It is true that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is more than a little misunderstood. I’ll even go ahead and agree with...
November 2010
2 posts
5 tags
for the love of cardamom
One of my all time favorite desserts is elaichi kheer — the cardamom-infused rice pudding I always order at my favorite Indian restaurant. Feeling adventurous one night, I decided to make the dish myself. The only problem? No basmati rice! In fact, all I had was some leftover Arborio rice from my last attempt at risotto. With the help of the internet, a bit of creativity, some almonds, and a...
4 tags
A (Very) Unique Perspective on Food
Sometimes, when I need to satisfy the nerdier side of my food-loving self, I head over to the blog Inside Insides. If you want to see fruits and vegetables in a whole new way, then this is the site for you. By scanning produce in an MRI machine, Inside Insides creator Andy Ellison has put together pages and pages of mesmerizing images. Definitely worth a look!
Every time I visit this site, I...
October 2010
2 posts
6 tags
deep purple
There’s been a lot of purple basil showing up in my CSA box lately. And when I say purple, I don’t mean green with a purple tinge. I mean purple.
I’ve been having a lot of fun with this purple plant. The other night I added it to some tomato-almond pesto, and a few weeks ago I tossed it into a great Thai-inspired vegetable dish. I particularly love the versatility of this...
Welcome to Bite-Sized Biology!
First of all, I’d like to give a big thank you to Cook Clean for the very nice recommendation this week. If you’ve never heard of this blog, do yourself a favor and go check it out! Full of great recipes and gorgeous pictures, Cook Clean will make you want to run straight to the kitchen.
In other (related) news, Bite-Sized Biology saw a huge increase in followers this week — so...
September 2010
4 posts
7 tags
a tale of two salmon
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about a new genetically modified salmon, better known as “frankenfish”:
I’m bothered by the negative reaction many people automatically have to something being “genetically modified” even though there is nothing inherently harmful about the DNA from one organism being...
6 tags
what makes teflon nonstick?
I have a confession… I love Teflon. Sure, there are better pans out there, but between my student budget and my hatred of eggs stuck to bottoms of pans, there will always be a Teflon skillet lurking on my stovetop.
More widely known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Teflon was accidentally discovered by a chemist at DuPont in 1938. PTFE is essentially a long carbon chain that is...
6 tags
good source of protein
Not too long ago, my boyfriend and I went through a Mediterranean food phase. Suffice it to say, the whole thing was pretty much amazing. I was particularly fond of the quinoa tabouli we made — simple to prepare, lovely on the plate, and absolutely delicious! Accompanied by some whole wheat pita and a little homemade tzatziki, the tabouli also made a surprisingly filling meal.
Why is this...
6 tags
microbes in my vegetables?
Sometimes I can’t believe that I went 23 years without ever using a grill. Sure, I’ve eaten other people’s grilled food, but after trying it myself I’ve realized that it’s just not the same. In an attempt to expand our grilling repertoire, my boyfriend and I recently grilled some vegetables. We paired this grilled eggplant from the Kitchn with some simple grilled...
August 2010
2 posts
6 tags
Twinkies Deconstructed
The inspiration for today’s post comes courtesy of Your Nutritionista:
Rachel sent me a link to this elegant slideshow featuring the twinkie and its somewhat creepy/questionable ingredients.
Check it out to see some of the infamous snack food’s ingredients in their purest form. If you ever wondered what Yellow 5 looks like, wonder no more!
The entire collection of twinkie photos...
6 tags
fava beans and dopamine
A few months ago, I saw Alice Waters give a cooking demonstration at the Festival of Books here at UCLA. In true Alice Waters style, there were several bags full of fruits, veggies, and herbs fresh from the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. Out of all the produce, however, the fava beans were a clear favorite.
Coincidently, I received fava beans in my CSA box the very next week. Inspired but...
July 2010
3 posts
5 tags
to eat or not to eat (meat, that is)
Since I first started cooking for myself in college, I’ve found myself making more and more meatless dishes. Originally my tight student budget was to blame. But as I began see the monetary, health, and environmental benefits of eating less meat, I started making a more conscious effort to cut back on the amount of meat in my diet. Of course, I like meat too much to ever become a full-on...
molecular gastronomy
I think I’ve finally wrapped my head around molecular gastronomy. For a while I had just assumed it involved cooking with agar and other science-y compounds, but I always felt like I was missing something. After reading a few articles from one of molecular gastronomy’s original founders, Hervé This, I realized how limited my view of the culinary science had been. Although most of the...
6 tags
of crustaceans and carotenoids
Things like to accumulate in my freezer; for example, a half-eaten bag of jumbo shrimp and some leftover artichoke hearts. Inspired by a recent trip to Taste, I decided to try my hand at a shrimp and artichoke risotto. I especially like the look of the pink shrimp against the creamy green of the risotto and artichokes, which got me thinking: what makes shrimp pink?
I’ve been told before...
