Cilantro and Stink Bugs

Yesterday I was on the phone with my parents, and my mom told me that stink bugs (which have heavily populated the east coast) smell like cilantro. My dad thought she was crazy. I did some research into it this morning, and it turns out that the main scent factor in both stink bugs and cilantro is an unsaturated aldehyde. I couldn't find the structure for the aldehyde in cilantro, but it makes sense that they would have similar smells. I've also heard of people that are not bother by the smell of stink bugs. I suspect that they are the same people that enjoy cilantro.

Cheese Day

Today we had two visitors to class: Amy Reis from Art of the Table, a store owner from East Grand Rapids who sells cheeses, and Barbara, from the Dancing Goat Creamery, a local cheese production facility. We learned about the basic process of cheese making and then got to try twelve unique samples.

I was particularly interested in how easy cheese making is for a small scale farmer. Furthermore, being able to take care of the goats so well translates into better tasting cheese.

Only four ingredients go in to cheese making: milk, bacterial cultures, rennet, and salt. Variation in flavor comes also from the way the cheese is aged.

As so far all other products have been better when prepared by an expert with focus on the details (coffee, bread, and, based on smell, beer), I was excited for cheese day. it turns out, however, that I don't really appreciate cheeses very much. Out of the twelve samples we had, there was only one that I liked, and I'm not sure if I actually liked it, or if I only liked it in comparison to the other samples. Still, this was an educational experience, and now I can actually claim that I don't enjoy Blue cheese, as opposed to just guessing I don't like it based on the smell.

The twelve cheeses we tried included cow, goat, and sheep cheeses. The cow cheeses were my preferred cheeses today, although i had never tried goat or sheep cheese before.

I think part of what may have turned me off to the cheeses was the texture. Maybe I would have preferred them with something, but very soft cheeses by themselves have, to me, an uninviting texture.

Some highlights from todays cheeses included Merze Tate, Effie Mills, Buttermilk Blue, Cashel Blue, and Humboldt Fog.

Merze Tate came from Dancing Goat Creamery and was my preferred cheese of the day. It was a mild cheese that was dense enough not to warrant a spoon.

Effie Mills was another cow cheese from Dancing Goat Creamery. It smelled like mushrooms and tasted like the smell of stuff rotting in a forest on a wet day. Not awful, but kind of strange for a cheese.

Humboldt Fog, a goat cheese, smelled like dirty socks and had a very powerfully sour taste. I was most horrified by its texture, which was like a less chunky version of cottage cheese.

Buttermilk Blue was another cow cheese. This blue cheese smelled awful and strong, and I immediately regretted putting it in my mouth, as the flavor was not better than the smell. Still, my mind was blown by my new understanding of how strong cheese can be, as well as a newfound understanding of human's willingness to stretch the limit for what constitutes food.

Cashel Blue, disturbingly enough, managed to take Buttermilk Blue to the next level. It smelled exactly like a cow farm. My one hope was that it didn't taste the same way. Much to my horror, it did - the cheese tasted exactly like a cow farm smells. And it is at this point that my fundamental understanding of cheese breaks down. I heard discussion of the flavors of nuts and fruits in this, one of the best cheeses imaginable. I really like the concept of this cheese, but the reality was disappointing.

Well, in conclusion, today was a fun day. Barbara of the Dancing Goat Creamery was very knowledgeable and fun to listen to. I much more appreciate cheese as an art than I did before, and I'm glad I tried something new. But with that said, I'll keep eating half a pound of cheap Meijer cheese every week.

Chili, Cheese pre-class

Our exercise for class today was to make a variety of chili and salsa. Ingredients available to us were black beans, fresh tomato, diced tomato, several fresh peppers of differing spiciness, onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin and salt. From there we were given essentially free rein for what to do.

For our chili we chose to wing it rather than follow a specific recipe. We added half a can of diced tomatoes and half a can of beans, as well as some onion and part of a clove of garlic. Then we added some green pepper that wasn't spicy, and one very spicy slender green pepper that may or may not have been a habanero. I'll attempt to identify the pepper next time I'm at the grocery store.

We also added some salt and cumin, as well as a bit of chili seasoning another group brought. We then cooked it for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

The chili turned out well in that it tasted good, but poorly in the 'chili' department. We didn't have that classic chili taste, which I think is partly from not having meat or cheese, and, from talking to other groups, I think we should have added more cumin. The flavors had blended well, and I was very pleased with the spicy kick at the end of a spoonful.

Our salsa really just tasted like onion, pepper, and tomato - but when we combined our chili into our salsa, we had delicious salsa.

There were two other groups that made chili that I got to try. Neither was as spicy as is my preference, but they had more of a 'chili' taste which I attribute largely to more cumin. My favorite of the two also had many more beans, proportionally.

This was an excellent exercise - I learned that making chili is actually reasonably easy, and I may do it myself in the future.

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Salt is added to cheese to preserve the cheese and intensify the flavor.

Rennet is an enzyme from a cow's fourth stomach that is used to curdle milk, turning it into curds and whey. The enzyme can now be cultivated artificially in bacteria.

Cheeses are typically aged for weeks to months to years, depending on the variety.

I currently don't have any cheddar cheese, and will update my blog when I can give a more detailed account of what cheddar smells like.

Mall, Chili pre-class

Today our class took a field trip to Woodland Mall in order to observe how consumers are marketed to - in other words, how do stores attract customers?

We entered the mall on the south side by the food court. As we walked by the various food vendors my nose was assaulted with many different scents, from a vague frying smell, to a pizza smell, and finally the hot pretzel smell. The vendor Sensational Salads had an Istanbul Bazaar-esque food display in their case, showing a bright array of vegetables. Otherwise, the food pavillion was surprisingly bland.

Next we entered American Eagle, which had a noticeable scent of leather and denim. An employee stated that they spray clothing with their brand scent three times per day (if they remember) but I do not know if the AE scent is identical to the leather and denim that I smelled. In the back of the store there was a TV and some seating room. Another feature of AE which held true for all other clothing stores I visited was that the dressing rooms were near the back - presumably, a shopper serious enough to consider buying something gets drawn by more merchandise they may be interested in.

Adjacent to AE was the Buckle, another clothing store. The most interesting feature of this store was the display - essentially all merchandise could be seen from the entrance of the store, as there was a clear path from the front to the back. Along the walls there were racks of clothes, and each article of clothing was lit by its own light, causing the eye to be drawn to the side displays. Buckle didn't seem to have any particular smell.

Yankee Candle Company could be smelled from about fifty feet away from the entrance of the store (a scent radius only rivaled by Hollister, I think). The smell was simultaneously spicy, fruity, sweet, and soft, probably owing to the variety of scented candles in the store. The store itself, though smell, was set up to be visually interesting, as color seemed to play a large role in where candles got positioned. Furthermore, the layout of the store seemed cramped and caused the shopper to walk around little displays.

Williams Sonoma, a cooking store, surprised me by having a very pleasant but thankfully not overpowering smell. Due to the sweet, spicy nature of the smell my initial assessment was that something was cooking - and it turns out I was right. An employee said that they try to always be cooking something in order to make the store smell more pleasant. The lighting worked very well with the shiny cooking equipment in the room - light bouncing off of pots and such was pleasing to the eye, and drew me towards products that I really wasn't even interested in.

Aeropostale was the only store that really surprised me, as it smelled both strongly and downright awful. The overwhelming scent smelled like cheap rubber, and I think it may be given off mainly from the flip-flops in the room. The smell reminded me almost exactly of Old Navy.

Next, we went in Banana Republic. The store, as opposed to Buckle, had lots of nooks and crannies for various sections of clothing, causing the shopper to wander seemingly aimlessly throughout the store. The music here was much calmer and quieter than other stores so far.

Following Banana Republic we went into Tradehome Shoes. This store had two obvious features. First, it smelled strongly of leather. I'm not sure if the scent came from the shoes themselves or if it was added artificially. Second, there were signs advertising sales all over the place. Together these two effects made a convincing case that I ought to buy shoes.

Next was The Body Shop, which was a little store not dedicated to auto repair, but rather to lotions and body washes and such. There was a powerful smell of sweet fruit emanating from the store. Clever use of mirrors, color, and lighting made the store visually interesting as well.

Forever 21, a clothing store for females, was our next stop. There was no distinct scent that I picked up. The only standout feature of the store was that it seemed to use whites rather than colors to light up specifically. This made the store seem more urban and upscale to me.

Lastly, we stopped at Hollister. The smell of So Cal, as the specific Hollister scent is known, was monstrously powerful from well outside the store. But, to be honest, I don't blame that scent for wanting to escape. An interview with an employee revealed that she would expect customers to feel uncomfortable sometimes in the store. The reason for this, she explained, was that the store was very dark except for what they deliberately chose to light up. Specifically, the only things lit up were the only things the customer is meant to look at. Light is used to draw customers to sale items, for example. Furthermore, she explained to us, Hollister deliberately tries to appeal to the senses. I was surprised to learn that the playlist is actually quite varied, ranging from high-energy modern music through slower, older music. Rather than having any central air system responsible for the Hollister scent, employees just spray it all over the clothing throughout the day. She said that some times other scents are obvious. Hollister sells a variety of scented projects, and when lots of people test a product in a short period of time, that smell can overwhelm So Cal. In my experience, Hollister was the only store where the scent changed noticeably - in one area, the store smelled like a beach, and I picked up another unknown fragrance in the girls' section.

Hollister had effectively removed itself from the mall, as the entrance forces shoppers around a corner through which they can no longer see the mall. The various nooks and crannies, darkness, and sounds further disorient the customer and cause him or her to essentially forget the rest of the mall is out there. Surprisingly, Hollister doesn't seem very focused on selling clothes - it's as if they are selling a concept more than a reality, and how that can be profitable, I haven't a clue. Regardless, Hollister wins in terms of being an all-out assault on the senses. As I write this, two hours after having left the store, I can still smell the Hollister scent all over myself. I hate the fact that it is calming and pleasant; I despise myself for starting to like the Hollister scent - but I have to conclude that the scent marketers from Hollister have really achieved a victory.

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Capsaicin is part of the vanillin family, and has a long tail including a polar amide group. Capsaicin is not water soluble and has no fragrance. Capsaicin's non-water soulble nature means that it can't be washed away in water, so drinking water doesn't stop the burning sensation it gives. Instead, drinking milk (which has fat in it) is a good strategy to reduce the burning.

A Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) is the amount of parts of sugar water it takes to neutralize the burning sensation caused by capsaicin.

Pungent molecules have an electron deficient region.

Capsaicin has "moderate to poor efficacy" at pain reduction.

Dihydrocapsaicin adds two hydrogens to the double bond in capsaicin, while homocapsaicin has inverted stereo chemistry at the second carbon from the end of the tail.

Capsaicin has both anticancer properties and DNA destructive properties.

" It has been reported that capsaicin or dihydrocapsaicin inhibits obesity by enhancing energy

expenditure and reducing body fat accumulation in animal experiment." Xiu-Ju-Luo, et al, 2011

Bread, Marketing pre-class

Today we had a visitor from Wealthy Street Bakery who brought in a few bread and pastries for us to try. The bread was cooked with a focus on using high-quality ingredients and not using any preservatives. Thus, the breads were delicious.

As I developed a cold over the weekend, my sense of smell is greatly diminished. I was therefore not able to pick out many nuances in the aromas of the breads.

The first bread I tried was the French bread. It had a hard crust with a dense interior, and a light, soft smell. The flavor was not very strong, but had an excellent 'bread' taste. for lack of a better descriptor. The bread was just slightly sweet. This turned out to be my favorite bread, as the texture and flavor were both very enjoyable.

Next I tried the whole grain bread. This bread also had a hard crust and dense interior, although this bread was more dense than the French bread. However, I did not like the whole grain as much because the smoothness of the interior of the bread was broken up by some crunchier material. I think it was nuts, but it could have been grains. I was surprised by the flavor - usually I don't like the flavor of whole grain breads very much, but this bread was very rich and didn't taste like health food.

Third, I tried the sourdough bread. The smell was a little bit sharp. The density was intermediate compared to the other two, and again there was a distinct, hard crust. The bread appeared to have more hole in it than the whole grain bread. The flavor, sadly, was not very strongly that of a sourdough bread, which is to say, the bread was not very sour.

Then we moved on to trying some pastries. I was a big fan of the croissant, which was very buttery and flaky, a little sweet, and soft and chewy in texture. In my way of thinking, it was a perfect croissant.

Finally, I had an almond Danish. As an aside, I don't like Danishes any more. I used to, but in 2008the summer camp I worked at got shut down due to E. Coli. The staff were not allowed to leave, and as the source of the E. Coli had not been identified, we (the staff) were forced to survive on prepackaged Smuckers PB&J sandwiches and Danishes for a week. So, back to Danishes. I tried the almond Danish, and was surprised at how good it was. The texture was wonderful - thick and fluffy. The pastry was sweetened excellently. Still, I don't really like almond flavoring, so I didn't really like the pastry.

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Smell marketing is certainly effective. I have bought food for this reason before. Specifically, I have bought a Soft Pretzel from Auntie Anne's before - this company certainly benefits from having a strong smell presence in the mall.

I also hear from my sister, who is going to a culinary arts school, that they deliberately pump the smells from their bakeries into the streets outside. As they are not on an isolated campus, but rather in a downtown urban area, this is an effective strategy for driving purchases.

What about non-food items? I know stores such as Hollister strive very hard to maintain a certain scent - but I am not sure this actually makes people want to buy stuff, or if it's just a 'hip' thing to do.

Although I was aware of scent marketing, I am surprised by its scope - both the breadth of non-food applications and the availability of scent systems to spread a specific scent.

In terms of ethics, I think it is alright as long as the chemicals causing the scent are not harmful in the quantities in which they get inhaled. In terms of the Hard Rock Hotel, for example, is it safe for guests to stay in the hotel for several days? And what about employees that work there? I know that the 'new car smell,' for example, was shown to be unhealthy.

Also, what if the scent is perceived as gross? I don't really enjoy smelling that fry scent of McDonald's, but maybe other people do. But if I lived next to Cinnabon store, I might be very pleased. The problem with banning 'gross' smells is that people have different sensitivities and preferences. Maybe there is some maximum amount of smell that could be generated compared to the property of the establishment.

I think that consumers are ultimately responsible for their actions. Understanding that scent marketing is occurring helps diminish the effects of scent marketing. Furthermore, although scents create responses before we are truly aware of them, I do not see this as fundamentally different from other forms of advertising. Advertising, as a whole, exists to tweak our mentalities. Sure, scent marketing might be a little more extreme, but society has already decided that advertising is acceptable.

Marketers attempt to reinforce the brand image of a store. So, for example, they play pop music in a trendy store.

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is effective due to it's visual appeal, its appeal to smell, and the ability to taste products. I think visually modern stores are already appealing, although decreasing packaging dramatically seemed to work well in Istanbul. Tasting products depends on the type of product being sold, but already in malls or even at Meijer there is regularly an employee giving out samples of food. In modern supermarkets the appeal to smell is largely untapped, but I suspect that will change.

Lush is successful because it has implemented these lessons in order to appeal to the customer.

Stores can target specific demographics based on the specific sounds they play and scents they use. Research must go in to determining what, specifically, fits the demographic most successfully.

Slow music encourages shoppers to slow down, while bright displays entice the shopper to come nearer. Thus, a display in the back of a store can help shoppers linger. Seating areas also play a role in helping people stay longer.

In regards to the Forum in Las Vegas, it's not just designed to cause the consumer to lose track of time. Based on personal experience, it's actually quite hard to leave the Forum - clever usage of one-way escalators and disorienting angles makes it akin to the Minotaur's Labyrinth. Finally, when you do escape, there are advertisements for things to go do right away.

Chocolate, Bread Pre-Class

Today in class after learning more about chocolate we got to sample many different varieties, as each class member had brought in a particular type of chocolate that they liked. After receiving instructions on the proper way to eat chocolate, I found I was able to appreciate the flavors much more.

I brought a 70% Cocoa Lindt Dark Chocolate bar, and this was may favorite out of the twelve samples that I tried. The texture was nice and smooth, and the bar broke crisply. A fairly strong smell was being given off, and the flavor was excellent - it was a little bitter, but had many layers of flavor.

My second favorite chocolate was the one at the front of the classroom with the Chili in it. The chili really caused the other flavors to pop out, and provided an enjoyable spiciness to the chocolate as well. Again, the texture was very favorable.

My third favorite chocolate was the other at the front of the room, and 85% Cocoa dark chocolate. As with the Lindt, there was a strong smell, and the chocolate provided many flavors. However, the chocolate was a little more bitter than my preference.

As a whole, I came to appreciate dark chocolate much more. Although I had known I liked dark better, having so many samples showed why: the dark simply impart many more flavors. The milk chocolates all tasted the same to me (except the ones that had other additions, such as nuts, to the chocolate). With the milk chocolate, sweetness was the overwhelming flavor, and texture seemed to be the only real differentiator in quality.

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Yeast is a single-celled fungus that reproduces asexually. Many different varieties of yeast exist and are useful for a variety of functions (such as beer making or ethanol production). For bakers, several types of yeast are available. Active dry yeast has yeast cells encapsulated in other dead cells for protection, while instant yeast has smaller capsules. Rapid rise yeast causes dough to rise more rapidly, but may diminish the flavor of the bread.

The function of yeast in bread is to break down sugars to form CO2, causing the bread to rise. The type of yeast used also effects flavoring. Without sugars, the yeast have no food source.

Kneading bread causes gluten to form. This is necessary for the bread to take on a uniform texture and consistency. Furthermore, the gluten formation causes little pockets to form which later trap the CO2 formed by the yeast, allowing the bread to have the light, fluffy consistency.

Gluten is a combination of two proteins, prolamin and glutelin. Failure to digest gluten triggers an autoimmune response that may damage the villi of the small intestine, as well as causing a host of other health issues.

Sourdough bread is made with a combination of yeast and the Lactobacillus bacterium. The bacterium also helps break down sugars, and is largely responsible for the sourdough taste. A sourdough starter is simply a culture of the yeast/bacteria that is kept alive continuously, and can be applied to baking application over and over again. The starter is necessary as one must have living bacteria to make the sourdough bread.

Injera is made from teff flour, and the flour/water mixture is allowed to ferment for several days prior to cooking.

Pita bread is unique due to the extra-hot temperature at which it is cooked (700 degrees Fahrenheit), which causes unique bubbling and pocket formation.

Naan bread is kneaded extra-long and then cooked at very high temperatures in a clay oven.

Beer, Chocolate pre-class

Today a local beer expert, Andrew Van Til, came in to class to teach us about beer and the brewing process.

The main important ingredients in beer are the malt, hop, yeast, and water.

The malt comes from a grain, typically barley, but other grains (such as wheat) may also be used. Malts give the beer its sweet flavor, and vary the color of the beer from light to dark. Various roasting processes of the grain also give the malt different characteristics.

Four grain samples were passed around. They tasted like grape nuts, or unsugary cereal in general. The roasted malt tasted similar to roasted coffee beans from yesterday.

Two beers were passed around the room that were brewed with special focus on the malt. The scents were strong, with the first beer being a bit sweeter. The second beer had a smoky, salty, meaty scent, largely due to the malt being smoked during the roasting process.

The next important ingredient in beer is the hops. Hops are the flower of a vine, and are responsible for the bitter flavoring of beer. They work naturally as a preservative for beer. Hops have flavors fairly specific to the regions in which they are grown, and thus are an important part of the flavor of local beers. Hops also convey a number of herbal, fruity, woody, or grassy flavors and scents.

Several varieties of hops were passed around; they possessed grassy and citrus-like scents, which ranged from pleasant to awful. I tried a leaf from one of the hop varieties. At first, there was a strong, not unpleasant citrus flavor. Then, very rapidly, an extremely intense bitter flavor hit my tongue, a flavor which I found extremely repulsive. Thus, I spit out the leaf.

Two more beers were passed around for smelling, these two brewed with an emphasis on the hops. These smelled a little more like citrus, as well as smelling more grassy and woody. I did not like these as much as the malt-emphasized beers.

Yeast is the next important ingredient. Its function is to consume the sugars in the malt, which it then turns in to CO2 and alcohol. To beers were passed around that had been brewed with a focus on the yeast, they had a scent reminiscent of cloves and bananas, and were apparently more sour than the other beers, although we did not get to taste them.

Water is another important ingredient, the specific mineral content and pH changes the outcome of the beer. We did not try any beers that demonstrated a particular type of water.

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Cocoa production:

Tree flowers--> produces pod --> ripens --> pod gets harvested --> pods get opened and the beans get scooped out --> fermentation --> dried --> roasted -->shell is removed from kernel -->the kernel is ground and the chocolate liquor is extracted --> various additions or processing to form particular variety of chocolate.

In order to determine the relevance of the findings, one needs to determine the average amount of flavanols that are normally consumed by an individual. If they already consume enough to receive a health benefit, the findings are relevant. If the individual must increase his or her chocolate consumption to unhealthy levels to receive the benefit, the findings are not relevant.

Other foods might impart this benefit if the specific flavanols include (-)epicatechin. Simply having flavanols is not enough to be helpful.

Supermarket chocolates probably have little benefit.

The flavanols probably come from a long roasting process, as flavanols give a bitter flavor.

Six 190 calorie chocolate bars are excessive for one person per day. The health benefits of flavanols are not that significant, and, with a healthy diet, chocolate is probably an unnecessary - especially because other foods and beverages are sources of flavanols. Chocolate, for the most part, is pretty empty calories, so having nearly half of one's daily calorie needs from chocolate is certainly too much.

For a 25% increase in skin protection the amount of flavanols needed equates to about 100g of chocolate per day.

Some misconceptions about chocolate in regards to health are that nearly any dark chocolate imparts the health benefits of flavanols, and that the heart-healthy aspect of dark chocolate comes from antioxidants.

Coffee and Tea

Today in class we examined the cooking methods of various coffees and teas.

The group I was in started with coffee. We took green coffee beans and roasted them. We removed some beans early for a lighter roast, and cooked the other beans longer to form a darker roast. We then tried both coffee and espresso. The espresso, despite being held in high regard by coffee enthusiast, was too bitter for my taste. However, I greatly preferred the dark roast coffee to the light roast. The dark had a much stronger, fuller flavor and a much more powerful coffee smell.

Next we tried four teas.

The first was Pu-erh tea, which is made from the large-leaf variety of the Camellia plant, which is grown in southwestern China. The leaves had already been fermented; the smell reminded me of tobacco (possibly due to the fermentation process) and was also a little smoky. After steeping the leaves in hot water, the tea took on the smell of a horse farm, something along the lines of decaying grass and manure. Unfortunately, the tea tasted like it smelled, although it didn't have a very strong flavor. The tea is often pressed into small cakes and aged for potentially years.

The second tea was Golden Yunnan, which is a black tea from the Yunnan region of China. Yunnan is in southern China bordering Vietnam, and contains China's oldest wild tea tree. The tea smelled light and sweet, and a bit like a mixture of spices. After steeping, the tea maintained this smell, but was less strong. The flavor of the tea seemed weak and generic to me, like something out of a normal black tea package. That being said, I don't drink tea on a regular basis and may have failed to pick up on some nuances to the flavor.

Thirdly, we tried Gunpowder Chinese Green Tea, a green tea produced in Eastern China. The leaves themselves are rolled tightly into little bundles, as rolling the leaves makes them less susceptible to damage, and the leaves can therefore maintain their flavor more fully. This type of tea dates back to at least the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD). The Gunpowder leaves smelled very similar to the Pu-erh, this time with a slightly more herbal aspect to the horse farm scent. Again, the scent remained after steeping the tea. The tea did not taste like it smelled, however, and reminded me of generic green tea. Again, if there were any special nuances to the flavor, I missed them completely.

Lastly, we tried White Peony Indian White Tea, which is produced in the Darjeeling region of India. The leaves for white tea are picked before they open fully, and there is no fermentation process. The aroma of the White Peony was much more pleasant than the other teas, as it had a light, soft, sweet, and slightly spicy aroma. After steeping, the tea smelled more herbal and floral and not as sweet. The taste, though weak, was good, as the tea was sweeter than the others. Otherwise, there were not really any stand-out flavors to the tea.

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Coffee originated in Ethiopia, and today is the seventh-largest coffee producer in the world. Partly due to the fact that Ethiopia almost exclusively grows Arabica coffee, Ethiopian coffee is generally considered to be of high quality. Nearly all Ethiopian coffee can be considered 'organic,' as coffee is still grown by hand in Ethiopia.

Since coffee was introduced in 1727, Brazil has become the largest coffee producer in the world, and is most known for producing lower-grade coffee. As such, many canned coffees and espressos contain a significant percentage of Brazilian coffee beans. Despite this reputation, Brazil still exports a large amount of high-quality specialty coffees. Unlike in Ethiopia, many mechanical harvesters are used to gather the coffee beans.

Coffee and Tea, Pre-Class

Coffee was first discovered and brewed in the middle east around the middle of the fifteenth century. Originally, coffee beans were considered to be food. Coffee beans were banned from export from Arabia, but were successfully smuggled out to other parts of the world in 1670.

10,000 Daltons is about 10,000 atoms.

Espresso contains a smaller amount of caffeine than might be expected due to its brewing process. With Espresso, the beans are only exposed to the water for a brief amount of time. As caffeine is slow to dissolve, not much gets dissolved in the water.

Many of the volatile molecules in coffee have significant non-polar regions that make it unfavorable to interact with water, but the molecules are still relatively light. Furthermore, they often have shapes that cannot interact well with similar molecules.

Old coffee beans lose many of their volatile molecules, thus the scent and flavor of the coffee is less enjoyable.

There are ten carbons in terpene.

I'm not sure that I could overcome the mental block of not wanting to eat coffee beans excreted by an animal, and thus I doubt I would want to try kopi luwak.

Tea was first discovered hundreds of years before Christ, and was mostly introduced to the west through the Dutch, thanks to their trading with the east.

During the Han dynasty the finest tea was given to the emperor as a tribute.

Charles II, working with Oliver Cromwell of the East India Trading Company, at the behest of Catherine of Braganza, brought to to the west. William Pitt the Younger later made imports of tea much cheaper.

Americans chose to boycott taxed goods, because they did not like taxation without representation. However, the Company arrived at port with tea the Americans did not want. By the trade agreement, the ships could not leave unless the tea had been offloaded, but if the tea came ashore, the tax must be paid. Therefore, the locals came up with the famous solution - throw the tea in the water.

The British created an opium addiction.

Caffeine and polyphenols reduce mental and physical stress.

Theanine boosts the immune system/ Tea has also been linked to many other health benefits, including lower stress and antidepressant properties.

"For green tea manufacture, the withered leaf is steamed and rolled before drying or firing. This is done to prevent the veins in the leaf breaking and thus stopping any oxidization of the leaf." -Pg. 35, History of Tea.

Black tea leaves are plucked and allowed to dry and wither. Next, they are broken into pieces to allow juices to escape. Then they are rolled up and allowed to become oxidized. Finally, the leaf is dried.

Based on this key, I have no idea how I prefer my tea - I drink tea almost exclusively when I am sick, and infrequently even at that. Thus, I do not have a strongly developed preference for what constitutes a 'better' cup of tea.

Taste and Aroma

Today in class we explored tastes and aromas.

For our first exercise we examined taste. Specifically, we mapped out bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and umami flavors, and tried the flavors with and without our noses plugged both before and after brushing our teeth.

The taste map provided did not seem accurate. Sour and salty tastes could be detected with the front of the tongue, and bitter seemed to cover a much larger area.

Flavors, as a whole, were much weaker with my nose plugged, although all still had a distinct flavor. The tonic water had barely any flavor, and was maybe a little sweet (as an aside, I can't stand brussel sprouts).

After brushing my teeth, I noticed some differences, and the group confirmed my observation. The soy sauce seemed to only have a salty flavor, as opposed to salt and umami, and the orange juice tasted more bitter. The coffee seemed not to have a flavor, and nor did the tonic water. Finally, the lemon seemed more sour. As proteins more in the membrane are effected less by toothpaste, it makes sense that sweet and umami flavors are less pronounced, although I was surprised that this, in turns, makes sour and salty flavors more pronounced. Mysteriously, bitter flavors also seemed to be less strong after tooth-brushing, and this seems to contradict my hypothesis.

In the second part of the experiment, we had to identify different flavors with a blindfold on. None of our group members were able to correctly identify the various fruit spreads with our noses plugged, although we had a 100% success rate with our noses unplugged. However, one group member was able to identify applesauce with his nose plugged due to its texture. I also correctly identified a spoonful of garlic with my nose plugged. At first I couldn't really taste anything, but when the garlic got to the back of my mouth I suddenly realized what I was eating. Texture played a large role in the enjoyment (or lack thereof) of the food. The garlic, for example, I found quite disgusting when I was blindfolded (although just fine when I could see it). The various fruit spreads all had textures I did not enjoy.

For our third activity, we taste-tested several types of potato chips. The chips had unique enough textures that they could be correctly identified, even when holding a different flavor under the testers' nose.

Next, we examined desensitization of smell in regards to garlic consumed. I had a sample of garlic spread, and could smell the garlic for quite some time (in fact, I still can, an hour and a half later). The other group members could also smell the garlic on my breath, although their perception of the intensity dropped more quickly than mine did. After they tried garlic, they could no longer smell my garlic breath.

For the fifth part of the experiment, we examined desensitization to salt taste. After dissolving 1.02 grams of salt in 10 ounces of water, I diluted the solution to half its original strength, and continued this until I could no longer taste the salt. After the third dilution I could no longer taste the salt (this corresponds to about 1/8th of a gram of salt in 10 ounces of water).

For the final part of the experiment we smelled many different compounds. Although there were a few scents I could not place, I was surprised at how many scents I was able to identify rather easily.

The two forms of caravone smell different because the atoms in the molecule are arranged differently, and thus they bind to different receptors in the nose. However, the identical part of the molecule can bind the same receptor, and thus the two forms smell similar to one another.

Based on the molecular structures provided, molecules with conjugated double bonds seem to be easily detected by the nose.

I sniffed vanillin until I couldn't smell it any more. After about four sniffs I could barely detect it. With napthalene I was able to keep sniffing for a couple minutes and the strength of the smell did not seem to have abated at all. I hypothesize that scents that our bodies deem dangerous can be detected for a longer period of time.

Olfaction Pre-class

1. A taste map of the tongue has appeared in countless books:

	http://www.understandingfoodadditives.org/pages/Ch2p3-1.htm

In your experience, is this map correct? Taste a few things if you need to.

No, this does not seem correct, although the front of my tongue seems more sensitive.

2. During your next meal, after eating a few items, try them again with your nose plugged. Record your observations.

With my nose plugged the flavors were much less enjoyable. With my apple juice, for example, I could still detect sweetness, but that full-bodied apple ‘flavor’ was missing. Again with my cereal, sweetness was still obvious with my nose plugged. The flavor was again less enjoyable, and I found myself more focused on the actual texture of the flakes.

3. Read “More than meets the mouth” by Michael Eisenstein (posted on Moodle).

· What are the 5 tastes (according to current thought) and 2 tastes for which the jury is still out?

o Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami are the five main tastes, with fatty acids, calcium, and carbonation all potentially tastes as well.

· Eisenstein suggests that “the wisdom of the body” leads people to prefer foods that contain the most nutrients. Consider things with a pleasant taste vs. those with a bitter taste--how might this wisdom also lead us eat things with calories and avoid those with poisons?

o Poisonous foods are generally associated with a bitter taste, thus, we seek out sweet foods. Furthermore, our bodies innately prefer sweet foods – this is a handy ability when fruits are the sweetest food around, but is unhealthy given the modern food industry.

· Broccoli is well known to be rich in bitter compounds. Use what you learned in this paper to explain why people could have such opposing reactions to broccoli, as demonstrated by this quote from President George H. W. Bush: “I do not like broccoli and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m President of the United States and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli…My family is divided. For the broccoli vote out there: Barbara loves broccoli. She has tried to make me eat it. She eats it all the time herself.”

So far, 25 bitter taste receptors have been identified, and the sensors all detect different bitter compounds. Genetic factors have been linked to malfunctioning bitter receptors, and geographic and ethnic factors have been shown to change the distribution of bitter receptors. These differences explain why people can have opposing reactions to the same food – one may not taste the bitter compound, and therefore enjoy the food, while the bitter-taster may not like the food at all.

4. Consider vision, gustation, and olfaction. Which two systems are the most alike? Why?

Vision and olfaction are most similar. In these systems, different receptors work together to create a particular color or scent. A unique combination of ligands binding to the receptors causes a unique response. With taste, there are only several possible catagories that a flavor can fall under.

5. Describe an analogy that you could use to explain olfaction to someone outside of this class.

Olfaction is like a protein. In a protein, many different atoms combine in a very particular way to assemble into one unique protein. With olfaction, many molecules, in combination with one another, bind to a particular set of receptors, generating a unique smell.

Green Beans

Today in class we ran various test on green beans in order to determine what happens when the beans are cooked in boiling water. Our tests revealed that there are many nuances to consider when cooking with salt.

Our first test was salted beans versus unsalted beans. After adding salt to one pot, we boiled two pots of water and added the green beans to cook for seven minutes (an amount of time suggested by an internet search). Our two taste testers, having no idea which beans were which, were able to tell a clear difference between the flavors; however, they both guessed backwards as to which beans were salted rather than unsalted. The salty beans had a stronger, sweeter flavor that made them much more enjoyable to eat, and were a bit harder in texture.

Our second test was a comparison of different salt types and their effect on the flavoring of the beans. In one pot we had beans cooked in sea salt, which has large crystals, and in another pot we had 'Lite' salt, which had much smaller crystals. Again, our subjects accurately identified which beans were of which type, but failed to assign the correct identity. The larger salt crystals lead to better tasting beans. I found this surprising, as it was my understanding (from the article I read before class) that finer crystals cause more intense flavoring. I postulate that this is the case for additives to solid foods, whereas larger crystals are superior for boiling foods.

Third, we boiled beans in one pot without a lid, and in another pot with the lid. All other factors were identical. The beans with the lid moved much more vigorously, due to the water boiling more vigorously. After cooking the beans were a little bit lighter, but the difference was minimal.

For our next test, we added salt and baking soda to one pot in order to make an alkaline solution, and had salt and vinegar in the other pot in order to form an acidic solution. After five minutes of boiling, the baking soda beans were clearly brighter green than their no-baking soda counterparts, and the acidic beans were much more brown.

Salt also changes the boiling point of water, to a small extent. Adding more salt raises the boiling point.

Day 3.

1. 20 Carbons, trigonal planar arrangement.

2. If the signal channel were stuck in the open position, the cell would keep sending a strong signal to the brain. However, the cell would quickly reach a point where its chemical-electrical gradient is no longer proper for other cellular functions. If the channel were stuck the closed position, no signal would reach the brain.

3. The channel is the leak, the pump is the bucket, and the inside of the cell represents the boat.

_____

Optical Illusions:

The checker shadow illusion was very convincing, although I had already seen the illusion before and was aware that the squares marked A and B were in fact the same. Still, cutting out the individual squares to prove this fact was a valuable exercise. As I worked through more optical illusions it became clear to me that it is actually fairly simple to dupe the brain into perceiving things incorrectly. I was struck by how the brain, rather than simply interpreting things as they actually are, interprets images in relation to one another, and then attempts an explanation. Furthermore, despite knowing the 'trick' of the illusion, I still found myself unable to perceive the image properly. One partial exception to this is the checker shadow illusion, where I found the focusing solely on square B allowed me to see it as a darker square, which was nearly identical to square A.

The curve ball illusion was my favorite, in part because it had a fairly simple explanation (switching from central vision to peripheral vision) and in part because of its applicability (the curve ball and even fast ball in baseball). I'm curious how often tricks like this manifest themselves in every day life - for example, how do we interpret information from our peripheral vision while driving, and how close to correct is it? I'm also curious about how people with only peripheral vision (I know an adult that lost his central vision) perceive illusions.

Other illusions were able to use all sorts of tricks - by altering color, depth perception, and curves, many illusions could be created. One of the most intriguing illusions was the spinning cat illusion, in which a cat, in theory, could be perceived as spinning either clockwise or counterclockwise. I was only able to see counterclockwise, aside from about half a second where it suddenly reversed and then switched back again. Despite staring at the cat for several minutes, I never was able to control the spin. My lab partner (Melissa) was able to see it change directions. I found it intriguing haw different people perceive things.

I was intrigued by the examples of color blindness. Although I have seen the dot tests before, I had not seen such a collection of pictures for various forms of color blindness. This greatly enhanced by understanding of the significance of color blindness, and made me very thankful for the fact that I am not color blind.

FOOD/FLUORESCENCE

During lab time we extracted coloring from cabbage and spinach, and placed the colors in solutions with a pH ranging from 1 to 11. The cabbage extract ranged from dark pink at pH 1, though light pink, purple, blue, teal, and light green at pH 11. The color range was less significant for the spinach extract, which was an orange-ish brown color at pH 1, a light yellow-green color at pHs of 3 and 5, green through pH 9, and a dark, bright green at pH 10 and 11.

Bleach and hydrogen peroxide both neutralized color, although the bleach acted more quickly and more strongly. This effect is due to the oxidation process, as both agents oxidize the conjugated double bonds that are largely responsible for causing light to reflect in the visible spectrum.

We also observed several objects and solutions under a black light. Fluorescent proteins fluoresce brightly at their particular color, quinine in tonic water fluoresces a bright blue, as does a white towel. Chlorophyll fluoresces a very dark red color.

The color white can reflect light very efficiently in a manner that does not overwhelm us. In other words, the color white redirects light energy as opposed to acting like a mirror and shining it right back in our faces.

Rods perceive blue-green light most easily.

The double bonds in many colored fruits and vegetables serve as an outlet for oxidizing agents in the body. An omnipresence of these chemicals will reduce the oxidizing reactions that might otherwise occur with DNA.

-COOH can hydrogen bond with H2O, increasing solubility. Raising the alkalinity will cause the base to abstract a hydrogen from the –COOH, leaving a negative charge on the pectin. Two pectin molecules at a time can therefore form a favorable interaction with the Calcium ion.

All of the -COOH and -OH groups allow pectin to easily Hyrdogen bond with water.

RCOOH +NaHCO3 à RCOONa + H2O(l) +CO2(g)

The product will be less soluble, as the RCOONa will be less able to Hydrogen bond. The result is that the pectin will be less soluble, and will not become as mushy during cooking time.

All salts are not created the same. As the paper points out, there is a difference in salt based upon how fine the crystals are. Furthermore, there are various other salts used in cooking (such as sodium nitrite) that have different properties. That being said, the various salts in the slideshow seemed nearly identical. Although some contain traces of elements such as Magnesium and Calcium, overall there was little difference in the salts, and the properties of the salts should be very similar.

Day 2 - Meijer Gardens

On Thursday, January 6th, our class took a field trip to Fredrick Meijer Gardens. Our main objective was to become acquainted with the various odors surrounding us.

The first room I entered was the Victorian room. The room was warm and moist; the smell was dense and woody, almost like mulch. To me, the scent seemed peaceful and pleasant, reminding me of cedar. The first flower I smelled was an orchid, which had a soft, sweet smell.

The next plant I smelled was a Norfolk Island Pine, which had the deep, woody smell of most pines, but to my surprise, the scent was rather warm.

Following the Pine, I smelled a Cypress tree, which reminded me very much of the pine. However, the scent was both stronger and sharper. A Montgomery Spruce was next, which had a subtle but soft and woody scent.

After the Victorian room, I walked into the desert room. My first stop was at an aloe plant. Although the scent was soft, I was quickly reminded of the smell of lotions. Continuing to walk through the desert room, I smelled a Red Fairy Duster, which smelled rather sweet, and reminded me of the orchid.

Next up I visited the carnivorous plants room. Immediately upon entering I noticed a smell that reminded me of decaying leaves, but the smell was also rather warm. I smelled a Tropical Pitcher Plant, which had a sharp although weak odor, ever so slightly sweet.

Following the carnivorous plants room, I entered the main tropical room. Again I smelled decaying leaves. My first stop, at a Japanese Loquat, gave a rather sharp smell, but still reminded me of certain perfumes. I next encountered the allspice tree, although I did not realize until later that the tree was, in fact, the allspice tree. However, having smelled it, I commented that the smell was very gentle and soothing, very similar to several spices, particularly those that you might put in tea. Later I compared the allspice leaf scent to some ground cinnamon. The allspice smelled fresher and softer, and also a little warmer than the cinnamon.

The next plant was a Fiji Fan Palm, which smelled quite terrible, as though it were decaying. Fortunately the odor was only of a medium strength. The smell was somewhat cold, and reminded my of the smell of dirty socks.

I then approached the Crinum Lily, which was giving off a very powerful scent, which I was easily able to distinguish from several feet away. The scent was very warm and soothing, and quite sweet. The Lily reminded me of some perfumes.

Just walking through the room without pausing to sniff any particular plants revealed many scents wafting through the air, giving a very three-dimensional texture to the room. I could detect decaying leaves, some sweet smells, and some citrus (although I believe that is from some Christmas decorations).

After having gone outside to clear my senses, I returned to the main Christmas room. While I had been outside I had noticed more of a lack of smell, aside from a few evergreens that I sniffed. However, returning to inside I immediately felt bombarded by scents. Although the smell was Christmas-y, I wasn't sure what any of the particular elements to the smell were. Then I thought I smelled some cleaning agents, and shortly thereafter noticed some cleaning supplies on a cart.

I encountered a tree known as the Rose of Venezuela, which had a strong, sweet smell similar to that of perfume.

Back in the Victorian room, I sniffed the Chocolate Orchid. The smell definitely did not remind me of chocolate, but it was very warm and sweet, and called to mind the scents of certain perfumes and lotions. The smell was very powerful.

In the desert room again, an employee showed me some starfish flowers, which she said emit a pungent odor when they blossom. Sadly, the flowers were not blossoming, and so did not emit enough of a scent for me to detect.

In all, this exercise caused me to be much more in tune with not just scents but senses in general. Having a nice slow walk around the gardens allowed me to take in the beauty of the plants and also enjoy the peaceful sounds of a waterfall and birds tweeting. During the course of the exercise, however, I noticed that I was becoming more aware of various scents. Returning a second time to sniff various plants brought more observations to me - although, if I spent too much time trying to smell a plant, its scent would fade from my ability to detect it. My perception of smells seemed most keen upon reentering the building from being outside.

I had two Christmas scents - cinnamon and a mystery scent. I think the mystery scent might be Eucalyptus (due to its Menthol-like smell), but it is not a scent I associate with Christmas. The cinnamon, on the other hand, brings back three main memories. First, a Christmas ornament I made many years ago using cinnamon sticks. Second, my mom making cinnamon rolls. Thirdly, and less happily, the scent of cinnamon reminds of a non-holiday occasion where I put way, way too much cinnamon in with my applesauce. However, my perceptions of the smells around me did not seem to be altered significantly.

Day 1 (Babbette's Feast, Meijer Gardens)

1. Jutland is a large peninsula that sticks out from the North side of Europe towards Scandinavia. It is bordered by the Baltic Sea to the East and the North Sea to the West. The approximate longitude and latitude of Jutland is 56° 00 N, 10 º 00 E.

2. Senses are tweaked in many ways by this film. There are plenty of places where the conditions outside are evident (a setting sun, or particularly cold weather, for example), which appeals to our ability to appreciate the beauty (in the case of the sunset) or empathize with the plight of a General who has to ride through such cold weather.

In another scene, a piano note perfectly syncs with a candle blowing out, which further illustrates that the candle is noteworthy. Unlike modern movies, Babette's Feast has a very sparse soundtrack, and thus the music of the soundtrack is easily noticed. As a result, the soundtrack is informative of the mood of the scene. Furthermore, in the absence of the music, other sounds become obvious - the wind blowing outside, for example, or the fire crackling.

Food is most significantly used in the movie. Through watching the characters react to the meal they eat, the audience can appreciate the meal themselves. Great care is taken to show various ingredients used, and comments (especially by the general) demonstrate how truly special the meal is.

3. Babette is suggesting that there is a link between the physical and metaphysical. Food and drink, the physical medium, was used as a tool to obtain happiness - something non-physical.

4. Babette very clearly comes across as a Jesus figure in Babette's Feast. She had a strange but planned arrival and a great life before coming to Jutland, which went unrecognized by the people she was then surrounded by. Babette took everything she had and gave it to her friends. She humbled herself and essentially sacrificed herself for the benefit of her friends, and her efforts originally went under-appreciated. However, by the end of the film, Babette's friends were in awe of her abilities. Babette gave more than anyone could have dreamed of, and also brought reconciliation among the friends.

5. Christians have to make a choice between the material and immaterial, but they don't have to give one up. As Christians, we are called to have faith and have that rule our lives. Romans 6:12 makes it clear that we are not to give in to the sinful desires of the body. And yet, it is very clear that the material world is of extreme importance. Although we cannot serve two masters, there is plenty of evidence that the physical world is important. God created the world, and then recognized that there are unique struggles therein. Thus, Jesus joined us in order to experience the physical world - but while he was here Jesus used the physical realm for his ministry. Healing people was as important as demon exorcism. I think most significantly, however, is the way Jesus used food in his ministry - feeding thousands, eating with many people, and most of all, leaving us the instructions for the sacrament, which, by use of bread and wine, necessarily keeps us grounded in physical reality.

6. As an afterwards, hopefully the sisters would put more trust in Babette. At first they were very skeptical of her intentions and her abilities, both of which turned out to be extraordinary. Furthermore, the sisters would hopefully realize the importance of both service and food towards helping others. The sisters should also be more aware that they cannot always be the ones serving - sometimes they need to take a backseat and be served themselves.

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1. Cloves are native to eastern Indonesia, and is used in combination with many meats and fruits, as well as some beverages. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cloves). More than 50% of the world's cloves are used by Indonesians, however, they primarily use cloves to flavor cigarettes. Cloves are also a common ingredient in many spice blends. (http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Syzy_aro.html)

2. Cinnamon is grown in tropical regions, with the highest-regarded varieties coming from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Cinnamon is used on many foods including most fruits and some meats. (http://www.food.com/library/cinnamon-324)

3. The allspice tree is native to central America and Mexico, and is grown only in warm regions of the Western hemisphere. It was previously known as Pimienta, because Spanish explorers in the New World confused it with black pepper in the 16th century. However, the name allspice is due to the perception the Pimienta combines the flavor of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allspice) (http://www.floridata.com/ref/P/pime_dio.cfm)