Every Day a Datapoint. – Page 2 – big data, small data, fake data, no data. explained for other living data points.

Smells like…

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Florian Huber

Researchers find that we can distinguish more than one trillion odors. Now, is that much or not?

Out of a set of 128 basic odors (I only depicted 100 boxes here), 10 (as shown here), 20 or 30 were mixed so that test persons could compare the smell of different mixtures. Two entirely different sets of flavor compounds were easy to distinguish (left), but if a substantial part of the compounds were identical (violet squares) it quickly becomes difficult to sense a difference (middle) or at about 90% overlap mixtures can not even be distinguished at all (right).… Read the rest

Perfect non-sustainable chocolate mousse

Posted on March 8, 2014 by Florian Huber

Howdy. I first wanted to entitle this post “the perfect chocolate mousse”, but that seemed to claim a little too much, right? Modest as I am, I consider it possible that some people might make even better (or at least equally good) chocolate mousse. But “quite good chocolate mousse” is simply not such a catchy title…

Systematic test of slightly different chocolate mousse recipes. From left to right: 0.5% iota-carrageenan (filled in canister at 80-90°C) | 1% iota-carrageenan (filled at 80-90°C) | 1.5% iota-carrageenan (filled at 80-90°C) | 1% iota-carrageenan (filled at 65°C).… Read the rest

Beyond Criollo, Trinitario, Forastero

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Florian Huber

When entering the world of high-quality chocolates you immediately get confronted with a number of categories in order to understand or classify a chocolate. There is the technical aspect of the chocolate manufacturer: roasting, conching, adding cocoa butter. But all of this can only enhance or suppress the flavors that come from the cacao bean itself. The bean flavors are strongly influenced by the process of fermentation and drying. Finally, beyond that come two major labels: geographical origin and cacao variety.… Read the rest

Online Courses on Science and Food

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Florian Huber

Now, how was the HarvardX course? ¹⁾I kind of advertised it some month ago. Well, it’s not officially finished, but all lectures are done and all homework and lab tasks are given.

Screenshot from HarvardX online course on “Science and Cooking”

References [ + ]

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I kind of advertised it some month ago. Well, it’s not officially finished, but all lectures are done and all homework and lab tasks are given.

… Read the rest

Once a scientist, always a scientist

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Florian Huber

No way to deny it. I am a science geek, and I will remain a science geek, no matter if in the lab or in the kitchen (the kitchen is a lab, too, I would say). When I spend time on learning new things about cooking, eating, sweets, or health, I still carry around that scientist in me. … Read the rest

Again trouble with sugar

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Florian Huber

Unclear causal relations between sugar, obesity, and dental decay…

In short.

A recent article published in PLoS One (a fairly good open access journal) has a closer look at the potential relation between “Obesity and Dental Decay” with a focus on the role of common sugar. Looking at more than 8000 around 11 year old kids, the authors surprisingly found that higher obesity correlates with better dental conditions. Based on their results the authors question that high sugar consumption is the main cause for obesity (see 1s figure).… Read the rest