On Food and Cooking

only its precursors. But without these pigment precursors there would be no vitamin A in animals either. In the e ...

300 known anthocyanins, and a given fruit or vegetable will usually contain a mixture of a dozen or more. ...

blue — and they’re altered by traces of metals, so they are often the source of strange off-colors in cooked f ...

red beets or prickly pears can give a startling but harmless tinge to the urine. The red betains conta ...

fats and oils than in water. Bottom right: Cyanidin, a blue pigment in the anthocyanin family. Thanks ...

defenses: when insects or microbes damage its cells, the plant releases reactive phenolics that attack the ...

freshly cut leaves in a pot of water at 115ºF/47ºC for three minutes before chilling and bagging th ...

Brown discoloration caused by plant enzymes. When the cells in certain fruits and vegetables are damaged by cutt ...

The overall flavor of a fruit or vegetable is a composite of several distinct sensations. From the taste buds ...

especially prominent in fruits and vegetables. Sugar is the main product of photosynthesis, and its sweetness ...

quickly used up by the plant cells after harvest. This is why vegetables picked just before cooking are more ...

mushrooms, lettuces, burdock, basil, and peppermint. This may be one of the benefits of ending a meal with ...

foods, some fruits and vegetables do contain significant quantities of glutamic acid, the active portion of MSG. ...

of astringency is caused when tannins bond to proteins in our saliva, which normally provide lubrication and ...

We can distinguish and enjoy the many hues of anthocyanin- and carotenoid-rich plants — as well as the same ...

digested and nutritious, and more sought after by monkeys. Without good red vision, it would be hard to f ...

by “hot” spices and vegetables — chillis, black pepper, ginger, mustard, horse-radish, onions, and ...

cooking will moderate the pungency of these foods. By contrast, the peppers and ginger stockpile t ...

nearly all food aromas are composites of many different volatile molecules. In the case of vegetables ...

ask: Is there a green-grass note in this aroma? A fruity note? A spicy or nutty or earthy note? If ...