/oss/taxonomy/term/1975/all en /oss/article/health-history/celebrating-hanukkah-candles-latkes-and-bit-history <p>Why are potato latkes a traditional food to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah? Frankly, it isn’t clear. But first, a quick recap of what Hanukkah is all about...</p> Thu, 10 Dec 2020 22:21:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8529 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-you-asked/how-can-i-make-perfect-french-fry <p>So, you’re tired of eating lousy french fries. You’re sick of those limp dark brown grease sponges. What can you do? Make them! Let’s for a moment forget nutrition and health. In this area, french fries have no redeeming value. We eat them because we like them, in spite of what they may be doing to the lining of our arteries. So let’s at least make it worthwhile. A perfect fry has to be cooked through and through, should be a golden brown on the outside, cannot be limp and must not be saturated with grease. This is no small task. Numerous factors come into play.</p> Fri, 29 Nov 2019 17:05:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8012 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/did-you-know-science-can-help-us-make-better-pizza-and-better-roasted-potatoes <p>Students from the Edge Hotel School have brought us some <a href="https://theuijunkie.com/edge-school-method-roasted-potatoes/">starchy math </a>that can improve the quality of roasted potatoes the world over.</p> <p>The theory is that maximizing the internal surface area of the tuber will maximize the crispiness and therefore the desirability of roasted potatoes. Most of us cut our potatoes at 90˚ angles, in half, and then into quarters. These students realized that just by cutting at 30˚ angles, an increase of up to 65% internal surface area can be achieved!</p> Fri, 15 Mar 2019 16:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7648 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/eggplants-contain-nicotine <p>Eggplant seeds (and they have many) <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sns-dailymeal-1813110-healthy-eating-eggplant-contains-nicotine-it-addictive-20170925-story.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contain nicotinoid alkaloids</a>, which are responsible for the slightly bitter taste of the purple <a href="/oss/article/did-you-know/bananas-are-berries-raspberries-are-not" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">berry</a>. The concentration of nicotine itself is about 100 nanograms per gram of eggplant, compared with 2 milligrams of nicotine per cigarette.</p> Thu, 08 Feb 2018 15:18:47 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD and Ada McVean, OSS Intern 6918 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health-news/fear-fries <p style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p style="text-align:justify"> </p> <p> </p> Mon, 23 Mar 2015 03:32:45 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2245 at /oss