"food scientist" news and stories

Sara Lee has just released a new line of hot dog and hamburger buns in time for the summer grilling season. The buns are made along similar lines as their best-selling Soft & Smooth bread, which contains whole grains but has the same texture and flavor as white bread. The names of the buns are a mouthful -  Sara Lee Made With Whole Grain White Hot Dog and White Hamburger Buns - but if the success of their Soft & Smooth bread is anything to go on, it is a mouthful that consumers are eager to take.

How do they make these breads? Spencer Wise is a food scientist for Sara Lee who is credited with the creation of these breads and buns. They are about 24% whole grain, made using a "white whole wheat" flour developed by ConAgra to feel softer and look similar to white flour, and contain 6 grams of whole grains per bun. Wise says that while the basics like flour, oil and yeast are important, any baker could work them out, so "the real secret recipe lies in the amount of monoglycerides, enzymes and other additives, " the combination of which allows the bread to be made successfully on an industrial scale.

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 Gadling reports that some Czech food scientists are developing a beer that will alleviate the symptoms associated with menopause, including hot flashes and difficulty sleeping. The beer contains an unusually high level of phytoestrogen, a form of estrogen that is found in plants and the hops and barley malt use in some types of beer. A gynecologist who ran a small trial of the beer on 20 patients reported that "volunteers who drank three deciliters nightly for two months reported fewer menopausal symptoms." Three deciliters is about 10 ounces of beer. The brew is also low-calorie and low alcohol, but there is no word yet as to when it might be commercially available.

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