When brewing coffee, there are two factors that play a huge part in the final flavor. The water-to-bean ratio is important, but first you should have fresh beans and they should be ground as soon before brewing as possible. Fresh grounds will have the natural oils of the bean still in them, which will give you the fullest flavor, eliminating much of that flat and bitter aftertaste that can come from stale grounds - and ground coffee can stale very, very quickly. This is why, if you brew coffee at home, it's a good idea to buy a grinder and grind your own beans. Since that's another step between you and coffee in the morning, however, many opt for preground. The all-in-one coffee makers, which have built in grinders, are a good option for anyone who wants to get the best cup of coffee with the least amount of work.

The machines are programmed in advance and they heat water, grind beans and brew your coffee all with the touch of a button. A recent test showed good results from each of three machines. The Melitta preformed well, but had no insulated carafe, which keeps the coffee from becoming burned or overly strong sitting on a heating pad. The Cuisinart made a slightly better cup of coffee than the Melitta, but the Capresso, with a burr grinder to ensure even grounds and smooth flavor, won the test.

All in all, you can't really go wrong with any of the machines from the sound of it, but if you already have a machine you like, look into getting a grinder instead of a whole new machine to really improve the quality of your morning brew.

Looking for new ways to get some perspective on how our bodies process food, some UK scientists have built an artificial stomach that simulates digestion. The machine is made from plastics and metals, all strong enough to withstand the acids that are part of digestion, and is controlled by computers, able to mimic all the physical and chemical reactions associated with eating. It is even capable of vomiting.

The designer, Dr Martin Wickham, is hopeful that "his model will help scientists understand more about how food gets processed in the gut, and which nutrients get absorbed." This knowledge could lead to new definitions of superfoods, which are supposedly the healthiest of foods, determining which nutrients are absorbed the fastest and how to get the most from what we eat. There are commercial applications, as well, and companies have already shown an interest in borrowing the machine to test out some of their new food products (health-type products) release a specified nutrient to the stomach that the company claims it does.

Waffles make appearances at the breakfast table slightly less often than other foods, like eggs, cereals and pancakes. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that they require a separate appliance and, unless you are fortunate enough to have a surplus of counter space, you probably have to spend some time tracking it down before you can cook. Waffles are not really any more difficult to make than any other breakfast food - and these particular waffles are easy and delicious.

The recipe comes from one I saw in Sunset magazine and called for blue cornmeal and a whipped cream topping. I replaced the whipped cream with maple syrup, which seemed more appropriate for breakfast, and used yellow cornmeal. In seconds, the batter comes together in one bowl and the waffles begin to dook in the iron. The waffles are crisp outside and moist and tender within. The cornmeal gives the a fantastic and satisfying texture.

Nicole recently posted about fingerprint scanners used by school cafeterias to ensure that kids are eating healthy meals. Well, some graduate students have now used similar technology to make getting junk food easier. An engineering professor at the University of California San Diego started the "biometric soda machine" project and students in his department have since outfitted a regular snack machine with thumbprint and facial recognition, as well as a bar code scanner, CR80 News reported. The goal of the project, known as SodaVision, is an easy, debit-based system where people can walk up to the machine, be recognized, choose their snack and walk away. A visit to the SodaVision site also has examples of the machine's interface, which looks like a screen from Star Trek.

[Via Pure Pedantry]

A seventh grader from Tampa recently won her school science fair with an experiment that compared levels of bacteria in the toilets and ice machines of five different fast food restaurants. According to 12-year-old Jasmine Roberts, the toilets contained less bacteria 70 percent of the time. For the toilet samples, Roberts flushed each toilet and then scooped up some water with a sterile beaker. For the ice, she took samples from machines inside the restaurants as well as from ice ordered at each drive-through window. The samples were tested at Tampa's Moffitt Cancer Center where Roberts volunteers. The video that accompanies the story has footage of a graph comparing the bacteria in toilets versus ice. Some of the differences are vast. Unfortunately, Roberts doesn't disclose the names of the restaurants.