Wet cardboard and a tomato should not taste the same, but few of us have been fortunate enough to experience the difference. A tomato, in addition to water and cellulose, has sugars, acids, and aromas that distinguish it from wet cardboard. I blamed supermarkets demanding firm, but not very ripe, fruit for the cardboard-like tomato offerings, but a recent article in Science explains that the problem is a malfunctioning gene.…

Calories give us pleasure. That seems obvious: ice-cream, french fries, spring rolls, or halva are all in the yum category. But there is pleasure even if there is no flavor. This is a recent discovery that hints that great food goes beyond good flavor. It needs to have calories. How we can manage that requirement and not promote the rise of obesity is a challenge every cook needs to confront.…

[]typepad To glimpse at dinners past look into the The Deipnosophists. Written in the second century during Roman times, Athenaeus, the author, used a dinner among friends as a setting to discuss matters literary, philosophical and culinary. At one point one of his guests challenges: My friend, a great deal has been said already By many men on the art of cookery So either tell me something new yourself Unknown to former cooks, or spare my ears…

Orange juice has no added sugar. The not-from-concentrate (NFC) juice sold in the refrigerated sections of supermarkets (typically Tropicana or Minute Maid brands in the United States) has no sugar listed in the list of ingredients, yet the juice tastes sweeter than any juice I have ever squeezed. Adding to this mystery is the fact that the orange juice from Navel oranges turns bitter after some time. In the United States, the two most common oranges are the Valencia and the Navel.…