When doves cry, when onions cry

Last night I was slicing and dicing my friend the white onion when I started welling up and through the saline, decided that writing about onions was an appropriate blog post. [OMG! Five seconds after I typed "welling up," someone nearby said that exact phrase!]

Why do I cry? Why? Onions, I love you so, but you make me leak from the eyes. I love the smell of raw onions; it’s marvelous. I’ll suffer through the pain for the reward.

In October 2002, Imai et al. published a brief communication in Nature which identified the enzyme (lachrymatory-factor synthase) responsible for the synthesis of syn-propanethial-S-oxide. The latter is the beast which causes the waterworks to start a flowin’ by irritating the lacrimal glands of the eyes, located on the tops of your eyes, away from your nose. Basically what happens is that after slicing the onion, lachrymatory-factor synthase is released into the air, and it begins to convert sulfoxides into sulfenic acid. This unstable substance rapidly becomes syn-ropanethial-S-oxide. And there you go.

Or at least, that’s the organic chemistry (ugh) part of it. Moving on, syn-ropanethial-S-oxide contacts the cornea which is the protective covering of the eye. Corneal nerves are stimulated in the presences of syn-ropanethial-S-oxide and then these guys trigger the ciliary nerve (part of the trigeminal nerve) which alerts the CNS of the situation, and the CNS then calls the lacrimal glands to start the crying.

For the Martha Stewart side of things, the National Onion Association recommends rubbing your hands with lemon juice or salt to remove the onion odor. I’ve had that issue with garlic, not so much onions. And you can sob less if you toss the onion in the fridge for 30 minutes before it hits the chopping block, leaving the root uncut because that’s where all the teary chemicals are concentrated. You can also try using a super sharp knife in order to minimize onion damage, resulting in less syn-propanethial-S-oxide release.

References

• http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/onion.html
• http://www.onions-usa.org/about/faq.php
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/07/ST2008100701969.html
• http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-the-chemical-proc
• http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6908/full/419685a.html–Imai S, Tsuge N, Tomotake M, Nagatome Y, Sawada H, Nagata T, Kumagai H. 2002. Plant biochemistry: an onion enzyme that makes the eyes water. Nature. 419:685.

in vino veritas, in aqua sanitas

I like wine but an not a wine snob or wine enthusiast even. I love visiting wineries though, such fun! Drinkable fun!

So we all know basics about wine (meaning it comes from grapes, blah blah), but since Wayne asked more about chemicals and additives tossed into the elixir, I thought it might make for an informative and drinkable blog post.

Basically you have grapes, you ferment them, you have wine. Yeast is actually present in grapes, but a lot of winemakers add their own yeast for greater control of the process.

Sulfite is right: you may have noticed your bottle of vino bearing the words “contains sulfites.” Each bottle in the US cannot contain more than 350 miligrams/liter of sulfites which should be safe for those with sulfite allergies. Sulfites means that sulfur dioxide has been added during the winemaking process. SO2 is an anti-oxidant and preservative, zapping bad yeast and unwanted bacteria.

You’re so sweet: I thought dessert wines just had sugar added to them, but boy was I off-base. There are a couple different ways to produce sweet wines.

1. A fungus called Botrytis cinerea whisks away the wetness from the grapes, leaving them much more sugary.
2. If you leave grapes on the vine for a long while, they become sweetness-filled.
3. Raisins can be used as source material.
4. Another method is to add unfermented grape juice to the fermented liquid.
5. Or you can stop the fermenting process early on so that all the sugars haven’t yet been gobbled up by the yeasties.

Cheers!

References

• http://waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/winecomp/so2.htm
• http://www.winepros.org/wine101/enology.htm
• http://www.calwineries.com/learn/wine-production

I bet you didn’t discuss malaria treatments at your holiday party

My company threw a holiday party a few weeks ago and since there was an open bar of sorts, I decided to order a gin and tonic.  Wayne asked me what tonic water was, and I was ashamed? embarrassed? to not be able to provide the answer.  What’s tonic water?  What’s seltzer water?

I scrounged my brain for an appropriate factoid.  “Uh, once I saw an episode of House which said something about how quinine was in tonic water?”  Not the stroke of brilliance I was looking for. 

“Quinine?  Does that have to do with malaria?”

I don’t know!  It’s sad.

I’ll make amends now!

Tonic water basically consists of four ingredients: carbonated water, a sweetener, citric acid, and quinine.  The alkaloid quinine is the substance that causes bitterness.  [Hmm, that's a good one.  Instead of telling someone that he/she is so bitter, you can say, "You're so quinine."]  Quinine was added to the water as a therapeutic/preventative measure, and those clever Brits came up with the delightful gin and tonic to make the medicine go down, Mary Poppins-style.

Quinine is isolated from the bark of the cinchona tree, native to the Andes mountains.  Trees in the genus Cinchona were taken to other parts of the world, notably India and Indonesia, and flourished.  There are colorful stories about the historical use of cinchona bark extract involving countesses and Jesuits.  Quinine works by blocking the actions of the enzyme heme polymerase which results in a build-up of toxic heme within the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, nicely killing those buggers.

It would not be advised to swill gin and tonics to self-medicate for malaria, as you would be consuming roughly 100 drinks a day.  The amount of quinine in commercially available tonic water is minimal: 20 mg per 6 fluid ounces, and the prescribed dosage of quinine is 600 mg per day. 

Seltzer water is just carbonated water.  What a letdown; I thought it would be more exciting than that.

And then people at the party all ordered gin and tonics and I felt like a trendsetter.

References

• http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/dining/29toni.html
• http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Cinchona/index.html
• http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/quinine/quininev.htm
• http://www.rain-tree.com/quinine.htm
• http://www.malariasite.com/malaria/quinine.htm

Cabbage patch smell

Greg wonders, “Why do my cabbage dishes reek?”

Answer: sulfur. When this leafy veggie is cut, mustard oils come out to play, and cooking the cabbage converts these oils to sulfur products.

So Greg, don’t overcook your cabbage. It’s also recommended to use stainless steel pots and pans when cooking cabbage.

Fun facts: cabbage is a treasure trove of vitamins C and K. It belongs to the Cruciferae family which also includes cousins broccoli and cauliflower.  Cabbage also contains cancer crime fighting substances such as phytochemicals, go cabbage!  Unfortunately gut-dwelling bacteria pounce on the fiber contained in cabbage, giving you gas.   With the good comes the bad I suppose.

References

• http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/100/cabbage
• http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch33.html
• http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/cabbage1.html
• http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Phytochemicals.asp?sitearea=ETO

Girlfriend in a food coma

Moons ago in college, I took a 1pm class. The combo of dry lectures and it being the time right after lunch was lethal. I craved napping, not learning. It was brutal. I’m particularly prone to the zzzzzs after a heavy lunch, and I’m glad that it’s not just me. What you and I might call “food coma” is referred to scientifically as “post-prandial somnolence.”

Prandial–of or relating to a meal

Somnolence–the quality or state of being drowsy

Basically what happens after a large meal is that the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) kicks into gear. The PNS is the complement of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is what is large and in charge during stressful times, aka “fight or flight.” The PNS is more “rest and digest.” Energy is low, food is being digested.

It isn’t only the PNS that is responsible for food coma. Circadian rhythms are also involved, as lunchtime is typically a rest part of this 24 hour sleep-wake cycle. Hormones play a role too. Carb-rich foods are often the culprit because when you gouge on a carbohydrate-filled lunch, the bulky amino acid tryptophan goes right up to your brain where it is converted into serotonin and melatonin, equaling sleepy time! Too bad I don’t live in Spain, hello siesta.

References

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/business/yourmoney/19career.html
• http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/4876.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_coma
• http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/auto.html

Pour some white sugar on me

As much as I love sucrose, aka sugar (but not sugar substitutes), I honestly do not know much about sugar, its 411 if you will. Wayne asked me what makes white sugar white, and I didn’t have the answer. For starters, I had no clue that sugar is sourced from a root called the sugar beet, as well as the more commonly known sugar cane. Beets are essentially sliced up and sugar cane slashed, and then they are juiced and the juice is purified. Molasses is the byproduct liquid you get during the crystallization process which follows purification.

White sugar isn’t bleached as one might expect. Crystals just look white because they are colorless. Brown sugar has molasses added: light brown sugar with less molasses and dark brown sugar with more molasses. If you are wondering about where raw sugar (turbinado sugar, those brown packets you sometimes see in the sugar box at restaurants) falls in this spectrum, this form of sugar has been partially processed so that the top layer of molasses has been washed away.

And there you have it. Sweet!

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_beet
• http://www.sugar.org/faqs/
• http://www.sugar.org/consumers/sweet_by_nature.asp?id=275

The obvious soundtrack for this post:

The top of the food heap, Michelin-style

This past Monday, both Zagat and the Michelin Guide released their lists of top restaurants in New York City. I’m not much of a Zagat person because you have to sign up to access the reviews and ratings online, but the books are all right. The New York Times has an article comparing the two: it can be safely concluded that overall the lists are pretty in tune with each other.

The Michelin Guide’s list of 2009 starred New York restaurants can be found here. Country fell off the list but I’m not that concerned since I didn’t exactly have a flawless experience there. Notoriously-difficult-to-get-a-reservation Babbo also does not make an appearance. Notoriously-difficult-to-get-a-reservation Momofuku Ko does make an appearance. I want to eat at both of those dining establishments someday, along with the rest I haven’t set foot in. Too many restaurants I want to try…I need to win the lottery, like now.

I’ll be sampling the offerings at two One Stars this weekend and will report back next week!

The Michael Phelps diet isn’t going to be sweeping the nation anytime soon

Wayne suggested I write about Michael Phelps’s insane intake of calories.  I must note here that I have not watched any of the Beijing Summer Olympics nor the recent previous summer Olympics games.  Anyway, even if you don’t have cable like me, you couldn’t live your life without hearing or reading Michael Phelps somewhere or another.  Seriously, is this guy even human?  Maybe he’s a robot Speedo created in their top secret underground lab.

Michael Phelps stands 6′4″ tall (1.93m if you’re metric) and weights 195 pounds.  He consumes between 8,000 to 12,000 calories a day with a calorie being the amount of energy to raise one gram of water one Celsius degree.  An average joe consumes about 2,000 calories a day.  Doing the calculus-like math, the Baltimore Bullet is chowing down on the equivalent of food for six people.  Here’s what a typical day would be like for Mr. Phelps, food-wise. 

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.  [I think I could eat this breakfast over the course of several days.]

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. A whole entire pizza. Energy drinks. 

The swimmer trains five hours a day, six days a week so he’s using energy as quickly as he’s taking it in.  I tried to find information on what other elite pool people eat, but that was sort of fruitless as only articles about Michael Phelps popped up in Google.  A lot of how much an athlete eats depends on his/her size and the type of sport.  For certain sports, you might concentrate more or carbs or protein.  The Michael Phelps diet wouldn’t work for me since I can barely swim.  Put me in a pool and I flounder around.  Maybe for you, not me, that’s for sure.      

References

• http://www.michaelphelps.com (the official site which is really out of date)
• http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=2/bio/ 
• http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/13/the-michael-phelps-diet-dont-try-it-at-home/
• http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/08/14/olympic.diet/index.html