Building Bridges: A transdisciplinary view on gastronomy

Gastronomy is a shared space that naturally embraces different disciplines or areas of knowledge. Cooking, sociology, anthropology, history, architecture, chemistry, and biology are some areas that can be used to explain specific characteristics of food and the act of eating. Nevertheless, disciplines usually work separately, causing most of the time a loss of interesting information. The concept of transdisciplinarity is then used to consider all dimensions of gastronomy to find real solutions that go beyond the disciplines. This dialogue between a food scientist and a sociologist does not expect to be more than a conversation between two colleagues from different disciplines that usually collaborate on some food research projects. Through this collaborative experience, both experts highlight some ideas that can be helped to build bridges between disciplines. In the end, gastronomy can help us to understand the whole food system.La gastronomía es un espacio compartido que abarca con naturalidad diferentes disciplinas o áreas de conocimiento. La cocina, la sociología, la antropología, la historia, la arquitectura, la química y la biología son algunas de las áreas que se pueden utilizar para explicar las características específicas de los alimentos y el acto de comer. Sin embargo, las disciplinas normalmente trabajan por separado, provocando la mayoría de las veces una pérdida de información interesante. El concepto de transdisciplinariedad se utiliza entonces para considerar todas las dimensiones de la gastronomía para encontrar soluciones reales que van más allá de las disciplinas. Este diálogo entre un científico alimentario y un sociólogo no pretende ser más que una conversación entre dos colegas de distintas disciplinas que suelen colaborar en algunos proyectos de investigación alimentaria. A través de esta experiencia colaborativa, ambos expertos destacan algunas ideas que pueden ayudar a construir puentes entre disciplinas. Al final, la gastronomía puede ayudarnos a entender todo el sistema alimentario

Effect of microwave power coupled with hot air drying on process efficiency and physico-chemical properties of a new dietary fibre ingredient obtained from orange peel

[EN] Orange by-products are an excellent source of dietary fibre. The main objective of this work was to compare the physico-chemical and technological properties of fibres obtained from orange by-products by applying two different drying methods: hot air (HAD) and hot air coupled with microwave drying (HAD + MW). Process efficiency was also compared. 92% reduction in processing time and 77% reduction in energy consumption was achieved with HAD + MW. The drying treatment did not affect the physico-chemical properties of the fibres; however, the shrinkage-swelling phenomena that occurred during drying changed the rehydration properties of the fibre. HAD mainly affected the mechanical energy whereas HAD + MW affected the surface tension. An increase in particle size due to an increase in porosity during HAD + MW improved the fibre swelling capacity. HAD + MW can reduce drying time resulting in a more efficient drying process that positively affects the orange fibre's technological properties.The authors would like to acknowledge the Basque Government for the financial support of the project (LasaiFood). The author Marta Castro-Giraldez wants to thanks to the UPV Postdoctoral Program (PAID-10-14) from Universidad Politecnica de Valencia for their support. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Programa Estatal de I + D + i orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad AGL2016-80643-R. This paper is contribution no 738 from AZTI (New Foods).Talens Vila, C.; Arboleya, JC.; Castro Giráldez, M.; Fito Suñer, PJ. (2017). Effect of microwave power coupled with hot air drying on process efficiency and physico-chemical properties of a new dietary fibre ingredient obtained from orange peel. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 77:110-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2016.11.036S1101187

Proteomic analysis of processing by-products from canned and fresh tuna: identification of potentially functional food proteins

Proteomic approaches have been used to identify the main proteins present in processing by-products generated by the canning tuna-industry, as well as in by-products derived from filleting of skeletal red muscle of fresh tuna. Following fractionation by using an ammonium sulphate precipitation method, three proteins (tropomyosin, haemoglobin and the stress-shock protein ubiquitin) were identified in the highly heterogeneous and heat-treated material discarded by the canning-industry. Additionally, this fractionation method was successful to obtain tropomyosin of high purity from the heterogeneous starting material. By-products from skeletal red muscle of fresh tuna were efficiently fractionated to sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar fractions, prior to the identification based mainly on the combined searching of the peptide mass fingerprint (MALDI–TOF) and peptide fragment fingerprinting (MALDI LIFT-TOF/TOF) spectra of fifteen bands separated by 1D SDS–PAGE. Thus, the sarcoplasmic fraction contained myoglobin and several enzymes that are essential for efficient energy production, whereas the myofibrillar fraction had important contractile proteins, such as actin, tropomyosin, myosin or an isoform of the enzyme creatine kinase. Application of proteomic technologies has revealed new knowledge on the composition of important by-products from tuna species, enabling a better evaluation of their potential applications.The financial support from projects Consolider CSD2007-00063 INGENIO 2010 (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia) and ALIBIRD S2009/AGR-1469 (Comunidad de Madrid).Peer Reviewe

Recent advances in the recovery and improvement of functional proteins from fish processing by-products: Use of protein glycation as an alternative method

The recovery of proteins from fish by-products for their utilization as food ingredients is becoming of increasing interest in the food industry as they may possess good functional and nutritional properties. This article reviews the main processing methods, such as enzymatic hydrolysis, pH shifting, membrane filtration, and some emerging technologies, used for the recovery of proteins from fish processing by-products. The impact of these methods on the yield and, especially, on the functionality of the recovered proteins is discussed in detail. Considering that there is a huge amount of fish by-products destined for nonfood use, one of the current challenges of the food industry is the development of technologies that allow the recovery of ingredients from the fish processing by-products with potential to provide new and natural sources of high-value functional ingredients for human consumption. In this sense, this review explores the potential use of the glycation reaction to increase the yield of proteins extracted from fish by-products, as well as the effect of this reaction on their functional and biological properties.The financial support from the Dept. of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food of the Basque Government and projects ALIBIRDS-0505/AGR/000153 (Comunidad de Madrid) and Consolider CSD2007-00063 INGENIO 2010 (Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia) is gratefully acknowledged. E.S. thanks the Fundacion Centros Tecnologicos-Iñaki Goenaga for a PhD grant.Peer Reviewe

Derivation of Kokumi γ-Glutamyl Peptides and Volatile Aroma Compounds from Fermented Cereal Processing By-Products for Reducing Bitterness of Plant-Based Ingredients

Current food production methods and consumption behaviours are unsustainable and contribute to environmental harm. One example is food waste—around 38% of food produced is wasted each year. Here, we show that two common food waste products, wheat bran and brewer’s spent grain, can successfully be upcycled via miso fermentation. During the fermentation process, kokumi γ-glutamyl peptides, known to increase mouthfulness, are produced; these include γ-ECG (oxidized), γ-EVG, γ-EV, γ-EE, γ-EF, and γ-EL. The profiles of kokumi peptides and volatile aroma compounds are correlated with koji substrate, pH, and enzymatic activity, offering straightforward parameters that can be manipulated to increase the abundance of kokumi peptides during the fermentation process. Correlation analysis demonstrates that some volatile aroma compounds, such as fatty acid ethyl esters, are correlated with kokumi peptide abundance and may be responsible for fatty, greasy, and buttery aromas. Consumer sensory analysis conveys that the bitter taste of vegetables, such as that in endives, can be dampened when miso extract containing kokumi peptides is added. This suggests that kokumi peptides, along with aroma volatile compounds, can enhance the overall flavour of plant-based products. This study opens new opportunities for cereal processing by-product upcycling via fermentation, ultimately having the potential to promote a plant-based diet.</p

Characterization of kokumi γ-glutamyl peptides and volatile aroma compounds in alternative grain miso fermentations

The term kokumi is used to describe sensory attributes of mouthfulness, lingeringness, and thickness. It is caused by γ-glutamyl di- and tri-peptides, and is especially prevalent in fermented food products. This study explores the influence of substrate, microbial strain and fermentation time on the development of kokumi peptides in barley and sorghum misos, both grain-based fermentations produced by Aspergillus oryzae. Unlike other reports, kokumi peptide evolution is considered in the context of the fermentation process overall, including the volatile aroma compounds and physico-chemical parameters. We show that fermentation time and microbial strain play important roles for the γ-glutamyl profile. We also show that peptides γ-EL, γ-EF, γ-EV, and γ-EVG are present throughout the fermentation process for all misos, and that the evolution of certain kokumi peptides can be predicted from redox, pH, and color. In addition, there is significant correlation between γ-glutamyl peptides and several dozen volatile compounds including esters, alcohols, aldehydes, acids, ketones, and hydrocarbons, overall contributing a comprehensive view of the flavor space of kokumi. The correlation to many ester compounds suggests a connection between kokumi and fruity/sweet/waxy aromas. Our results can inform flavor and texture parameters in plant-based food innovation

Antología del pensamiento crítico cubano contemporáneo

La oportunidad y el reto que plantearon la ardua labor de seleccionar entre decenas de ensayos y de ángulos visuales llevaron consigo el reconocimiento de que el producto final sería, necesariamente, incompleto. Bajo la comprensión de que el pensamiento social es reflejo de la realidad, y de que ésta es siempre compleja, cambiante, contradictoria, se trató de que los textos se detuvieran en determinadas etapas, procurando en lo posible un eslabonamiento entre ellas y los fenómenos principales que se fraguaban dentro de las contextualizaciones correspondientes y que los escritores políticos, investigadores, profesores, sociólogos, filósofos, economistas, historiadores, críticos literarios convirtieron en objeto de su atención. La intención ha sido propiciar una unidad de lectura progresiva, a través de la cual se abordan cinco núcleos temáticos o grupos de ensayos, que abordan cuestiones, procesos, problemas, que guardan cierta coherencia o complementariedad, tanto en su expresión factual, en la realidad objetiva, como en la interpretación teórica, en la representación subjetiva que ofrecen los autores