image source Sifu Renka
A new study from Newcastle University has found that a dietary fiber found in seaweed (alginate – which is widely used in the food industry as a stabilizer) can reduce fat intake by up to 75%, mainly because it is known to absorb 200 – 300 times its weight in water. Although the picture above has nothing to do with what this fiber is most commonly used for (think of that weird gelatin around cat food), it looks way better than cat food. Many chefs that practice Molecular Gastronomy have been using Sodium Alginate to create new and unique dishes, such as Ferran Adrià’s Liquid Pea Ravioli at El Bulli in Catalonia, Spain. Although the main purpose of this study is to find ways to fortify existing products (like bread and yogurt), I think we should just make our own. Check out this great article from chow.com on creating your own concoctions of molecular food.
| via Science Daily |
Posted on March 22, 2010 at 15:22, filed under Science. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.