Expired Coke

Ooops. Turns out I have some just expired Coke.

Question:Will you drink expired coke as a dare or challenge?


For your info, I just happily chug down one can. Knowing that the least could go wrong....

Why?

1. Thanks to my food tech degree, I know that in airtight can or bottle with no oxygen, no aerobic bacteria is going to be present.

2. My concerns will only be the anaerobes to kill me. Sadly a coke with a pH of 2-4, no microbes, even the legendary Clostridium Botulinum will stand a chance of assassinating me.

3. There is no expiry for Coke. There is however a best before sign. Yes. Best before. your coke MIGHT be flat but it doesn't mean that it is unsafe for consumption.

I once heard in horror that some people play the mentos + coke experiment on a 1.5L coke which was pass best before...

A one way trip into my stomach and out through my urinary tract would have been a better ending....

*the writer will not bear for any mishaps (IF ANY) should anything goes wrong. The writer is well versed in food science knowledge and has hence took all possibilities into account before attempting this feat. Do try this at home but at your own risk (and wisdom).

Cocktails

From a coffee addict to an amateur alcohol study, I've taken up interests into exploring alcohol beverages.

The last post I've written about on alcohol was the functionality of each glass for each specific to the drink itself. Well today we'll go a bit deeper, taking on a party must have - cocktails.

Cocktails have their differences from beer and wine. While beer and wine are mostly taken as it is, cocktails are often a mixture of distilled beverage, juice, fruits and many other ingredients.

Cocktails can be also be taken in different methods. Some are shaken, some stirred (Martini, Mr. 007?). Some are taken layer by layer without mixing them together.

 

Classic example of a margarita glass function

What makes cocktails unique, is that the flavors and tastes comes from the ingredients used to prepare. And the alcoholic punch is usually derived from distilled beverage (alcoholic beverage which have a higher content of alcohol, namely above 30% of alcohol).

And yes, apart from growing your own grapes and processing your own wine, you can make up your own cocktail and give it a fancy name. 

Taking cocktails may not be as classy as taking wine or sniffing brandy, but you gotta admit one thing: the various color and decorations it adorn, blends perfectly in harmony when the occasion calls for a party.

 

 

Debunking The Chinese New Year Weight Gain Scare

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Good food good life in the horizon. And best of all - Ang Paus!

I know most of us who are health conscious are ready to put down the diet or gym regime for the mere 1 week just to let off some steam and to indulge a bit. Hell I'm already starting to lose some weight now in preparation for CNY's mega feast.

We all know we are bound to put on that extra weight. How much depends on how much we eat and drink. Don't forget: Soft drinks are lined with sugar that gives you that extra weight! Not to mention alcoholic beverages which pack in more calories!

I came across this facebook photo. Since it was about CNY cookies, it did raise my brow to read and look at the picture more closely.

Have a look at the picture:


Wow. Looks like a nightmare with all the 3 digits calorie gain with just a few pieces of intake.

Okay. Since there is a source for the picture, I checked out the website. So it's not a scientist or some healthcare professional. Nor is she related to anything related to science.

So here I stand, as a humble food tech grad student, just to prove the discrepancies of the data in the photo. Because I think it may create some unease to those who are really crazy of their body weight.

Let's start with some basics in food science. Let's learn about calories.

FACT 1: Calories are contributed by macro nutrients. The list of macro nutrients and their contribution of calories per gram are listed as below.

                              1 gram of fat                  = 9 calories
                              1 gram of alcohol           = 7 calories
                              1 gram of protein           = 4 calories
                              1 gram of carbohydrate  = 4 calories


FACT 2: According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, the total energy of an isolated system cannot change, which means energy cannot be created and destroyed. In layman terms for this situation, how much food you eat, will result in how much calorie intake, which in the end will determine your weight gain.

Ok let's get started. For easier calculation, we're going to take "1 gram of fat = 10 calories" for worse case scenario, as fat contributes to the most calorie intake per gram, and marking it up to 10 calories is to simplify calculation.


Case 1: 1 piece of nian gao fritters = 220 calories.

220 calories / (10 calories/g of fat) = 22 g of fat

As far as I know, Nian gao fritters are made up of nian gao (flour + alot of sugar, hence carbohydrate predominantly, 1 piece of potato and 1 piece of yam (also predominantly carbohydrates). Even the batter use to coat the whole 3 pieces is made of flour!. Only the frying requires oil, which in the end does not make up to even 20% of the whole piece of nian gao fritters.

If I were to go harsh and more precise, 220calories / (4 calories/g of carbs) = 50 g of carbs, which I would say that one piece of nian gao fritter is around 30g-ish.

But then let's get back to the declared value in the picture. If your nian gao and potato are really made up of 100% fat, weights 22 g for each piece, then no doubt you will get 220 calories.


Case 2: 4 pieces of love letters = 210 calories

First of all, I'm gonna say I will be pathetic as we all know love letters a.k.a. kuih kapit is NOT being deep fried but being baked on a charcoal griddle, so no added oil and fat.

But still for the sake of proofing, I'd still use "1 gram of fat = 10 calories"

210 calories / (10calories /g of fat) = 21g of fat.

So 4 pieces of kuih kapit is made entirely out of fat, with each piece weighing 5 g. I thought putting 100% of butter on a charcoal griddle just gets the butter melted?

A more precise calorie count for love letters :

17 calories x 4 pieces = 98 calories only. A big gap compared to 210 calories.


Case 3: 1 piece of bak kua 370 calories

Sounds logical. Bak kua IS oily.

370 calories / (10calories /g of fat) = 37 g of fat.

1 piece of bak kua made out of 100% fat, weighs 37 g, will give you 370 calories. But my science teacher taught me that meat is protein wor...

Well let's take a look at Bee Cheng Hiang's Nutrition Panel shall we:


1 serving = 40g = 146Kcal or in normal conversation 146 calorie. 370 calorie is just a number plucked from the sky!!!

*note: Food manufacturers HAVE to be careful when declaring these numbers on their Nutrition Panel. Cause a deviation of less than 80% or more than 120% will land them in hot soup according to Malaysia's Food Regulation. Why I know? Cause I'm working in the food industry :p

I can go on and justify each picture but why waste my time? I just want you guys to enjoy Chinese New Year, put on that little but acceptable weight for this auspicious celebration.

And not to be bugged and mislead by some baseless numbers put up on Facebook without any proofs!

So now that you guys know how to calculate the calories you take, I hope that you can control yourself during the festive period!

Ciao. Sherlock is outta here...















 

Yoghurt Technology

Today I've learned yoghurt technology from a very very senior manager at work!

Contrary to other products, one big difference that sets yoghurt from the rest is - it contains millions and millions of bacteria inside it. It's a LIVE product!

On paper it is easy to make yoghurt. Make the milk curd! But there is so much science behind the secret of a great yoghurt. From the raw material itself - the casein and whey protein, till the bacteria strains used for inoculation (lactobacillus bulgaricus & streptococcus thermophillus) and the processing parameters.

What are the difference of set yoghurt, stir yoghurt, and yoghurt drink?

Food science actually makes a lot of sense. Just think of mastering all the basics, obey the law of science, understand it and apply it to your advantage.

You shall be the king of all foods.