Have you ever heard of a taste modulator?
©iStockphoto.com/Thinkstock
As consumers, we almost never know how much research goes into the food we eat just by walking through supermarket aisles or by eating at our favorite restaurant, however advanced it is. (Unless you're eating at Moto Restaurant, where the scientists are also the chefs, and then it's kind of in your face to know.)
Enter: Future Food, a series about two molecular gastronomist chefs who play around with food flavors to come up with crazy things like "sushi" made from fruit. They believe in sustainability, but they also believe in taste.
Food technology is a thriving field that, if we trust the companies driving it, has the potential to improve the quality of the foods we eat, make it more sustainable, make even the packaged stuff healthier for us, and make it taste better all at the same time.
Reducing the sodium content of foods is one important goal in improving public health, particularly in the U.S. Also crucial is transforming sugar intake, both in reducing overall consumption, as well as shifting from corn syrup to, ideally, healthier and natural sweeteners like stevia.
This is not an endorsement of these products, only an effort to share information that's already out there. Consumers need to be informed before they can make informed choices. While some of the products here sound a little fishy, we do think the ideas and potential for this type of thinking are interesting, and that if used right, food technology can improve the quality and sustainability of our food.
The Institute of Food Technologists has a handy summary of the different "taste modulators" currently out on the market, and could well be in some of the foods in your kitchen cabinets.
