How freezing affects the texture of food
When food freezes, the water inside each cell forms tiny crystals that can tear cell walls. When the food is thawed, the liquid inside the cell leaks out, leaving thawed food dryer than fresh food. Beef that has been frozen, for example, is noticeably dryer than fresh beef. Dry cheeses, such as cheddar, turn crumbly. Bread dries, too. You can reduce the loss of moisture by thawing the food in its freezer wrap so that it has a chance to reabsorb the lost moisture that's still in the package. You...
Help Im turning orange
Because you store retinol in your liver, megadoses of preformed vitamin A can build up to toxic levels. Not so with carotenoids, which serve up another form of that vitamin. They aren't stored in the liver, so these red and yellow pigments in fruits and vegetables are safe even in very large amounts. But that doesn't mean that excess carotenoids don't have side effects. Carotenoids, like retinoids, are stored in body fat. If you wolf down large quantities of carotenoid-rich foods like carrots...
Chemical Warfare
About two dozen chemicals are used as food additives or food preservatives to prevent spoilage. If the mere mention of chemicals or food additives makes the hair on the back of your neck rise, chill out with Chapter 22. Here are the most common chemical preservatives Acidifiers Most microbes don't thrive in highly acidic settings, so a chemical that makes a food more acidic prevents spoilage. Wine and vinegar are acidifying chemicals, and so are citric acid, the natural preservative in citrus...