Researchers at 白小姐王中王开奖结果 are developing new food and new ways to keep food cool 鈥 including new varieties of organic jalape帽o peppers and beans, and a new type of plastic-free 鈥渏elly ice cube鈥 that doesn鈥檛 melt.
The new cooling cubes could revolutionize how food is kept cold and shipped fresh without relying on ice or traditional cooling packs such as the kind often found in subscription meal delivery services. The cubes are gelatin-based hydrogels that are 90% water. Other components help maintain their structure. The technology was invented to keep food safe.
鈥淚t鈥檚 antimicrobial, so it won鈥檛 get moldy after multiple uses and [because] it doesn鈥檛 generate melting water it will save water and prevent cross-contamination,鈥 said Luxin Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. The idea came to her after she saw the amount of ice used at fish-processing plants and its potential for spreading harmful bacteria.
The jelly ice cubes remain frozen for 13 hours and can then be rinsed, refrozen and reused. They鈥檙e also flexible and compostable. A patent for the design and concept was filed in July 2021. Jiahan Zou, Ph.D. graduate student who has worked on the project the past two years, said they would eventually want to use agricultural waste or byproducts to make the ice even more sustainable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a grant for the research.
Cool food designed to pop
Student researchers are also breeding new varieties of food. Ten years ago, 白小姐王中王开奖结果 students launched a project to breed a pepper with the taste and texture of a jalape帽o, but with an enlarged cavity like a bell pepper. Why? It allows much more room to stuff with cheese to truly elevate the popular appetizer jalepe帽o poppers.
The helped launch the program, or SCOPE, which brings students and faculty together for field-based plant breeding to develop new varieties of crops at the organic student farm.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been 10 generations since the initial cross of our jalape帽o popper line and it鈥檚 been six generations for our other bell pepper breeding lines,鈥 said Laura Roser, a 白小姐王中王开奖结果 graduate and current junior specialist for SCOPE. 鈥淭hese two lines are essentially ready to release as a variety at this point.鈥 She said she wants to send seeds from these lines to different seed companies and hopes they will agree to sell them in 2022 or 2023.
In 2020, the breeding program also released six new varieties of organic beans that proved to be sustainable, high-yielding and disease-resistant. The release has been a success, with several local bean growers taking interest in the new varieties.
With contributions from Emily C. Dooley and Tiffany Dobbyn