Tag Archives: preferences

Ancient DNA Uncovers the Dietary Preferences of the Roman Empire

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Modern rendition of garum, a fermented fish sauce dating back to Roman times

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Garum, a type of fermented fish sauce, was a favored condiment throughout the Roman Empire. Recent analyses of ancient DNA extracted from the production vats have uncovered the specific fish species used in this staple seasoning.

This Roman fish sauce was widely appreciated for its intense salty and umami flavors. However, philosopher Seneca famously remarked that one variant had a price “as audacious as that of rotten fish.” There were various types, including a liquid known as Garum or Liquamen, and a thicker paste called Allec. The preparation involved fermenting fish and plant materials, complicating the identification of the fish species used.

According to Paula Campos from the University of Porto, Portugal, “The small, fractured bones and the acidic conditions contribute significantly to the degradation of DNA.”

Campos and her team conducted DNA sequencing on bone samples dating back to the 3rd century AD, sourced from a Roman fish sauce production facility in northwestern Spain. They compared numerous overlapping DNA sequences against the complete fish genome, allowing them to confidently identify the species involved.

This analysis revealed that the remaining fish was predominantly European sardines, aligning with previous visual identifications at other Roman fish processing sites. Additional fish species such as herring, whiting, mackerel, and anchovy have also been identified in various garum production locales.

This finding indicates that “even degraded fish remains” can yield identifiable DNA, suggesting that “it could enhance our understanding of regional variations in the main ingredients of historical fish sauces and pastes,” noted Analisa Marzano, a colleague from the University of Bologna, Italy, who was not involved in the study.

The research shows a comparison of ancient and modern sardines, indicating less genetic mixing among sardine populations across different marine regions in ancient times. This knowledge “may help us gauge the impact of human-environment interactions over the centuries,” Marzano explained.

For future studies, Campos and her colleagues intend to analyze additional fish species from other Roman garum production sites. “We’re broadening our sampling to verify if the results are consistent throughout the Roman Empire,” she added.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

AI that predicts flavor preferences can advise brewers on improving beer taste

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Beer brewers produce a wide variety of flavors from just a handful of ingredients

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Artificial intelligence that can predict taste from beer's chemical composition could help create alcohol-free versions that taste exactly like regular beer.

Predicting flavor from a compound is difficult because complex interactions between ingredients and the psychology of taste can result in surprisingly different perceptions, even among people who have tasted the same thing.

To deal with this, kevin verstrapen Professors at the University of Leuven in Belgium have developed an AI model that can predict the flavor profile of beer based on its chemical composition and suggest ways to improve the flavor.

The model was trained on beer reviews by a panel of 16 expert tasters who scored each beer on 50 attributes, as well as 180,000 public ratings from online beer rating websites. The study compared these subjective descriptions with measurements of 226 compounds in 250 Belgian beers.

“Hundreds of these compounds are received by our nose and mouth, but mostly in the nose, and then processed in the brain to give us what we think of as flavor,” Verstrepen says. “The fact that we can actually predict this accurately using machine learning is pretty amazing.”

Verstrepen and his team used this model to predict how to improve the flavor of beer by adding mixtures of specific compounds, such as lactic acid and ethyl acetate. The resulting beer was given significantly higher ratings by a panel of trained tasters.

In another study, which has not yet been published, after making the changes suggested by the model, non-alcoholic beer became indistinguishable from regular beer, Verstrepen said.

The idea is that brewers should aim to implement AI recommendations by tweaking recipes, rather than simply adding flavors, he says. “Simply adding pure aroma compounds is not really acceptable in beer brewing. All you need is malt, hops, water, and yeast.”

“So I look at it as a tool, specifically to be used to make better non-alcoholic beer, but not to take away the art of crafting good beer in an artisanal way,” Versträpen said. To tell.

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  • chemistry /
  • Eating and drinking

Source: www.newscientist.com