Our lunchboxes are going under the microscope at the Science Museum. Natasha Tong tucks in and digests some quirky food facts from the upcoming exhibition

A fifth taste?
Umami means ‘savouriness’ and is the proposed fifth taste in addition to sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Originally discovered by the Japanese, scientists from all over the world have debated for a long time on whether or not it should be considered as a basic taste. Chemically speaking, it is made up of the taste of the amino acid L-glutamate and 5’-ribonucleodtides. But literally, umami has no translation other than a word representing that delicious, mouth-watering sensation over the tongue. MSG is used as a food enhancer because of that umami flavour it adds to meals.

Why does chocolate melt in your mouth?
Food physics looks at what we eat from the perspective of molecular structure and size. Take chocolate, for example. It’s a hard substance at room temperature but a lipid in cocoa butter called triacylglycerol conveniently has a melting temperature that’s close to our own bodies. It gives chocolate a melt-in-your-mouth quality, sending a boost to our brains that’s four times better than a passionate kiss.

Pudding + soy sauce = sea urchin?
Sensors can scientifically and objectively measure tastes, which makes us wonder whether or not taste can be virtual. In Japan, people have eaten different foods together to simulate the taste of another food. One of the most peculiar combinations is eating pudding with soy sauce to simulate the taste of sea urchin. Our in-office test found that pudding and soy sauce tastes like… pudding and soy sauce. But try this at home and see if you can fool your own tastebuds.

Would you eat a blue apple?
A food’s colour has a direct effect in increasing or decreasing our appetite. The colour blue is actually an appetite suppressant so it’s natural for us to feel some sort of repulsion. This often has to do with whether some food colours exist in nature, making us more familiar and comfortable with some colours of food over others. Blue, along with purple and black, typically means a potentially lethal or poisonous food.

Does freeze-dried food last forever?
Freeze-drying technology preserves food by removing all of the water content. When the substance is frozen, the water in it instantly evaporates. Don’t fret if the look of your meat or fish changes in the process because when you pour water over it, its original state will be restored. Freeze-drying doesn’t mean that the food will last forever, but it can extend its storage time so that we can enjoy ‘fresh’ tuna sashimi whenever the craving might strike.

Crops without soil?
It can be done! By submerging their roots in nutrient-rich water solutions, plants can be grown without the presence of soil. Crops can then be mass produced in indoor environments and piled up on racks in a factory. In this way, yield increases exponentially because more tomato or lettuce plants can be grown in the same or less amount of space than before.

Food of the future?
The world’s food production is pumping at full capacity and resources are diminishing day by day, so euglena is a likely candidate to fill our stomachs in the near future. Euglena is a unicellular organism that lives under water and its most attractive perks are that it takes little nutrients to grow, has a high photosynthetic rate and yield, possesses nutrients that humans require and can be consumed as a whole. Stir-fry euglena, anyone?

A solution for landfills?
After preparing and eating a meal, disposing of food waste and leftovers is a big concern. This is a particularly sore note in Hong Kong – we produce a whopping 3,200 tonnes (!) of food waste every day. But what if it all those scraps didn’t go straight to the dump? Scientists propose recycling leftover food as animal feed or processing raw garbage into ethanol for electricity.

It’s a Tasty World – Food Science Now! Science Museum Oct 14-Feb 1 hk.science.museum