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Understanding the Maillard Reaction

The Maillard reaction is a very important flavour-producing reaction, as illustrated when sugar forms brown nutty-flavoured caramel, in a process called non-enzymatic browning. It is also an important reaction in …

What makes a great coffee?

Where is the coffee plant grown? Grown 600-1800 m above sea level, coffee is a tropical plant, which was originally indigenous to Ethiopia. The coffee plant has now spread to …

An Experiment on Antioxidants and Apples

The following ingredients will be required: An apple A vitamin C tablet (we used 99p vitamin C tablets from a local pharmacy) Another type of nutrient tablet (we used an …

The Organic Flavour Components of Tea

A Sweet Solution Sugar (sucrose, C12H22O11) is a very popular additive, and understanding how it interacts with water and other molecules is important when considering how it influences the flavours …

The Organic Flavour Components of Beer

Different Beer Types Originating in the Middle Ages or later, the majority of beers that are drunk today are considered to be recent inventions. There are several-dozen beer styles currently …

Serial Extraction of Coffee and Tea

The following ingredients will be required: Ground coffee Boiling water The following items will be required: Measuring spoons Measuring jug Five cups Filter paper Timer Ensure that you read through …

Chemistry of Flavour

Favourite Smells A survey of 2000 UK adults in 2015 showed that freshly baked bread was their favourite smell, followed by bacon, newly-mown grass then coffee. Interestingly, other than newly-mown …

Introduction to Brewing

Brewing is both an art and a science. For a pleasing brew, whether it be a pint of bitter, or a cup of filter coffee, there are various devices to …

How to make a medicinal lava lamp

What ingredients do you need? As well as the active ingredients contained within a single pill or capsule, there are inactive substances called fillers and flavourings, and also buffers to …

Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics

Broad-spectrum antibiotics are those which show bacteriostatic (stops bacteria from reproducing) or bactericidal (kills bacteria) properties against multiple families of bacteria. Uses for Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics One of the most common …

Medicine Display Activity

Damien Hirst, the well-known British artist, and art collector, has exhibited a variety of intriguing installations including a dead shark suspended in formaldehyde (methanal, HCHO) and a series of coloured …

Finding New Antibiotics Sources

In a world without antibiotics, transplant surgery would be virtually impossible, pneumonia (once again) would become a mass-killer, gonorrhoea would be hard to treat and tuberculosis would become incurable. In …

Examples of Beta-Lactam Antibiotics

Some antibiotic resistance has arisen because microbes can use β-lactamase enzymes to break down penicillins into inactive products. β-Lactamase enzymes hydrolyse penicillins, converting them into non-antibacterially active substances, so transpeptidase …

Understanding Penicillin Resistance

The action of β-lactams, though extremely effective, is not entirely foolproof. Bacteria begin to develop resistance to antibiotics over time in a number of ways. Resistance can be limited to …