Tuesday, 16 March 2010 10:28
Curry is one of Britain’s favourite dishes—from tasty lentil dhal to rich korma and butter chicken, or perhaps fiery Thai green curry and super spicy vindaloo, many of us have a favourite curry.
But have you ever wondered about the science behind your curry? [Science So what? So everything] has been on tour with Professor Clive Page, Dr Andrea Sella and Dr Mark Miodownik to reveal some of the answers!
The Science of Curry
Some of the herbs and spices commonly found in curries, like turmeric, ginger and garlic have been the subject of recent scientific research—and the health benefits of some curry ingredients are amazing. It has also been proposed that the anti-bacterial properties of some spices are the reason why food was curried in the first place, to stop fresh foods from going off in warm climates—and as an added benefit, the resulting curries also tasted quite good!
Still curious about curry? Ever wonder why eating a curry makes you feel so full? It could be possible that curry, because it takes less chewing than foods like steak or raw carrots, catches your stomach by surprise, and makes it feel very full very fast. Also, curry stains clothing so badly because of its turmeric, which is also used as clothes dye in some parts of the world.
You can also see details of the exciting research on turmeric, ginger, garlic and chilli on Science [So What? So Everything].
Science of Curry has been produced in association with the British Pharmacological Society (BPS), which is the primary learned society in the UK concerned with research into chemicals which affect the functioning of the body and the way they work. You can check out their Facebook page, Twitter feed, and the BPS homepage.
If you think investigating how everyday foods can keep us healthy could be a great job, you can look at the BPS careers site.
For biology experiments you can do in the classroom, check out Practical Biology.