Michele Barone – författare

This book reviews the authenticity of certain Street Food specialties from the viewpoint of food chemists. At present, the food market clearly shows the predominance of fast-food operators in many Western countries. However, the concomitant presence of the traditional lifestyle model known as the Mediterranean Diet in Europe has also been increasingly adopted in many countries, in some cases with unforeseen effects such as offering Mediterranean-like foods for out-of-home consumption. This commercial strategy also includes the so-called Street Food, which is marketed as a variation on Mediterranean foods. One of the best known versions of Street Food products can be found in Sicily, Italy, and particularly in its largest city, Palermo. Because of certain authenticity issues, the Italian National Council of Research Chemists has issued four procedural guidelines for various Palermo specialties with the aim of attaining the traditional specialty guaranteed status in accordance with European Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012. The first chapter of the book provides a brief introduction to the general concept of Street Foods. The remaining four chapters describe four food specialties – Arancina, Sfincionello, Pane ca meusa, and Pane e panelle – typically produced in Palermo, with particular reference to their chemical composition, identification of raw materials from a chemical viewpoint, permissible cooking and preparation procedures (with chemical explanations), preservation, and storage. The book offers a unique guide to Street Food authenticity, and can also serve as a reference work for other traditional/historical products. 

This book addresses the traditional use of a specific crop legume, grass pea (Lathyrus sativus), as a food product and ingredient for typical food products. Grass pea has very interesting nutritional qualities, including an abundance of proteins and peculiar organoleptic properties. As the crop also shows an enhanced resistance to adverse conditions, it is used in many geographical areas as the main ingredient of certain traditional foods. On the other hand, grass pea is questionable as a source of human and animal nutrition because it contains a neurotoxin – β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid – that is known for its neurological effects. The related disease is referred to as ‘neurolathyrism’ and occurs when grass pea-based foods are consumed in large quantities.

The book is divided into five chapters, the first of which summarizes the chemical and biochemical properties of grass pea and provides nutritional evaluations. The second chapter provides an overview of foods containing Lathyrus sativus around the world, while the third describes Italian foods in detail. The fourth chapter focuses on the problem of neurolathyrism in connection with human nutrition and health. In closing, the fifth chapter sheds light on the historical and traditional food products sector from a food traceability and authenticity standpoint.

This Brief explores the chemistry and production technology of a cheese precursor: the cow’s milk curd. It explains how different coagulation and treatment methods can be used to obtain various types of cheeses. Parameters such as the type of used milk, the coagulation method, pH value, color, and microbial fermentation have a profound impact on the resulting curd properties, and hence on the cheese.

The authors discuss some of the most important parameters, and how their modification can lead to a variety of cheese and dairy products. This Brief also addresses the question, if cheese makers can standardize their production procedures, and what role chemistry may play in that. Another important point addressed here are the sources of failures in the curd production, e.g. in packaging systems.

Readers will find selected examples of helpful analytical techniques for studying and evaluating curd quality, and for monitoring the chemical evolution of selectedchemical substances or protein aggregation.