Milk Kills Odor; Edible Dirt
In the September 6, 2010 issue of time magazine, Alice Park stated that “A study found that milk lowers the concentration of volatile odor-emitting compounds from garlic in the nose and mouth.” Park’s statement is quite the godsend for garlic lovers—including me. Although I have not tracked the study Park is referring to, I have began drinking milk after eating other odorous foods such as kimchi. Hopefully, milk kills odors in general, not only garlic odors.
Park also stated that “fat is an effective deodorizer,” asserting that whole milk packs the odor-killing properties of both milk and fat. In my opinion though, it’s not worth consuming more fat simply to get rid of odors.
Also, in this article, TIME magazine’s David Kaufman expounds on a new phenomenon of “edible dirt.” I myself have tried edible dirt at David Chang’s Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York (see picture above). The edible dirt I tried was very crunchy, like Wonka Nerds candy but not as hard. The dirt paired well with the silky, smoothness of the yogurt served in compliment.
Kaufman argues that edible dirt is the new molecular gastronomy, but I disagree. To compare a type of dish to a field of science is like comparing apples to Italian food.