dragon567

I'm an undergrad studying food science and the choices for work are a little overwhelming for me. I really enjoy microbiology and lab work, but I know I haven't tried everything offered yet. I have two questions. What are some career paths I could choose with just a focus on microbiology work? And second, would it be better to go to grad school instead of right into the job market? Thanks!

There's an entire industry that revolves around flavorings and scents. What they do is identify the compound that gives a product its particular flavor and recreate it in a lab. This doesn't always work correctly because there are so many more compounds in a peach than in a peach flavor. But flavor chemists are always mixing and adding extra flavors to tailor the product specifically for their buyer.

Your example of flavored alcoholic beverages is a part of that. The companies want to create a new flavored drink. Their R&D department will be tasked with creating something the average consumer will enjoy. When they figure out the new product, they'll send away for the flavoring they want. And they can be really specific, too. There was a TV special on a few years ago about flavor chemists and one had a drawer full of 60 different types of raspberry flavors. Each of them had the raspberry base, but had other flavors mixed in, making each of them unique.

The company will receive their bottle of flavoring and add it into their product. This is when they decide on the full recipe. Sugar content is really up to the company and can vary a lot from product to product. Then, it will be sent out for "sensory analysis," which is a fancier term for taste testing. This does rely on more observation and thought than just "I like this one." If the product is well-received, it will go into full production for marketing.

I will! Thanks a lot for the AMA! It makes me happy to see someone trying to dispel the rumors the media likes to tell people.

I'm a hobbyist beekeeper and I've been having trouble overwintering my hives. Do you wrap your hives to insulate them or not? I live in NY state, as a reference.

Hi, I've been trying to keep bees for a while now, but I keep running into problems. I know how to inspect a hive and install a package. But I'm unsure how to approach varroa and winter. I only have one hive, but the bees die over the winter. Do you have any advice for an apprentice beekeeper?