Eat Waite
Research never tasted so good.
It was courtesy of the Advanced Food Manufacturing grant scheme, run by the South Australian government, that the University of Adelaide became linked with Torrensville breadmakers Riviera Bakery. Researchers at the Uni’s FOODplus Research Centre, sought to produce variations of Riviera’s Swiss Natural gluten-free, super-soft bread rolls, using innovative ingredients to provide additional nutritional benefits. This led to two such variants: chia, linseed and pumpkin and chia and açai. The University of Adelaide’s Food Product Development Fellow, Dr James Cowley, says the Riviera partnership has since been renewed, and is looking to produce even more roll variations, based on new and emerging trends. The formulation of these recipes is happening in the Waite campus’s state-of-the-art Food Innovation Lab, located in the Charles Hawker building.
In the late ’80s, South Australian pasta brand San Remo was looking for more control in its supply chain. The company was dependent on New South Wales flour millers for its semolina – which was a mix of durum and prime hard wheat, and, reportedly, of fluctuating quality. San Remo wanted quality durum wheat, and decided the best way to see about producing it locally was to work with the University of Adelaide. In 1989, San Remo approached the University’s late Professor Tony Rathjen for advice on whether durum wheat could be grown in SA. He believed it could be, and, alongside his Technical Officer, Jim Lewis, set about proving this notion. By 1991, the South Australian Durum Growers Association was incorporated, and today there’s a little label on most bags of San Remo pasta assuring customers it’s been made with Australian durum wheat semolina.
There’s plenty to feel parochial about when it comes to Danish beer company, Carlsberg. The Australian version of the beer is produced in Regency Park by South Australian indie Coopers, and the University of Adelaide has worked alongside Carlsberg on research into barley and adding value to waste products from brewing. Dr Helen Collins worked on these two projects, and while she wouldn’t go so far as to suggest her research had any influence on Carlsberg’s flavour profile, she highlighted a long-standing collaboration between Waite’s barley breeding program and the Carlsberg Research Laboratory, facilitated by Professor Geoff Fincher. This means when you crack a luminescent green bottle or can of Carlsberg’s pilsner, you’re supporting a close friend of the University.
Almonds
There’s no disputing, our society takes some nuts more seriously than others. Hazelnuts and pistachios, for example, take pride of place on gelati menus – particularly at Henley Beach’s Bottega Gelateria, where you can order gelato made from Piemonte hazelnuts or Gawler pistachios. You can even get a Riverland pecan, be that your nut of choice. Almonds, though, are rarely sold with a pitch about their provenance – but we at the University of Adelaide take them very seriously. Our almond breeding program was kickstarted in 1997 by Dr Michelle Wirthensohn and is now under the purview of Associate Professor Cassandra Collins. The program has produced six almond varieties: Carina, Capella, Maxima, Mira, Vela and Rhea. You may not see these names on supermarket shelves, but we only ask that you think of them when enjoying your next mid-morning fix of trail mix.
Meat-free Mondays continue to improve for conscientious omnivores, thanks to developments in the taste and texture of plant-based meats to satiate the sensory desires of animal-eaters. At the University of Adelaide, PhD student Adam Douch is part of a collaborative research project with v2foods, which makes plant-based meat alternatives. Under the supervision of Associate Professor Susan Bastian and Professor Ian Fisk, from the Uni’s International Flavour Research Centre, Adam is analysing v2food’s plant-based patties to increase their likeness to minced beef. For Adam, it’s not about attracting vegans to the product category, but convincing the growing segment of omnivores looking to sub out a meaty meal or two that v2foods has the paramount patty.
When applying to be part of the v2foods research project, Adam Douch was surprised to learn the Australian company was responsible for delivering the plant-based patty for Hungry Jacks’ famed Rebel Whopper, sold in Australia and New Zealand. The burger is a guilty pleasure for many a tired, hungover or too-lazy-to-cook vegan, and could be the bridging experience to convince meat-eaters that vegan patties aren’t so scary after all. In addition to looking for ways to improve the general meatiness of v2food’s burgers, Adam is also interested in making them a more nutritious option.
Jokes have been made for generations about what mysteries lie at the bottom of a Coopers Pale Ale. The lurking murky sediment is nothing to be feared. It’s just spent yeast – a consequence of the brewery’s use of natural conditioning, a process otherwise known as secondary fermentation. A lesser-known fact is there’s also a little bit of University of Adelaide DNA in every Coopers pint. In 2006, the company incorporated a new barley variety, called Flagship, into its malting mix. The variety was developed and commercialised by the University of Adelaide and ABB Grain, and was designed to be disease-resistant, produce higher yields and be suitable for malting. Many other University of Adelaide-bred varieties, including the very popular Compass variety and Leabrook to name just two, have also been used by the brewery.
Solar Eggs
Eggs deliver a great many benefits to human health – and thanks to University of Adelaide research, this includes an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. Our researchers worked alongside Adelaide egg farmers Solar Eggs to increase the level of omega-3 in eggs by making changes to the hens’ feed. It was discovered that by feeding chickens a diet that is high in flaxseed oil, the short-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the flaxseed oil would lead to eggs enriched with long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid. This conversion is a skill particular to chickens, and means the eggs these hens produce provide a greater supply of a fatty acid humans cannot make.
The long game of Waite researchers looking into the potential applications of agave is for the plant to be used in the production of a carbon-neutral fuel. But as is often the case with agave, we’ve made a pit stop on that journey via the backbar. The Uni has worked with Victorian spirits brand Top Shelf International to produce an Australian agave spirit (like tequila, but, legally speaking, not tequila), which is made using Blue Weber Agave grown in Bowen in Queensland. Professor Rachel Burton has been analysing the molecular and agronomic properties of agave since 2010 in collaboration firstly with AusAgave and more recently with Vircura.
Gluten-free products can be good, thanks to psyllium husks. These create a sticky gel that makes up for the lack of a gluten network, which in traditional dough traps gases from yeast which cause the dough to rise. European baked-goods brand Dr Schär uses psyllium husks to produce coeliac-friendly breads that are fluffy and pleasantly chewy, rather than soap-like in texture as you might expect. The Australian Bureau of Statistics found 2.5 per cent of Australians avoid gluten due to an intolerance, which means the happiness of almost 650,000 of our countryfolk depends upon psyllium, or Plantago ovata. The University of Adelaide is working with Dr Schär to understand the plant better. We were the first to sequence its genome, and we’ve investigated its suitability as an Australian crop, helping to define important quality measures the company uses to quality test batches of seeds and husks.
Written by Johnny Von Einem
Photography by Isaac Freeman