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The Tides of Tastes Are Always Turning.

If you look at human diets throughout history, you’ll find one constant: change. Especially when it comes to meat consumption. The world produces over 400% more meat than it did 50 years ago, but the kind of meat has changed as people’s demands have almost flipped. In 1961, poultry accounted for only 12% of global meat production. Today, it makes up nearly 35% and is the fastest growing meat segment in the world.
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Science Inside

Arise at Home

Our primary job is to help our partners deliver unique solutions by adding value to their products. It’s not often we get to talk about using MGP products for ourselves. So, we asked one of our food scientists about that.

What is your favorite way to use Arise® in your own kitchen?

Ody Maningat, chief science officer and VP of R&D: “I eat a lot of noodles and spaghetti and with Arise. I can replace egg whites, reduce cooking loss and improve their overall texture. I could also use it in making bread, to improve its quality, but I don’t do that too often.”

Read more about all the possibilities with Arise.

Food Matters

The Positives of Plant-based Diets, Proven by Kiwis.

No, we’re not talking about the fruit. We’re talking about New Zealand, where the University of Otago recently completed a study that once again proved the benefits that plant-based foods have on humans and the planet.
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Products Squared

Eye-opening Uses of Arise

MGP’s Arise^® is a versatile wheat protein isolate that can be used in a huge range of bakery and flour-based products. Here, our food experts explain the most interesting and impressive uses of Arise they’ve ever seen.

Chief Science Officer and VP of R&D, Ody Maningat, Ph.D. recalled a time when a large food production company (to remain unnamed) came to MGP with an idea for refrigerated dough. “It never occurred to me that Arise could even be used in that application. It was pretty inventive.”

MGP Principal Food Scientist, Liming Cai, Ph.D., pointed out how Arise helped the Atkins craze. “At the time the Atkins diet was popular, people wanted high protein breads, but they didn’t taste great. Arise helped changed that by helping soften the dough and making it more stretchable. That created low carb, high protein bread that had better texture and flavor.”

Learn more about our entire line of MGP Arise products.

Products Squared

The Next Great Nugget Won’t be Chicken.

We might be in the middle of the chicken sandwich wars, but there’s one war that’s been going on for decades – the Chicken Nugget War. A quick food science history of the nugget.
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Science Inside

One Word with Ody: Innovating

Chief Science Officer and Vice President of R&D Ody Maningat Ph.D., has written more than 30 food science journals, authored many industry articles and lectured hundreds of food science classes. But here, he imparts his expertise in just one word.

In one word, what is your biggest struggle or challenge as a food scientist? Why?

Innovating. Creating a new product that’s totally new to the world is the biggest challenge. And not just creating it, but developing and scaling it quickly to meet a market opportunity, that makes it even more difficult. But once you create something new, then see it in the market, that’s when we know we succeeded.

Food Matters

Salty & Sweet with Sarah: Fact & Fiction of Bright & Bold Food Colors

According to a study by Maru/Matchbox, 69 percent of millennials take a photo (or a video) of their food before eating it! Foodstagramming hasn’t just changed the way we see food, it’s changing the food and restaurant industry completely, as restaurants and food producers are rethinking everything from their offerings to their décor – all for the ‘gram.
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Sounds of Food Science

The Playlist You Never Knew You Kneaded.

We’ve scoured Spotify and created a one-of-a-kind playlist to turn up while you’re turning out culinary masterpieces. This time around the playlist is all about bread. And we’re sure you’ll find a slice of it you love.

Check out the playlist.

Food Matters

“Don’t label my diet.”

There was a time not too long ago, when if you wanted to eat more plant-based foods, you had two choices: become a vegan or become a vegetarian. Eating less meat just for the sake of eating less meat just wasn’t mainstream. But that is not even close to the story today.
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Science Inside

Healthier is Tasting Better.

An interesting question was recently raised in a Reddit food science conversation: "I remember as a kid (1990’s early 2000’s) whole wheat tasted awful,” said Reddit user roughroe. “When I got to middle school I really started to like most of these products….Have there been significant changes in how whole wheat products are made?…Or is it taste buds changing?" Well, the answer is all of the above. Whole wheat and other healthier products have come a long way in the taste category, for a few reasons.
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Science Inside

One Word with Ody: Working at the Speed of Science

Ody Maningat, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Ingredients R&D and Chief Science Officer at MGP. That means he is an encyclopedia of grain and food science knowledge. But here, he imparts his wisdom in just one word.

In one word, what’s the hardest thing about being a food scientist? Why?

Speed

Specifically, speed to market. There are many challenges to conceptualize a novel product. You have to put together the resources to research it, test and refine it, scale-up the process and then launch the new product into the market. Quickly.