{"id":28459,"date":"2016-09-08T15:03:05","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T19:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=28459"},"modified":"2016-09-14T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T19:35:13","slug":"edible-plastic-wrap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/edible-plastic-wrap\/","title":{"rendered":"Have Your Plastic Wrap and Eat it, Too"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plastic is a huge problem for the environment—I know that when I cook, a lot of my cleanup involves snatching up all the small pieces of (mostly plastic) packaging that litter my counters. (And EcoWatch<\/cite> reports<\/a> that enough plastic is thrown away each year to circle the earth four times!) Particularly with perishables like cheese, plastic wrap<\/a> feels like a necessary evil to avoid ending up with rotten, moldy food (though your best bet with cheese is usually waxed paper<\/a>). However, a solution might be closer to home than we could ever have guessed.<\/p>\n

A team of scientists at the USDA, lead by Dr. Peggy Tomasula and Dr. Laetitia Bonnaillie, is currently developing an edible plastic wrap that actually protects food better than what we’re all currently using. The plastic wrap utilizes casein, a protein found in milk, to create the plastic. Casein is the protein integral to coagulation during the cheesemaking process, helping the milk turn from a liquid into solid, delicious curds. The plastic is made from a mixture of casein and citrus pectin (used in jams to gel the preserves), which makes the plastic stronger and easier to wrap around food. (Citrus and dairy usually make a good match<\/a>.)<\/p>\n