Eeeeew......barf...

From : Chemical & Engineering News Magazine

Volume 90 Issue 52 | p. 48 | Newscripts
Issue Date: December 24, 2012

Before you pass the cheese plate at your next holiday shindig, molecular biologist Christina M. Agapakis wants you to stop and think about why those blocks of dairy goodness smell the way they do.

Along with artist and odor expert Sissel Tolaas of Re_SearchLab, in Berlin, Agapakis recently explored the relationship between emotions and odors perceived by humans (Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., DOI:10.1016/j.cbpa.2012.10.035). The researchers did this by making their own cheese—literally. They swabbed their armpits, hands, noses, and feet to collect starter bacteria cultures for cheese fermentation.

Typical cheese making involves a Lactobacillus starter culture that ferments the lactose in milk, says Agapakis, now a postdoc at the University of California, Los Angeles. The lactic acid generated during the process curdles the milk, leading to clumps of fat and protein (curds) that eventually get pressed and aged.

When asked what possessed her to make cheese from body microbes rather than Lactobacillus, Agapakis says, “We were thinking about body odors” and why people are disgusted by them. “Then we were struck by the fact that those same odors and the microbes that make them are actually part of cheese,” she adds. For instance, Propionibacterium is used to make Swiss cheese, but it’s also a contributor to armpit aroma.

Knowing that people already accept bacteria in cheese, the pair wondered whether humans would become more comfortable with their bodily microbes and odors after seeing and smelling the connection. The answer, so far, seems mostly to be no. According to Agapakis, when presented with the experiment, people usually say, “You’ve ruined cheese for me forever,” she laughs.

Agapakis, though, assures Newscripts that body cheese isn’t that bad. Armpit cheese is especially pleasant smelling and tastes like a fresh farmer’s cheese, she says. On the other hand, she warns, “I would avoid the foot cheese.”