The tantalizing aroma of freshly baked brioche is hard to resist, while a virtuous loaf of whole wheat often lacks that same allure. Blame it on the ferulic acid.
See, whole-wheat bread contains all parts of the wheat, including the bran, but white bread does not. That bran in the wheat bread contains the aforementioned ferulic acid, which overrides the compounds that give white bread its mouthwatering smell, according to new research.
Much nudging from the health police has convinced more people to eat whole-grain bread, but just 60 percent of Americans eat a whole-grain food at least once in two weeks, according to the Whole Grains Council. Clearly our hearts, and our palates, still belong to white.
"My children, they cut off crusts from wheat bread. Why?" asks Devin Peterson, co-director of the Flavor Research and Education Center at the University of Minnesota. He knows he's not the only parent who's noticed that whole wheat can be a tough sell.
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