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Welcome to the “Shallot Holmes and the Food Detectives” blog

In this blog, you can enjoy chapter after chapter dedicated to five food detectives, Shallot Holmes, Eggcule Poirot, Miss Mapple, Nancy Beef and Lieutenant Cornlumbo, on their mission to detect various analytes in foodstuff.

Follow the five investigators on their various cases as they solve different challenges in food analytics. See how their agency masters the detection and determination of analytes, such as protein and fat in all types of food groups. See how they make best use of their detection tools and techniques, including classical methods such as fat extraction and Kjeldahl for protein determination, as well as modern methods such as NIR.

Go along on their journey, as they also train each other through various courses dedicated to method optimization. Together with them, learn tips and tricks to optimize techniques for fat extraction, protein determination, NIR analysis and more for all kinds of food-related applications.
How did the five detectives get into their profession and what does each one of them bring to the team? Find out more about each sleuth below:

Shallot Holmes

Shallot Holmes developed a name for himself already in his pre-teen years thanks to his sharp mind and investigative nature. He was the shallot that could most frequently discover who had just cut up another member of the onion community by carefully performing tears trace analysis on sleeping chefs. Shallot Holmes was inspired to officially pursue a career as a food detective when overhearing his parents discussing a notorious case of food fraud, mainly the addition of horse meat to lasagna that was supposed to contain ground beef only. Shallot Holmes is well educated in all methods used in food analytics.

Eggcule Poirot

Eggcule Poirot is a classical Belgian food detective, both rational and egg-centric. Born to a chicken and a rooster who headed their own private eye firm, Eggcule Poirot has a meticulous appearance and a sharp eye that can detect the smallest details. Eggcule Poirot is on a life mission to prove Belgian cuisine is superior to all others, with better, more wholesome ingredients. He is especially interested in glorifying Belgian onion soup, to the utter horror of Shallot Holmes, who disapproves of the use of his cousins in a soup. This point of contention leads to frequent collegial bickering and friendly friction between the two detectives. It should be noted, he is as well versed in all methods used in food analytics as Shallot Holmes.

Miss Mapple

Miss Mapple has the most experience from all the food detectives in her team. She can vaguely recall she got interested in pursuing an investigative career while trying to hunt down a wasp who had tried to eat parts of her sister. Just like wine, Miss Mapple’s mind seems to get better with age. She is especially confident when using classical reference methods, as old as herself. Miss Mapple possesses a terrible sweet tooth and she is the undisputed specialist in all fruity items, such as juice, sauces and pies. Yes, even apple pies.

Nancy Beef

Nancy Beef is of young age, but she is no raw steak. The teenager brings a breath of fresh air and a modern touch to the team. For as long as she can remember, the passionate sleuth has been curious about her origins and has been trying to trace the herd of cattle she came from. She has tried to achieve this by doing careful and methodical testing of every cow she encounters. But Switzerland has a lot of cows, so to fund and improve her detection methods, she gladly participates in the food detectives’ agency. Patience is not her virtue, and her specialty is, without a doubt, the NIR technique.

Lieutenant Cornlumbo

Lieutenant Cornlumbo is an expert into trace analysis and rare cases. He has always been drawn to the unknown, since growing up on a farm frequently subjected to corn crop circles. Still perplexed by this mysterious phenomenon, he is fascinated by all things alien, strange or that appear inexplicable. He often contributes the most extraordinary ideas and solutions to the team and is a big fan of NIR analysis.