This Food Can Glow in the Dark

2 minute read

This article originally appeared on Food & Wine.

A transcontinental couple is changing the reputation of glowing food, proving that it doesn’t have to be radioactive, third-arm inducing, dangerous fare. And they’ve come up with the best use for a blacklight that we haven’t seen since college. For their blog Luma Bites, Minnesota-based Steven Johnson and his Croatian chef-fiancée Martina Županić use ordinary ingredients that just happen to give off an eerie glow under ultra-violet light. One classic example is to make Jell-O with tonic in place of water. The quinine in tonic water lends its bitter taste and glows icy blue under black light. But Martina never much cared for Jell-O so she developed a whole array of dishes that glow in unnatural colors thanks to naturally fluorescing compounds occurring in ingredients like mustard, honey and some secret oil mixtures she’s keeping to herself. Steven and Martina dream of opening a glow-in-the-dark restaurant , but until then you can just enjoy looking at these spooky crepes, sushi and more.

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  • Glowing sushi rolls
    Glowing sushi rollsCourtesy of Luma Bites
    Glowing polenta tower
    Glowing polenta towerCourtesy of Luma Bites
    Glowing red crepe
    Glowing red crepeCourtesy of Luma Bites

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