Cancer Fighting Antioxidants aka Superhero Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Cancer sucks, simple enough. This is a very important time of year for cancer for a couple of reasons. First the sun is coming out (sunscreen anyone) and second tonight is Georgetown University's Relay for Life. So here is my chemistry kitchen tribute to fighting cancer. This science comes from the most cited article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (Wang, H.; Cao, G.; Prior, R.L. "Total Antioxidant Capacity of Fruits." J. Agric. Food Chem. 1996, 44, 701-705.).

DNA is the stuff that determines our physical properties down to the cellular level. Every cell (except red blood cells) contain identical DNA that can replicate itself perfectly, for the most part. Cancer happens when something happens that changes the DNA and when it replicates (mutation). When the DNA replicates uncontrollably we get tumors. When the replication spreads, we get cancer. Any number of things can mutate DNA including chemicals and sunlight.

Electrons in a molecule are happiest paired. Oxidizing free radicals are chemicals that have unpaired electrons that remove electrons from atoms, especially oxygen, to make a pair. The atom then is forced to create different bonds to compensate for the lost electrons. DNA contains a lot of oxygen that can be affected by these free radicals. And when the free radicals react with DNA they can cause serious mutations. Antioxidants provide a different place to remove electrons from, keeping the free radicals from damaging the DNA. In the correct concentrations they can help prevent a number of diseases including cancer.

Drs. Wang, Coa, and Prior looked into which everyday foods have the most of these superhero chemicals. They tried strawberries, oranges, apples, grapefruit, plums, red grapes, white grapes, kiwi, bananas, tomatoes, pears, and honey dew along with orange juice, grapefruit juice, tomato juice, grape juice, and apple juice. Their conclusion, strawberries have the highest concentration of antioxidants by weight, and grape juice has the highest by volume of the juices.

So, one of the nice things about this time of year is that produce is starting to appear in grocery stores everywhere. Making it really easy to find all those cancer fighting antioxidants. And since strawberries are on the top of the good doctors' list, here is my take, strawberry rhubarb pie. The original recipe is from Bon Appetit (April 1997), I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/strawberry-rhubarb-pie/) and made one major change. I replaced the lattice top with a crumb top. As one of my chemistry buddies said, "A lattice top looks pretty, but a crumb top tastes better." This is one of my dad's favorite pies, but as he says it isn't Strawberry Rhubarb Pie without vanilla ice cream, so be sure to serve it A'la Mode.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

Crust

1-1/2 cups flour

1-1/4 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

5 Tablespoons butter

up to 5 Tablespoons ice water

Filling

3/4 lb chopped rhubarb

16 oz strawberries, hulled and halved

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspon salt

Crumb Topping

1 cup rolled oats

6 Tablespoons flour

1/2 cups brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

8 Tablespoons butter

Combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until a coarse meal forms. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms moist clumps. Form into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.

In a separate bowl mix together all of the filling ingredients.

In a separate bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingers until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the pie crust disk on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to a size sufficient to line a 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Line the pie pan with the crust, flute the edges. Pour in the pie filling. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top and bake for 20 min. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake until golden brown and bubbly in the middle (25-75 minutes). Don't be afraid to over cook this one, the longer it is in the oven the thicker your filling will end up.*

*Some hints about pie: Fluting the pie keeps the pie crust from shrinking out of the pie pan. After the first 20 minutes, you may want to cover the pie with tin foil to keep the crust and topping from burning while the filling cooks. And be sure to put an old baking sheet on the rack below the pie to keep the drippings from hitting the burner and causing a smoke storm in your kitchen.