Next
to the newspaper, the thing I read most is labels on packages of
food. I read more labels than novels or directions how to do
something or how to put together something I bought. I’ve
probably read words like riboflavin, lecithin, niacin and
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil ten thousand times. I’ve
eaten the stuff ten thousand times and I have no idea what
riboflavin, lecithin, niacin or partially hydrogenated vegetable
oil is - or are.
Corn
flakes have riboflavin in it. Others have niacin, reduced iron,
thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin ... natural flavor, it says.
White Castle hamburger buns have niacin, mono- and diglycerides,
polysorbate 60.
We
went to a commercial drug company and bought some food additives
to see what they really look like before they add them to
anything.
This
is a little bottle of the magic potion - riboflavin. Yellow. Looks
like curry powder. It says, "KEEP FROM CHILDREN". I don’t
know why they would say that. They put it in everything that kids
eat. If its dangerous to children what are they doing adding it to
everything?
Sodium
Alginate... Polysorbate 20. This is a liquid... You could have
this on the rocks. It looks like motor oil. I wonder if there was
a chemist who failed to be successful because he only came up with
Polysorbate 19.
Guar
gum is a popular ingredient. A jar of olives has guar gum in it.
Why would they put guar gum in olives?
The
definition of lecithin in The Handbook of Food Additives
reads: "Mixture of the diglycerides of stearic, palmitic and
oleic acids linked to the chlorine ester of phosphoric acid"
... Well, sure ... And its really good for us?
Lecitithin
is in almost everything you eat. These are cute little devils.
They look like jelly beans.
This
is thiamine mononitrate ... iron metal here ... and it really is
iron ... very finely ground. It tastes a little tinny.
If
all this stuff is so good, how come we don’t get to use it
ourselves when we’re cooking?
I
looked through The Joy of Cooking and Fanny Farmer.
Not a single word in here about any of these ingredients. Why didn’t
Irma Rombauer or Fanny use riboflavin in her recipes if its so
good?
Pepperidge
Farm cookies. They’re good cookies but listen to this lyric
prose on the label: "STROLLING DOWN A COBBLESTONE STREET TO
YOUR FAVORITE EUROPEAN BAKE SHOP. THE AROMA OF OLD WORLD BAKING
FILLS THE AIR. PEPPERIDGE FARM BRINGS THAT EXPERIENCE HOME."
Then
look at the ingredients on the other side ... iron ... thiamine
mononitrate ... riboflavin and partially hydrogenated vegetable
shortening. Cant you practically smell that stuff filling the air
of a cobblestone street in Europe?
The
other thing a lot of labels say these days of course is, "ALL
NATURAL". You cant expect them to say, "WITH A LOT OF
FAKE INGREDIENTS".