Cooking For Engineers

Lintballoon · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Massachusetts

Michael,
I would love to see an article on common food additives, preservatives and how they effect the flavor and healthiness of foods-especially ones that are not commonly heard about. A recent poster suggested that sodium tripolyphosphate may be giving my scallops a bitter taste. Though I generally accept the idea that meat and seafood are processed using agents to preserve both their freshness, and the appearance of freshness, I know nothing of what those agents are, and why they are in use.
I remember being told that oranges were "gassed" to make them look more orange and ripe. There was always something ominous about that idea, though of course it could just be an anti-chemical sort of fear not necessarily reflecting a health risk.

eltonyo · Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 88 Location: WA

Well for starters, many of your foods that have red food coloring comes from zillions of crushed beetles (beetlejuice), and the FDA does not require this to be disclosed. I don't necessesarliy have a problem with this, but if you are a vegetarian, or concerned about "kosher" foods.... then knowing you are eating crushed beetle bugs (specifically cochineal beetles and their eggs), may be important.

So, for example, the next time you dig any red colored Yoplait yogurts, or Hershey good & plenty candies, or Tropicana grapefruit juice, and/or many others.... just know your drinking beetlejuice!

Got milk... er... beetle guts?

GaryProtein · Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 535

Eltonyo, I always like your posts. Do you mean that in Tropicana grapefruit juice that they don't need to say it has red coloring, or they don't need to say it comes from beetlejuice? I'd check my fridge, but I don't have any of their (I guess you mean Ruby Red) grapefruit juice at the moment. As far as being Kosher is concerned, if the red came from an ainimal product, the container would NOT be permitted to have the "Pareve" seal (the "U" with the "O" around it) designating there were no meat or dairy products in it.

Lintballoon · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 42 Location: Massachusetts

ElTonyo, thanks for that interesting fact. I wiki'd and found this:
Carmine also called Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470 or E120, is a pigment of a bright red color obtained from the carminic acid produced by the cochineal insect, and is used as a general term for a particularly deep red color. Carmine is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, rouge, cosmetics, food additives, and crimson ink.
Carmine is used as a food dye in many different products such as juice, ice cream, yogurt, and candies, eyeshadow, lipstick, etc. Although principally a red dye, it is found in many foods that are shades of red, pink, and purple. As a food dye it has been known to cause severe allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock in some people.....Food industries were aggressively opposed to the idea of writing "insect based" on the label and they finally agreed to simply putting "carmine". Food products containing carmine-based food dye may concern groups whose members are allergic to it or who do not consume any or certain animals, such as vegetarians, vegans, and religions with dietary law (e.g. kashrut in Judaism and halaal in Islam), and those who simply do not want to eat insects.

roofermike · Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Posts: 7 Location: Lynn, Massachusetts

how disgusting. sometimes its better to not know ingredients.

GaryProtein · Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 535

To me, the most unappealing aspect about eating insects was on a public television nouvelle cuisine cooking show about 15 years ago. (Some things you do not forget.) It seemed this couple enjoyed sauteed grasshoppers, but they disagreed on how they should be prepared. The wife liked the grasshopper whole, but the husband preferred them with the wings removed because they always got caught between his teeth!!!

eltonyo · Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 88 Location: WA

yep...yep...yep.... it ain't fiction folks. the american indians knew about this "beetle juice dye" since time-antiquity. we kinda stole their 'patent' on how to paint your face "red" in war time.... and colored our food products with it... cuz everybody luvs a nice ruby-red strawberry color!!!!!!

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/bugjuice.htm

nobody in a "fictional" mindset, could even dream up this "reality" we american's actually live in.

but it's true. all true.

... ad infintum ad nauseam

and don't even get me started.

GaryProtein · Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 535

Thanks for the link.