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Food Quiz: Basic Ingredients

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Since it's the holidays, and you're bound to be spending a lot of it enjoying delicious dishes, I thought you'd appreciate this fun little quiz about food. Let's test your knowledge of ingredients.

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Label Able: Vegetable Glycerin

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:30:50 -0700

I was going on a trip and picked up some Kashi TLC Trail Mix bars. I trust their products completely so don't feel it's necessary to read labels before buying them. While in the car, I happened to check out the list of ingredients and saw vegetable glycerin.

If you're curious to know what it is or why it's used keep reading

Kelsey and Spike Debut Their New Show on Food2

partysugar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:05:28 -0700

During the last season of the Next Food Network Star, many of you thought perky blond Kelsey Nixon had serious star potential and were shocked when she got kicked off the show. But the spunky home chef assured readers she wouldn't be going anywhere when she announced she was getting her own show with Top Chef's Spike Mendelsohn on Food Network spinoff site Food2.

The enthusiastic contestant kept her word. Today, Kelsey & Spike Cook debuted on Food2's website with two episodes: one demo of easy-to-make steak and another featuring breakfast items. Unlike Food Network's other new show, 5 Ingredient Fix, I feel an instant connection with the duo - especially since we've gotten to know them on reality shows past.

They have a fun, lighthearted chemistry that holds my attention. Watch the video below and tell me what you think. Do you like the duo's dynamic? What do you think of the Food2 beta website and its other new shows?

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Melissa d'Arabian's Helpful Hints For Feasting on a Budget

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:31 -0800

Of all the year's celebrations, Thanksgiving often is the most expensive. In 2008, roughly a quarter of you said you were spending $150 or more. This year, to help you stay well within your budget, we've enlisted the help of Melissa d'Arabian, winner of the Next Food Network Star and host of Ten Dollar Dinners With Melissa d'Arabian.

On her Food Network show, Melissa makes dinner for four for under $10 - and her Thanksgiving is no different. She's partnered with Walmart to come up with a turkey day feast that's only $20, and plans to serve it to her own family this holiday. "My family is really getting the $20 thanksgiving!" she says. Regardless of how much you've got in your wallet, she has some pointers to help you stay under budget. See them when you read more.

Southern (Indian) Thanksgiving

Yum Community — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:30:42 -0800

This story was written by member courtneyd and comes from the Kitchen Goddess group in the YumSugar Community.

For a few years now I've wanted to try to marry the traditional Southern Indian food my husband grew up enjoying with Thanksgiving as I know it (Southern girl with a love of spice and heat). So this year I did a trial run of a tandoori-style turkey made in the oven.

By next year I hope to build my own tandoor, or at least grill this guy, because it needs a little more heat to crisp up properly. Even so, the meal turned out great! Tandoori turkey, tamarind gravy, creamed saag, masala mashed potatoes, and Whole Foods' naan, which has a slight dinner roll texture, so it works out perfectly for this blended meal. The tamarind gravy was an original creation (that I cannot believe turned out properly, it was sooooo good), and the other recipes were either inspired by or taken directly from The Food of India from Whitecap Books. I love their "food of" series, and my husband is impressed with the Indian recipes.

For the turkey, I followed the instructions from November's Martha Stewart Living to spatchcock a turkey and cooked according to their instructions after marinating for about 7 hours. Not including the marinade time, this meal came together in about 2 hours on a Friday night. Also, we discovered New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc complements Indian food perfectly.

To get her recipes for this Southern Indian feast, keep reading.

Should You Avoid Modified Corn Starch?

FitSugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:30:00 -0700

When I was checking out all the yogurts at the grocery store to do the yogurt breakdown, in the list of ingredients on many of the containers, I saw modified corn starch. Although it sounds super unappetizing and something I wouldn't want to eat anyway, I'm wondering, is it something that's unhealthy?

To find out read more

Modified corn starch (also called modified food starch) is an additive that's made by treating starch, which modifies one or more of its physical properties. This change may affect the texture, how fast it dissolves, or how easily it can be digested. The starch can come from corn (as stated) but can also be made from wheat, potato, rice, or tapioca. It's added to foods to act as a thickener, to acquire a certain texture, or to keep foods moist.

Modified food starch is typically added to processed foods such as sauces, pie fillings, and gravies. They're not healthy in the respect that they don't add any nutritional value to food, but they aren't harmful. People who have gluten allergies should stay away from this ingredient though, unless a food containing it is labeled "gluten free."

Label Able: Palm Stearin

FitSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:00:57 -0700

At the grocery store to pick up some soy nut butter for a batch of Soy Nut Butter Muddy Buddies I was planning on making, I saw a new kind made by Simple Food. Checking out the label I noticed an ingredient I've never heard of - organic palm stearin.

If you're curious to know whether it's healthy or not read more.

When palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the palm tree and then refined, it can be further refined into two forms - palm olein (liquid) and palm stearin (solid). This ingredient has a neutral taste, and contains a balance of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fatty acids. Palm stearin also contains linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid our bodies don't produce, and tocopherols, which are natural antioxidants. This fat is cholesterol free, and may even lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Palm stearin shouldn't be confused with palm kernel oil, which is made from the seeds of the palm fruit and is high in saturated (unhealthy) fats.

Since palm stearin is solid at room temperature, it's often used instead of butter in breads and cakes, and can be found in nonhydrogenated margarine. It's also used to prevent nut butters from separating, as in this soy nut butter. Well that's a relief. Now I can enjoy my Muddy Buddies even more!

Label Able: Malic Acid?

FitSugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Another day of food shopping, another weird ingredient. What in the world is malic acid? I found it on the label of Dannon Fruit on the Bottom yogurt.

It doesn't sound healthy to me, but I may just be thinking this because it also contains high-fructose corn syrup – an ingredient I don't like to find in my yogurt. To find out, just read more.

I found it interesting that this food additive is centuries old. Malic acid was first isolated from apple juice in 1785 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. He decided to name it "acide malique," which comes from the Latin word for apple, mālum. Malic acid is actually a natural compound that's found in tart or sour foods. Besides apples, it's also found in cherries, tomatoes, and grapes, and it can be found in wine. It's used as a food additive to give foods and candies a tart flavor. Sometimes it's added along with citric acid to foods such as Jolly Ranchers, SweetTarts, and salt and vinegar potato chips. It may also be added to dairy products, processed fruit, condensed milk, soups, beer, malt beverages, and processed meat. Be warned - if you eat too much, it could irritate your mouth.

Label Able: Tricalcium Phosphate

FitSugar — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:00:00 -0700

I like to read food labels; I find them fascinating, especially when the list of ingredients seems long enough to contain a plot character development. As a general rule, I try to steer clear of foods made with ingredients that have lengthy confusing names. When researching for the yogurt breakdown, I saw tricalcium phosphate on the Dannon yogurt label. The name reminded me of sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, but I was fairly certain these two ingredients are not related at all.

I did a little poking around and found that tricalcium phosphate is calcium salt of citric acid. It's added to foods to act as a firming or anti-caking agent, or as an acidity regulator. Companies also add it to their products to increase the calcium content (Dannon told me this when I phoned them). That's why calcium supplements sometimes contain tricalcium phosphate as well. You may find this ingredient in foods such as dairy products, wine, carbonated beverages, powdered spices, candy and jams. Reduced fat liquid foods may also contain this ingredient, to add smoothness and an opaque color.

Want to hear more about this ingredient? Then read more.

The funny thing is, Dannon Fruit Blends Yogurt (which contains tricalcium phosphate) has 20 percent calcium, and Stonyfield Farms Fat Free Yogurt (which doesn't contain this ingredient), has 30 percent calcium. If tricalcium phosphate is being added to increase the amount of calcium, then shouldn't Dannon have more? It just doesn't make sense. Also, it seems that tricalcium phosphate is used in a lot of processed foods that contain some not-so-healthy ingredients (what's with the red 40 and high fructose corn syrup in the Dannon yogurt?). So for that reason, I think I'll stick to foods made with actual food ingredients.

Label Able: Nigari

FitSugar — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0700

I just reread the label of my favorite mac-n-cheese alternative, the Country Cheddar Bowl by Amy's Kitchen, and happened to catch something on the list of ingredients that I didn't recognize - nigari. In parentheses it says "magnesium chloride, a natural firming agent," but that use of the word "natural" didn't make me feel any better.

I trust food from Amy's Kitchen because it's made with such wholesome ingredients, so nigari can't be bad for me, right? I decided to do a little research. To find out what I discovered, read more.

Magnesium chloride is a salt that's highly soluble in water. In Japan, it's known as nigari, derived from the Japanese word for "bitter." It's a white powder made from seawater after the sodium chloride has been removed and the water evaporated. It's an important coagulant used when making tofu or soy milk and is also found in baby formula. Well, that's a relief. I knew Amy wouldn't steer me wrong.