Why is Wood Pulp In Your Ice Cream?
Jamie Oliver recently shocked Letterman when he told Dave and his audience that vanilla ice cream contains a product called castoreum that comes from beaver anal gland.
In an effort to undercut the rising cost of flour, sugar and oil, the food industry is using cellulose products like gums and fibers in processed foods to thicken or stabilize foods, replace fat and enhance fiber content.
For example, powdered cellulose contains minute pieces of wood pulp or other plant fibers that coat cheese to prevent it from clumping by blocking out moisture. And cellulose products are used to make low-fat ice cream that tastes creamy.In an informative Wall Street Journal piece, Sarah Nassauer explains that cellulose additives belong to a family of substances known as hydrocolloids that act in various ways with water, such as creating gels.
Many hydrocolloids are derived from natural substances and are used as thickening agents, foam, and emulsion stabilizers.
Hydrocolloids are commonly used in:• Food concentrates to make custards, jellies and instant soups.
• Fermented products – for clarifying beers, wines and drinking honeys.
• Bakery products – for better water binding and better structure.
• Dairy products for stabilizing suspensions and emulsions.
• Sweet snacks – for making sweets, cake icings, chewing gums.
• Fruit and vegetable products – structure improvement of jams and vegetable sauces.
• Sauces – stabilization of sauces and mayonnaises.
• Meat – for better water binding, stabilizing emulsions and stuffing thickening.
Categories:General | Nutrition
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