Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Hi,

I spotted this a few weeks ago:



It is composed of wonderful tasting ingredients. One eGullet member thought it was just like creme fraiche but, I think not!

Ingredients: Pasteurized Nonfat milk and milk fat, water, whey protein concentrate, cheese culture, salt, tapioca starch, maltodextrin, lactic acid, carob bean gum, guar gum, sorbic acid (preservative), natural flavor, vitamin A palmitate

The 340 mg of sodium per serving is a free bonus.

This will definitely be tablescaped at the Governor's mansion in New York State. So yummy.

CC

We get more and more fake foods while people know less and less how to cook with real food.

OMG, I saw that ad too and thought: WTF?!!!

How difficult is it to nuke some cheese and whisk in some milk? Unbelievable, but the masses in the US are totally clueless about how to feed themselves if it isn't pre-made. It's really sad....

My brother's household uses all sorts of fat-free crap. When asked he swears that these "foods" have lead him to be healthier than he would be otherwise. I was too polite to mention that we both need to lose the same amount of weight, and I eat real foods as much as possible. Why he thinks he is healthier than I am is a mystery to me. I tried explaining that fat free half and half was a lie, but he just doesn't get it. *sigh*

Becky,

That's unfortunately not uncommon. Most people don't really "get" that real food is what is the healthiest option. I'm with you. *sigh*

Amy

My SIL is a cardiac care nurse practioner and seems to believe that dietary fat is the evil substance. It makes for some sad foods.

I remember working in a VA hospital many years ago, and was amazed to notice that the nurses and doctors were often morbidly obese and smokers. I'd rather eat "real" stuff and monitor portion size than eat crappy tasting fake food of any portion size. That being said I do like cool whip on chocolate pudding cups (jello brand). Am I excommunicated from the board now? (Especially with those who remember my jello shot query). Other than that lapse, I eat real stuff.
an abashed Nancy

A friend of mine made an enchillada recipe and love the stuff....uggg. I didn't comment, I was afraid of what I'd say. The worst part is she does a food column for her local news paper.


L

Okay, color me dense (or is that dunce?) but I didn't see anything that made me quiver with concern in the OP list of ingredients. Yes, it is processed and I would prefer less processing (usually) than more. But I didn't see some of the common things I really dislike seeing. The wood pulp and extensive dye/flavoring lists.

Extracting protein from milk or using whey seems quite normal to me. Cheese culture is something I covet. Tapioca starch is not high on my "oh god, did I eat that?" list. But I am more than happy to learn. What would be the really bad things here for you? Maltodextrin, maybe? Doesn't ring a bell as being way bad, but I'm not sure. The two gums: carob bean gum and guar gum, don't run a big hit either. I've eaten carob many times. Is there something insidious about gum from it? I know almost nothing about guar gum, but the description in Wikipedia makes me think it might be handy when making naturally flavored ice cream like strawberry or mango that has a lot of water in the fruit. Lactic acid and sorbic acid are on my okay list. I use them myself occasionally.

The vitamin A palmitate does hit a bit of a warning when I looked it up over at Wikipedia. Seems it is being labeled a cancer risk. And the salt. Ubiquitous stuff that salt. I do overdo it, to be sure. But I am fond of adding it to my eggs even. Bad me.

Tatoosh,
FWIW, I just can't imagine it tasting good.