Ten Food Additives And What They Add (Or Subtract)

Grocery store aisle
Image source: Diana Banana (clickable)

Time for some good weekend reading. Checking out my RSS feed, I find a nice little list of 10 food additives and what they are used for. Yum!

8. Caramel Coloring

When you don’t have real cocoa to put in food, but you want to make it look like you did, you add caramel coloring. This is sometimes added to mixes and cake batters to make them look chocolatey. Mostly, though, caramel coloring is added to cooked meats, sodas and gravies to give them the golden-brown look that people find appetizing. It’s made by cooking up various sugars with agents like ammonium or alkali. Although it’s possibly carcinogenic, it hasn’t been yanked from shelves, because people love brown food. Love it.

If you want to find out what gives popcorn that (not exactly) buttery taste, or what alkali does to chocolate, check out the source link below.

(Via io9)

***Update: Link originally pointed to io9 (10-food-additives-that-youre-eating—-right—-now) which Gizmodo apparently ate. They do have a somewhat similar list up here.

Joseph Joseph Elevate Carousel Set

Joseph Joseph Elevate Carousel Set

The Joseph Joseph Elevate Carousel Set solves two problems for the price of one. And that’s not even considering the amount of kitchen tools this one set contains. Called ‘Elevate’ for a reason, the utensils feature weighted handles, allowing for tools to be rested on the counter without the business end coming into contact with the surface.

Then after all the cooking is done and the utensils are cleaned, the set gives a place to store its components. Included along with the spaghetti server, slotted spoon, ladle, slotted turner, solid spoon and flexible turner is a rotating base allowing for the tools to always be within reach. Of course, by solving two questions another one arises, and that one would be: ‘Where did all the counter space go?’

George Foreman Burger Recipe Contest

George Foreman Brand Announces New Fat-Reduction Claim, Recipe Contest and National Partnership

Think you can make a better burger that the one pictured above? Well, you probably can. Honestly that one doesn’t look too appetizing. Luckily, there’s a recipe contest that will let you put your money where your mouth is. Or rather, make that George’s money. Read on for the whole press release.

Continue reading George Foreman Burger Recipe Contest

The Chicken Cookie Comes First

Chicken Cookie Cutter by Ann Clark

Cookies come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, but a little known fact is the best cookies are chicken cookies. You see, it is scientifically-proven (*) that the chicken shape is essential for even browning and actually makes the cookie taste more delicious (**). To achieve this wondrous end result, one must start with what comes first: the chicken (***). In this case, the Chicken Cookie Cutter by Ann Clark. Complete with a recipe for “chicken cookies”, the cookie cutter offers a fun way to add a new twist to your cookie coop jar.

*not scientifically-proven
**more testing is necessary
***the egg disagrees