Soapbox of the month post . . .
Had an interesting conversation with Tim Whittaker this past Saturday. He was watching a program, where they were taking various ingredients, and then asking the audience what it made. What were the ingredients?
Water, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated coconut and palm kernel oil, polysorbate 60, sodium caseinate, sorbitan monostearate, xanthan and guar gums.
Before you guess, here are some hints...hydrogentated coconut and palm kernel give the product a 'creamy' taste, polysorbate 60 (a chemical precursor to anti-freeze) and sodium casainate keep the oil and water mixed, sorbitan monosteatate is a synthetic wax sometimes used in hemorrhoid cream that prevents the magical product from liquifying in the refrigerator, xanthan and guar gums are used as thickeners and to prevent ice crystals from forming in the product.
Know what it is yet? If you guessed 'Cool Whip', you win. Yes, I know there wasn't any diary product on the list - that's because Cool Whip is a NON-dairy creamer.
Considering some whipping cream and a little sugar in a mixer for 3 minutes makes a product that is far superior in taste (do I have to explain that one), cost (1/2 the price of the whipped 'air'), and health (high fructose corn syrup has been proven the fastest way to become obese) - I had to ask myself what other things do we do that would make my great grandmothers go "What are you thinking?"
So looking back over my past posts on making butter, soap, and canning, I realize I need a new category called 'Basics', where I explore various experiments in 19th century ways of doing things with the help of a KitchenAid mixer or other power tools.
