phantom fruits

[kittenscribble]

I am sad to note that, although my yogurt container is labeled "Strawberry Banana" and indeed tastes of both fruits, neither of these fruits are actually mentioned in the ingredients list. Instead, I seem to be ingesting milk and sugar, mixed with corn syrup, gelatin, and random chemicals.

I may have to ask p_sunshine for yogurt-making help. Because now I really want yogurt with actual fruits in.

Comments

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

I read an article once about how it was irrational to discriminate between natural flavoring and imitation flavoring, because they were chemically identical. Sometimes the imitation flavoring is actually better for you, as in the case of almond flavor, which is hard to separate from the cyanide in its natural derivation.

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

Oh neat, I had no idea that the flavors were chemically identical. That does put a different spin on things. How strange to be tasting strawberry, absent actual strawberries. I wonder how much (if any) of the vitamins and nutrients present in strawberries would also be available in the chemical components composing its flavor?

It's like cheating. Evolution programmed me to like strawberries so I'd eat up a good dose of vitamin C, folate, and whatever else is in strawberries; yet now I can get that flavor hit without getting strawberries at all.

(It's Christine)

[(Anonymous)]

lol, somehow I doubt that the artificially flavored strawberry syrup in my fridge has more than water in common with actual strawberries. But I'll feel better next time I have some. =)

Re: (It's Christine)

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

Well, like K said, the flavor chemical itself might not impart any of the other nutritional benefits of eating actual fruit. :)

Re: (It's Christine)

[p-sunshine.livejournal.com]

Oh! See, I was thinking identical in that every part of it was identical, but that made no sense - if just the flavors are identical, then that makes more sense - thanks!

[museclio]

Um... could always buy plain and put fruit or fruit puree in it.

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately (and this is why I think I haven't tried making yogurt yet either), I don't eat yogurt very often, and plain always seems to come in these huge containers that go bad before I finish them. But it's a good thought.

[museclio]

I know TJ's sells it in smaller containers.

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip. To TJ's! ...once I finish off the rest of my phantom fruit yogurts.

(C)

[(Anonymous)]

the Harris Teeter has smaller containers of plain as well, but they're about a buck a piece, which seems ridiculously expensive for yogurt.

[neonnova.livejournal.com]

I like phantom flavored yogurt, because I'm not going to grind a Boston Cream Pie or Key Lime Pie into plain yogurt...

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

okay, granted. And also because there wouldn't be any left over if it entered our house.

[debela.livejournal.com]

... and now I do too. o.0

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

Food cravings are contagious!

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

I just get the Fage greek stuff in a moderate size and put the berries in myself, and it always is pleasing and great. Oh and some granola in there for good measure.

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

I haven't had Greek yogurt outside of tzatziki; I wasn't even thinking of it. Not a bad idea!

[snidegrrl.livejournal.com]

Yesterday at the grocery store I noticed immediately that apparently all the brands have jumped on the greek style yogurt train - so it's really easy to find!

homemade yogurt

[simplesimon.livejournal.com]

Needs to be made in a crockpot.

Pour half a gallon of whole fat milk and set it to low for 2.5 hrs.

Turn off heat and let sit for 3hrs.

Take out two cups and mix thoroughly with yogurt start with active cultures. We also add a dolop of vanilla to the mix at this time to give it a hint of flavor.

Wrap in a towel and leave out for 8-12 hrs. Longer equals thicker. Decant and doctor your yogurt as desired. C is trying out using cocoa for her chocolate flavor this weekend.

Re: homemade yogurt

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I wonder if using vanilla yogurt as the starter would have the same effect as using plain starter + vanilla dollop?

[bkleber.livejournal.com]

This is a conversation I've had with some of my foodies in the past - real v. fake flavors, and what the actual difference is. What, then, are your feelings on Sucralose (aka Spenda)? Chemically it's identical to normal sucrose but that it's mirror-image, which doesn't occur in nature. So it reacts the same way on your taste buds, but the chemicals that actually break down the sugar for digestion/absorption can't do their thing because they're all designed for the right-handed molecule, not the lefty). And the aftertaste issue has to do with the fillers they add so the stuff "measures like real sugar!", that's not the taste of the sugar itself.

Also, if you look at those cheese-and-crackers snacks you can find in gas stations and vending machines, they say "Real Cheese!" on the package but don't mention much in the way of the stuff in the ingredients. There are, however, apparently the components that create cheese... which appears to be good enough.

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

Generally I like my food to be honest; if I'm going to eat sugar, let it be sugar. If I have too much sugar, there's always exercise. Same goes for cheese, butter, bacon, all the good stuff -- I feel I evolved to eat sucrose, fructose, and natural fats, and I'd do best to continue doing so.

Not to say that I'd turn down a chemical meal, but given the option, I go for cane sugar every time.

(Since I don't use Splenda, it's moot, but as for the "measures like real sugar" issue -- what's wrong with putting something on the label that says "if you want to use for baking, multiply by 3/8" or whatever the ratio is? People would get used to it, and you wouldn't get aftertaste issues.)

[bkleber.livejournal.com]

"measures like real sugar": sucralose tends to come in three forms. The one that measures tablespoon-for-tablespoon like real sugar for sweetness is diluted something by something like 4 orders of magnitude, and it's that 99.99% not-sugar that gives it the funny taste. There's a less-diluted one that is easier to measure with a conversion factor like you mentioned, and then the pure form - which almost no manufacturers use - is an ultra-sweet liquid with absolutely no aftertaste at all, because it's *just* the actual sucralose molecule and nothing else. Real sugar isn't all sucrose, it's just honest sucrose mixed in with a bunch of naturally occurring fillers (well, natural to varying degrees, but for the most part) that you grew up with, so they don't have what you can recognize as an aftertaste. The fructose/glucose/sucrose mix in cane or table sugar is very similar that in high-fructose corn syrup, yet one tastes distinctly different from the other.

As for evolving to eat sucrose, fructose, natural fats, etc. rather than their synthetic siblings: true, though the inane quantity of them that's available now and the built-in dopamine pleasure rewards for eating them makes it easy to over-consume. Many people would rather over-consume, reap the pleasure rewards, and figure out a sneaky way to circumvent the consequences. (As an aside, the quantities in which you evolved to consume those things are WAY lower than those in which they are available now - substituting the fake sugar that you don't actually digest isn't going to cheat you of the opportunity to practice processing the natural stuff, just mitigate the quantities. Then again, you eat much more health-consciously than most.)

(it's p_sunshine)

[(Anonymous)]

It looks like P beat me to answering this one. =) You do end up with about half a gallon of yogurt though, so if you don't eat it that often, it might be too much. (Haven't tried freezing/making popsicles of it yet) If you want to come over when I make the next batch, you can add whatever mix-ins you'd like and then have a smaller quantity to deal with.

So far I've found that whole fruits, specifically berries or peaches work the best, flavor-wise. I've been experimenting with natural low-sugar jellies, and some of those work too, as long as they aren't watery, but they don't lend their flavors to the yogurt as well as the actual fruits. The mixing in of cocoa was phenomenal and I'll definitely do that again. =)

Re: (it's p_sunshine)

[kittenscribble.livejournal.com]

I'll take you up on that -- I'm sure I can come up with some fruits to trade for a smaller quantity. Though from the way you're raving about the cocoa, I might just do that instead. =)