We are/were fat because of our mothers....

[Slapshot]

Well, not for the reasons you'd think (her great cooking).

I'm reading a book now by David Kessler, MD which has been very enlightening. Apparently, food producers learned in market research that shoppers (usually mothers) were not buying foods that had "sugar" as one of the first two ingredients. Given the labeling rule that ingredients be listed in order of concentration, the food producers got smart and started to add honey, molasses, "evaporated cane juice" (thanks Sunny for pointing that one out to me!), HFCS, etc. to the products. This kept the sugar content the same, but drove the oats/wheats/rice/grains up to the top of the list, and the "sugars" toward the bottom.

Pretty sneaky stuff!

[liv]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

Wow - that is interesting. And so manipulative.
Labels are so hard. You almost need a degree to understand what exactly it is you are eating.

[neihu]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

Yes - interesting!

[liv]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

But what they are doing is splitting ingredients. So that if it was all one kind of sugar it would be high up but if they split it into molasses, syrup, dextrose and sugar they will go lower. Sneaky isn't it?

[Slapshot]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

He also discusses the Holy Trinity of Food: sugar, fat and salt. About 20 years ago, food scientists learned that items with all three of these were highly irresistable. Restaurants, food manufacturers and chefs all know what we're now learning. Sugar's nice. Fat's nice. Salt's nice. But all three together in the right blend, and shazaam. Homerun. After that chapter, I said to myself, "So THIS is why I (and everyone else I know) loves General Tso's chicken." It's basically chicken fat, salt, and sugar, with some spice. Sure enough, in the next chapter, he discussed this exact dish! He interviewed the Taiwanese chef who originally came up with the recipe and remarked that Americans bastardized it - in his recipe, there is hardly any sugar, it's not sweet.

This is the book. Amazon.com: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite: David Kessler MD: Books

I highly recommend it. Fair warning, after reading it, you will feel like a dope after all these years for falling for all of these tricks.

[brightstar7801]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

He also discusses the Holy Trinity of Food: sugar, fat and salt. About 20 years ago, food scientists learned that items with all three of these were highly irresistable. Restaurants, food manufacturers and chefs all know what we're now learning. Sugar's nice. Fat's nice. Salt's nice. But all three together in the right blend, and shazaam. Homerun. After that chapter, I said to myself, "So THIS is why I (and everyone else I know) loves General Tso's chicken." It's basically chicken fat, salt, and sugar, with some spice. Sure enough, in the next chapter, he discussed this exact dish! He interviewed the Taiwanese chef who originally came up with the recipe and remarked that Americans bastardized it - in his recipe, there is hardly any sugar, it's not sweet.

This is the book. Amazon.com: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite: David Kessler MD: Books

I highly recommend it. Fair warning, after reading it, you will feel like a dope after all these years for falling for all of these tricks.

My husband loves General Tso's chicken. He hasn't eaten it in a long time, but I asked to try it one time and I hated it. I also hate sweet and sour chicken, and pork. Yuck!

[Slapshot]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

My husband loves General Tso's chicken. He hasn't eaten it in a long time, but I asked to try it one time and I hated it. I also hate sweet and sour chicken, and pork. Yuck!

It is my all-time favorite, and certainly responsible for about 10 of my pounds...! One of the restaurants I used to go to asked you if you wanted it "American Style." That meant they didn't even put the broccoli in it.

[JohnSantos]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

Second, he shows how the food industry has engineered food that is overloaded with excessive calories and is designed to promote overeating in their insatiable drive for excessive profits.

That's just disturbing.

[MsUnderstood0000]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

insatiable drive for excessive profits


They say you can always follow the money............its true isnt it

[sallyseachange]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

Interesting... horrifying...
Thanks for sharing

[not2late]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

My mom never bought alot of pre-made foods when I was a child. Even eating at McDonalds was a once a year thing with my family!

But I never really liked certain foods because they were too sweet, like ketchup, bottled barbecue sauce, etc. When we were growing up, cakes, pies, cookies, etc. were homemade (actually the rule was if we---my sisters and I---wanted cookies, brownies, etc. we would have to make them ourselves. So that rule alone deterred anyone in the family from developing a sweet tooth.) That's why I'm a starchy carb addict, rather than a sweet carb addict.

What's interesting is that I went to an 18th century cooking lecture and demonstration last year: they made stew, bread, and a dessert---an apple pudding, using 18th century tools, cooking methods and ingredients. The instructor said that they didn't use alot of refined sugar in 18th century USA because it was expensive, but used honey, molasses and maple syrup. For that reason she said the pudding won't "taste as good" to us.

[JohnSantos]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

they didn't use alot of refined sugar in 18th century USA because it was expensive

Have you read the book Sugar Blues? It has a complete history of sugar, which is epic-fascinating. Then he goes into what it does to our bodies. One of the most enlightening books on food I've ever read.

[not2late]

Re: We are/were fat because of our mothers....

Never read it, but I've read plenty of history of food books and toured a many 18th century kitchen museums. Sugar was in a cone or loaf form and kept in a locked box (at least in 18th century US). So the wealthy and the "well-to-do" (ie the emerging "middle class") had the money to buy sugar loaf. Whereas the common everyday sweeteners were honey, maple syrup and molasses. I make the distinction between 18th century USA and the rest of the world and later centuries because refined sugar became more common place in the 19th century USA and the world, largely due to the Triangle Trade that kept the world supplied in rum, sugar and slaves.