Sweetners

If Mary Poppins were around today, it’s doubtful she’d encourage “a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.” That’s because sugar (sucrose) and similar 4-calorie-per-gram carbohydrate sweeteners have been implicated as contributors to America’s obesity crisis. Many health advocates have dubbed the 4-calories-per-gram sweeteners as “empty calories.” However, in many applications, sugar is anything but “empty,” as sugar ...

In Japan, sweet and savory snack foods, called osaki, are teatime accompaniments, nibblers with cocktails, and snacks for after school or while watching television. Unlike American snacks, Japanese snacks tend to be healthier, because they are generally not fried, and are made from rice, soy, vegetables, seaweed, fruits, nuts, beans and seafood. Flavorings include soy sauce, wasabi, curry, green tea ...

Most of us work hard to resist the enticing world of gummies, nougats, fondants, chocolates, hard candy, caramels and gum. But, with some of the current confectionery trends, people of all ages can indulge without guilt. Consumers are becoming more health-conscious, and the confectionery industry is responding by replacing or removing some aspects that concern consumers, and adding new, beneficial ...

Be it from yak, goat or cow, milk as a foodstuff has been around nearly as long as man. Even commercial products are not new. Powdered milk was developed in the early 1800s, and evaporated milk is more than 100 years old. With such a well-established category, what could possibly be new? Fortunately for the food scientist, dairy continues to ...

Curry—one word that describes and classifies so many dishes from around the globe. Often, each plate, platter or bowl of curry has fewer similarities than differences, yet somehow are grouped together in the genre of curry. Curry is tied to savory dishes usually containing vegetables and meat, poultry or seafood, with a thick, gravylike sauce. But the vernacular use of ...