View Full Version : Why cook from scratch
I spied the following in last week's Newsweek, which confirms my practice of mostly cooking from scratch both at home and on the trail.
March 5, 2007 issue - Twinkies contain actual flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, water and a trace of egg. But the rest of the 39 ingredients are not generally what you find in your pantry. A sampling:
THE FILLING
Shortening (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat) is the main ingredient.
Polysorbate 60 is a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost. It's derived from corn, palm oil and petroleum.
Cellulose gum gives the crème filling a smooth, slippery feel.
Artificial vanillin is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The real thing comes from finicky tropical orchids that are pollinated by hand on the one day they bloom.
THE CAKE
Lecithin is an emulsifier made from soy. It's also used in paint to keep pigments evenly dispersed.
Diacetyl mimics the taste of butter, since the real stuff would go rancid on a store shelf.
Cornstarch is a common thickener. But it's more often used to make cardboard and packing peanuts.
Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40 give the cake the golden look of eggs.
Sorbic acid, the only actual preservative in Twinkies, comes from petroleum.
And of course, calcium sulfate, "a food grade plaster of paris."
TWINKIE FACTS
Calories: 145 each
Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.
Want to know more. Newsweek took it's facts from a new book "Twinkies Deconstructed," by Steve Ettlinger.
Weary
doggiebag
03-05-2007, 13:15
A big part of my enjoyment in the trail is preparing myself a good meal whenever possible. I don't mind the extra weight of tabasco, vinegars, garlic, ginger etc. I find the dignity and treat of a fine meal I created to be very uplifting.
I don't mind the extra weight of tabasco, vinegars, garlic, ginger etc.
I'm 225 lbs, by the way. :)
doggiebag
03-05-2007, 13:47
Tabasco is awsome. It'll can probably turn roadkill into a gourmet meal. I love going into hole in the wall ethnic stores for inspiration as well. You'd be surprised at what different cultures have dehydrated. I'm currently chewing on dehydrated peaches from a Latin store 20 of these peaches cost me $1.69 and it just weighs half a pound. I'm going to try some dried fish I saw earlier.
Footslogger
03-05-2007, 13:48
Where did the term "from scratch" come from and what is it's true meaning ?
'Slogger
I spied the following in last week's Newsweek, which confirms my practice of mostly cooking from scratch both at home and on the trail.
March 5, 2007 issue - Twinkies contain actual flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, water and a trace of egg. But the rest of the 39 ingredients are not generally what you find in your pantry. A sampling:
THE FILLING
Shortening (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat) is the main ingredient.
Polysorbate 60 is a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost. It's derived from corn, palm oil and petroleum.
Cellulose gum gives the crème filling a smooth, slippery feel.
Artificial vanillin is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The real thing comes from finicky tropical orchids that are pollinated by hand on the one day they bloom.
THE CAKE
Lecithin is an emulsifier made from soy. It's also used in paint to keep pigments evenly dispersed.
Diacetyl mimics the taste of butter, since the real stuff would go rancid on a store shelf.
Cornstarch is a common thickener. But it's more often used to make cardboard and packing peanuts.
Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40 give the cake the golden look of eggs.
Sorbic acid, the only actual preservative in Twinkies, comes from petroleum.
And of course, calcium sulfate, "a food grade plaster of paris."
TWINKIE FACTS
Calories: 145 each
Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.
Want to know more. Newsweek took it's facts from a new book "Twinkies Deconstructed," by Steve Ettlinger.
Weary
Let me start off by saying that just because something is used in industrial applications does not mean it is not suitable for consumption. Soy beans are used in many application from Paint to Plastics, but that doesn't mean they are not healthy and taste good.
A good example of a chemical that most people wouldn't think twice about consuming and that I make at home is ethanol.
Ethanol - also known as ethyl alcohol, is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxic chemical compound with a distinctive perfume-like odor.
Guess what that is just plane old alcohol that is in my beer, but from the description you wouldn't want that in your body.
There are far too many people that just don't understand that if something is extracted from its original source, say soy bean, and is no longer attached to the soy bean as an ingredient, the company must refer to it by its chemical name. In many cases it is not desirable to have the entire ingredient, such as soy bean added to the recipe because it imparts something undesirable, and so certain things are extracted. This way the desirable features are maintained and the undesirable features are eliminated.
All I am saying really is don't believe the hype. People have their agendas and they don't always tell the truth.
Alligator
03-05-2007, 14:00
I too prefer to cook from scratch when possible, but I doubt making one's Twinkies from scratch is much more beneficial;) .
Scratch apparently is a runner's term. (http://www.word-detective.com/back-m2.html#fromscratch)
Footslogger
03-05-2007, 14:04
Scratch apparently is a runner's term. (http://www.word-detective.com/back-m2.html#fromscratch)
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Who woulda ever thunked that ??
'Slogger
Alligator
03-05-2007, 14:07
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Who woulda ever thunked that ??
'SloggerWe do say start from scratch but I never thought it meant that.
Footslogger
03-05-2007, 14:10
We do say start from scratch but I never thought it meant that.
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Me either ...my guess would have been that "scratch" referred to the sound made by the "quill" as someone wrote out the ingredients for a recipe.
'Slogger
Where did the term "from scratch" come from and what is it's true meaning ?
'Slogger
I don't know where it came from but scratch's "true meaning" in the context that I used the word:
1: from a point at which nothing has been done ahead of time (for instance cooking on the trail with generic pasta, oatmeal, rice etc. and adding salt, pepper, and spices for flavor)
2: without using a prepared mixture of ingredients. At home this means baking such things as cake, bread or biscuits from flour, eggs, sugar, baking powder, yeast and other basic ingredients, rather from ingredients packaged together at a factory somewhere.
I used to buy sausage. Then it dawned on me that sausage is just ground pork with salt, pepper and a few spices, mostly sage, added for flavor.
Mixing the ingredients yourself has two benefits. One you know precisely what the sausage contains. Two the price is slashed by about two thirds, compared to commerical sausage. (I mostly give the savings to the Maine AT Land trust to help buffer the Maine trail.)
Weary
www.matlt.org
I don't know where it came from but scratch's "true meaning" in the context that I used the word:
1: from a point at which nothing has been done ahead of time (for instance cooking on the trail with generic pasta, oatmeal, rice etc. and adding salt, pepper, and spices for flavor)
2: without using a prepared mixture of ingredients. At home this means baking such things as cake, bread or biscuits from flour, eggs, sugar, baking powder, yeast and other basic ingredients, rather from ingredients packaged together at a factory somewhere.
I used to buy sausage. Then it dawned on me that sausage is just ground pork with salt, pepper and a few spices, mostly sage, added for flavor.
Mixing the ingredients yourself has two benefits. One you know precisely what the sausage contains. Two the price is slashed by about two thirds, compared to commerical sausage. (I mostly give the savings to the Maine AT Land trust to help buffer the Maine trail.)
Weary
www.matlt.org (http://www.matlt.org)
And you get to choose how it tastes.
My dad worked for Genral Foods for many years. He got to see factories all over the world and came back with some interesting (and usually scary) stories. For example, Twinkies and other such snack cakes are not baked. The cake is created from chemical reactions.
Let me start off by saying that just because something is used in industrial applications does not mean it is not suitable for consumption. In many cases it is not desirable to have the entire ingredient, such as soy bean added to the recipe because it imparts something undesirable, and so certain things are extracted. This way the desirable features are maintained and the undesirable features are eliminated.
The further away something is from its form found in nature, the far less nutritionally valuable it becomes. Twinkies et al. have about zero nutritional value. Just my 2 cents.
The further away something is from its form found in nature, the far less nutritionally valuable it becomes.Often true, but not an absolute. I've seen pictures of people in third world countries who had nothing to eat and ate grass. It didn't help them a whole lot, no matter how close to nature grass was. A truckload of quarterpounds with cheese, fries, and a shake would have done them a lot of good.
Creek Dancer
03-05-2007, 15:00
Deep fried twinkies are da bomb!
Alligator
03-05-2007, 15:04
Deep fried twinkies are da bomb!I tried fried cheesecake a few weeks ago. So-so.
Often true, but not an absolute. I've seen pictures of people in third world countries who had nothing to eat and ate grass. It didn't help them a whole lot, no matter how close to nature grass was. A truckload of quarterpounds with cheese, fries, and a shake would have done them a lot of good.
I'm sure that would be true in the moment, but not over time. Ever see Supersize Me?
Deep fried twinkies are da bomb!
Blech! :p But, to each her/his own!
Alligator
03-05-2007, 15:17
I think Frosty needed a better example (although I'd much rather die of heart disease at 50 than starvation at 5). Consider barley. Worthless:D . But, once you malt it, then add water and hops and subject it to a chemical process, you get BEER. See:jump ?
And beer is vastly better when made from scratch:sun .
oldfivetango
03-05-2007, 15:24
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Me either ...my guess would have been that "scratch" referred to the sound made by the "quill" as someone wrote out the ingredients for a recipe.
'Slogger
That all sounds plausible enough but I was going to say that
it gets the term from things that were "scratched up" from the
kitchen pantry.Much like the way chickens scratch up something
to eat in the barnyard.Actually,I have heard the term in the South
all my life as being "made from chicken scratch".
Cheers,
Oldfivetango
Footslogger
03-05-2007, 15:29
[quote=oldfivetango;333542]Actually,I have heard the term in the South
all my life as being "made from chicken scratch".
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"Chicken Scratch" is also sometimes used to describe poor penmanship.
But this is off topic ...sorry bout dat !!
'Slogger
My dad worked for Genral Foods for many years. He got to see factories all over the world and came back with some interesting (and usually scary) stories. For example, Twinkies and other such snack cakes are not baked. The cake is created from chemical reactions.
The further away something is from its form found in nature, the far less nutritionally valuable it becomes. Twinkies et al. have about zero nutritional value. Just my 2 cents.
I was more or less trying to inform people that not all the "chemicals" in your food are bad. I wouldn't touch a twinky, but that is because I am a vegetarian. I do recall that I liked the taste when I was a little kid, but I am willing to bet the sweetness of one would make me throw-up now-a-days.
Alligator
03-05-2007, 15:33
When I was a kid, they took us to the Hostess factory for a class trip. We got Twinkies and Chocodiles:banana .
southpaw95
03-05-2007, 15:50
I'm sure that would be true in the moment, but not over time. Ever see Supersize Me?
Blech! :p But, to each her/his own!
"Supersize Me?" made me hungry.
I
TWINKIE FACTS
Calories: 145 each
Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.
Want to know more. Newsweek took it's facts from a new book "Twinkies Deconstructed," by Steve Ettlinger.
Weary
An additional fact: They taste "GREAT"
My dad worked for Genral Foods for many years. He got to see factories all over the world and came back with some interesting (and usually scary) stories. For example, Twinkies and other such snack cakes are not baked. The cake is created from chemical reactions.
Ronin!!!! I think you and your dad just started an "Urban Legend"
Here is what Wickipedia said:
The Twinkie was invented on April 6, 1930 by bakery manager James Dewar, making thrifty use of shortcake pans that were used only during the strawberry season. Twinkies originally contained a banana cream filling, but this was replaced with a vanilla cream filling during a banana shortage caused by the outbreak of World War II. [1]
Though Continental Foods has never revealed how Twinkies are made, most people believe that they are baked, because the bottoms look brown. The Washington Post reported on April 13, 2005 that "the cakes are baked for 10 minutes, then the cream filling is injected through three holes in the top, which is browned from baking. The cake is flipped before packaging, so the rounded yellow bottom becomes the top." Hostess was the implied source of this information.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie
Alligator, question for you since you've been there and saw how they were made. Did they bake them?
southpaw95
03-05-2007, 15:52
"supersize Me." made me hungry.
TJ aka Teej
03-05-2007, 16:15
Scratch is an archaic British term meaning "nothing'.
Alligator
03-05-2007, 16:25
An additional fact: They taste "GREAT"
Ronin!!!! I think you and your dad just started an "Urban Legend"
Here is what Wickipedia said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie
Alligator, question for you since you've been there and saw how they were made. Did they bake them?You know, I'm not sure we got to see that part. I remember seeing more of the distribution side, racks of products, shipping area, etc. It was almost 30 years ago:o . But what I do remember, being a kid, was that somehow, inexplicably, I dropped my Twinkies over the side of the stairs as we were leaving. The trip mother would not let me climb down to get them, so I was left with just one Chocodile:( . However, another kid in class was allergic, so they passed hers to me. (A Chocodile in hand is worth two in the factory.) Then, a kind worker heard of my plight, and I was given a new pack of Twinkies as we left, so I made home with Two Chocodiles and a pack of Twinkies! That's about all I got out of the trip. Sorry.
The Twinkie was invented on April 6, 1930 by bakery manager James Dewar, making thrifty use of shortcake pans that were used only during the strawberry season...Though Continental Foods has never revealed how Twinkies are made, most people believe that they are baked, because the bottoms look brown. The Washington Post reported on April 13, 2005 that "the cakes are baked for 10 minutes, then the cream filling is injected through three holes in the top, which is browned from baking. The cake is flipped before packaging, so the rounded yellow bottom becomes the top." Hostess was the implied source of this information.
Bolding is mine. I rest my case! :)
However, another kid in class was allergic, so they passed hers to me. (A Chocodile in hand is worth two in the factory.) Then, a kind worker heard of my plight, and I was given a new pack of Twinkies as we left, so I made home with Two Chocodiles and a pack of Twinkies! That's about all I got out of the trip. Sorry.
That is one happy ending to you adventure, thanks for sharing that.
Ronin------I believe your father and you!!!!! My bubble did burst when I read that they were chemically made to look as though they were baked. Just tried to get back into the bubble. Your case rests.:)
Alligator
03-06-2007, 11:52
That is one happy ending to you adventure, thanks for sharing that.
...You bet! I took some other class trips that might be worth mentioning...I have to leave off the one to the local prison. I'm still working that one out in therapy, the wrong turn in cell block D didn't turn out so good:eek: .
2 Fingers
03-06-2007, 11:56
I guess that I fall into several of the cooking styles; scratch, home dehydrated, trailside store bought... at this moment I've got 2 pounds of shrimp and a large package of frozen corn in the dehydrator... and am baking a batch of MooseGoo Tracks in the oven... Oh BTW...I start my hike this Sat (Mar 10)
troglobil
03-06-2007, 18:37
I am suprised nobody has brought this up yet. Prior to WWII twinkies were filled with bananas not cream. Shortages in the war led to cream filling
troglobil
03-06-2007, 18:39
Thas why these guys are so happy:banana :banana :banana :banana they wont go to the twinkie factory.
doggiebag
03-06-2007, 18:44
I guess that I fall into several of the cooking styles; scratch, home dehydrated, trailside store bought... at this moment I've got 2 pounds of shrimp and a large package of frozen corn in the dehydrator... and am baking a batch of MooseGoo Tracks in the oven... Oh BTW...I start my hike this Sat (Mar 10)
I'll be right behind you. I start my hike on March 21. I doubt if I'll catch up to you besides I'm sure all that shrimp would be gone by then anyway. Have a great time.
Brrrb Oregon
03-06-2007, 21:12
I spied the following in last week's Newsweek, which confirms my practice of mostly cooking from scratch both at home and on the trail.
March 5, 2007 issue - Twinkies contain actual flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, water and a trace of egg. But the rest of the 39 ingredients are not generally what you find in your pantry. A sampling:
THE FILLING
Shortening (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat) is the main ingredient.
Polysorbate 60 is a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost. It's derived from corn, palm oil and petroleum.
Cellulose gum gives the crème filling a smooth, slippery feel.
Artificial vanillin is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The real thing comes from finicky tropical orchids that are pollinated by hand on the one day they bloom.
THE CAKE
Lecithin is an emulsifier made from soy. It's also used in paint to keep pigments evenly dispersed.
Diacetyl mimics the taste of butter, since the real stuff would go rancid on a store shelf.
Cornstarch is a common thickener. But it's more often used to make cardboard and packing peanuts.
Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40 give the cake the golden look of eggs.
Sorbic acid, the only actual preservative in Twinkies, comes from petroleum.
And of course, calcium sulfate, "a food grade plaster of paris."
TWINKIE FACTS
Calories: 145 each
Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.
Want to know more. Newsweek took it's facts from a new book "Twinkies Deconstructed," by Steve Ettlinger.
Weary
A lot of that stuff doesn't make the Twinkies less dangerous, just less delicious but with a longer shelf life. For instance: vanillin is the same thing you'd find in real vanilla. The difference is that the real thing has (I kid you not) about 80 other compounds that lend complexity and depth to the flavor and smell. Isolating the main ingredient from another source doesn't make it any less that same main ingredient.
Cornstarch is...you guessed it...starch from corn. There is nothing inedible about it, except that it is so refined that it no doubt spikes your blood sugar quicker than if you had it straight off the cob. (Well, maybe not, because in that case it is still small sugars, and hasn't converted to starch yet.)
OTOH....You can insist on ingesting lard only from steers you raised yourself under organic and extremely humane conditions, and it is still going to clog up your arteries. Heck, you can stuff yourself with the most healthy food in the world, but in quantities that pack the fat on, and that isn't going to be healthy. Julia Child, that great lover of anything the French thought up to do with butter, did have to advocate for moderation.
The fact that farmers have found some way to sell their products to paint manufacturers shouldn't make us think it can't be worth eating. Nevertheless, it is still a good idea to go easy on the Twinkies. They can make you into too much of a good thing pretty quick!
Also, consider that if you're going backpacking, manufactured foods can keep you safer from food poisoning. Food processors have methods for preserving foods that are more sterile and done under conditions of heat and pressure that cannot be duplicated at home. Excepting that the packaging doesn't tend to be the most earth-friendly, I wouldn't make these your enemies out of hand.
Fiddleback
03-07-2007, 10:28
There was a dark period in my youth when my most-perfect and most-often lunch was a package of Twinkies, an orange Nehi, and a couple Marlboros. The Marlboros are long gone (30 years this June), I can't find Nehi anymore, and the Twinkies haven't tasted the same in years (don't know if that's because they're more, or less, healthy).
Scratch cooking is to mass produced foods as walking to school is to busing. There comes a point when it just can't be done on a wide basis even though it may be better for the 'practitioner.'
I want to believe that there could exist scratch-made Twinkies that recapture the taste of old...but how would one get all the chemical handling permits?:D
FB
doggiebag
03-07-2007, 10:37
There was a dark period in my youth when my most-perfect and most-often lunch was a package of Twinkies, an orange Nehi, and a couple Marlboros. The Marlboros are long gone (30 years this June), I can't find Nehi anymore, and the Twinkies haven't tasted the same in years (don't know if that's because they're more, or less, healthy).
Scratch cooking is to mass produced foods as walking to school is to busing. There comes a point when it just can't be done on a wide basis even though it may be better for the 'practitioner.'
I want to believe that there could exist scratch-made Twinkies that recapture the taste of old...but how would one get all the chemical handling permits?:D
FB
I survived on 7-11 burritos, big gulps and Kools until some true friends talked me into the service. But still kudos to you sir - Twinkies and Nehi ... wow.
Alligator
03-07-2007, 10:51
Nearly everyday from 7th grade on I had an orange drink, an ice cream sandwich, and 5 cookies for lunch. The cookies were made from scratch:) .
That is one happy ending to you adventure, thanks for sharing that.
Ronin------I believe your father and you!!!!! My bubble did burst when I read that they were chemically made to look as though they were baked. Just tried to get back into the bubble. Your case rests.:)
Happy Days!!!!!!!!!
I'm back in my bubble again!!!!!
Saw on the Discovery Channel yesterday the process of making Twinkies.
They are baked in an oven, seeing is believing Whooo Hooo, Twinkies here I come.