Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Gum Gum With Flavour Flavour...
Hmmm, I was just thinking of what to call this post when I remembered that tag line from an old commercial, "It's the gum gum, with flavour flavour." But I can't remember what kind of gum it was advertising. Oh well, it'll probably come to me (if you know, pass it on, k?).
Anyways, I was looking at a package of Chiclets the other day, and saw that it was sugar free. How nice, I thought, because I chew sugar free gum. Then the sugar substitute caught my eye. The list read like the midfielders from an indiscernible country's all-star soccer team: Mannitol, Maltitol, Sorbitol, Aspartame, Acesulfame-Potassium, Sucralose, and Ronaldotol (ok, I made up that last one). Six different sugar substitutes to flavour the Chiclets. Six different ingredients that, when melded together and combined with saliva, bring about a chemical chewing explosion of flavour.
Some other key ingredients in Chiclets: Citric acid, Malic acid, and Tartaric acid powder. "Mmmm! Please sir, may I have some more, sir?"
It all makes me wonder what's really so bad about plain, ordinary sugar....
Anyways, I was looking at a package of Chiclets the other day, and saw that it was sugar free. How nice, I thought, because I chew sugar free gum. Then the sugar substitute caught my eye. The list read like the midfielders from an indiscernible country's all-star soccer team: Mannitol, Maltitol, Sorbitol, Aspartame, Acesulfame-Potassium, Sucralose, and Ronaldotol (ok, I made up that last one). Six different sugar substitutes to flavour the Chiclets. Six different ingredients that, when melded together and combined with saliva, bring about a chemical chewing explosion of flavour.
Some other key ingredients in Chiclets: Citric acid, Malic acid, and Tartaric acid powder. "Mmmm! Please sir, may I have some more, sir?"
It all makes me wonder what's really so bad about plain, ordinary sugar....
# posted by Dairn @ 11:36 AM 
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Hey, good posting, D!
Full of insight, makes one think!
Good job!
(For your reward, you get some new-good-for-you Chocko-Bars, the chocolate substitute with 49 unpronouncable ingredients! And a copy of our home game, of course!)
Full of insight, makes one think!
Good job!
(For your reward, you get some new-good-for-you Chocko-Bars, the chocolate substitute with 49 unpronouncable ingredients! And a copy of our home game, of course!)
can I also say something in defense of some of the nasty sounding items listed in your post:
Chemically, mannitol is an alcohol and a sugar, or a polyol; it is similar to xylitol or sorbitol. However, mannitol has a tendency to lose a hydrogen ion in aqueous solutions, which causes the solution to become acidic. For this reason, it is not uncommon to add a substance to adjust its pH, such as sodium bicarbonate.
It is sometimes used as an adulterant for heroin, methamphetamines or other illicit drugs.
Tartaric Acid is derived from various plant sources or from milk. In low concentrations (less than 3%) Tartaric Acid work as water-binding agents. At concentrations over 4% and in a base with an acid pH of 3 to 4, these can exfoliate skin cells by breaking down the substance in skin that holds skin cells together. Malic acid, citric acid, and tartaric acid may also be effective but are considered less stable and less skin-friendly; there is little research showing them to have benefit for skin.
Acesulfame potassium offers consumers a greater choice of low-calorie or reduced-sugar foods that can help them manage their calorie intake. Acesulfame potassium can be used in baking because it is stable, retaining its sweetness at normal baking temperatures. The sweetener, which can be used alone, often is blended with other low-calorie sweeteners to produce a more sugar-like taste than that of any of the low-calorie sweeteners alone.
See, Chicklets are almost healthy -- and they look like clean teeth!
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Chemically, mannitol is an alcohol and a sugar, or a polyol; it is similar to xylitol or sorbitol. However, mannitol has a tendency to lose a hydrogen ion in aqueous solutions, which causes the solution to become acidic. For this reason, it is not uncommon to add a substance to adjust its pH, such as sodium bicarbonate.
It is sometimes used as an adulterant for heroin, methamphetamines or other illicit drugs.
Tartaric Acid is derived from various plant sources or from milk. In low concentrations (less than 3%) Tartaric Acid work as water-binding agents. At concentrations over 4% and in a base with an acid pH of 3 to 4, these can exfoliate skin cells by breaking down the substance in skin that holds skin cells together. Malic acid, citric acid, and tartaric acid may also be effective but are considered less stable and less skin-friendly; there is little research showing them to have benefit for skin.
Acesulfame potassium offers consumers a greater choice of low-calorie or reduced-sugar foods that can help them manage their calorie intake. Acesulfame potassium can be used in baking because it is stable, retaining its sweetness at normal baking temperatures. The sweetener, which can be used alone, often is blended with other low-calorie sweeteners to produce a more sugar-like taste than that of any of the low-calorie sweeteners alone.
See, Chicklets are almost healthy -- and they look like clean teeth!
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