Here we are a year and never-ending question of food additives. Everyone talks about it and schools of thought are well defined: there are those who demonize them in their entirety and those who, perhaps for lack of information, do not give them much and normally consumes. I must confess that the topic I'm studying for at least 4-5 years with a lot of attention, but with poor results because the first to do the same clarity, scholars and community institutions that permit their use (EFSA). Every day comes a search on a particular additive, which is then promptly denied which, finally, with a further denial of denial ... In short we try to put a modicum of order to this chaos.
The food additive, in my opinion, is always a little "doping" for the food that you are ready to prepare: it keeps longer, gives a better appearance and makes it softer and more palatable. In short it is a real shortcut to the manufacturer, and if only a little misleading to the consumer.
From the producer side
clearly being involved from the standpoint of the producer I firmly believe that the real challenge for any large or small pastry is: p artire from what supply it with the nature and draw the maximum . Easy to write, very difficult to do because this little daily activity requires two factors that greatly affect the income statement:
- money (with the additive in their objective with lower costs);
- time (and therefore always money)
With the result that the price of natural product inevitably shoots up.
From the consumer side
additives can all be suspects if exceeded tolerable daily intake (ADI) set by WHO. Some li ritengo decisamente poco preoccupanti (penso alla pectina di agrumi, ai monodigliceridi di origine vegetale, all'acido citrico) poiché se è sbagliato far finta di niente è altrettanto erroneo demonizzarli tutti. Ma, parlandoci chiaramente, meno si consumano e meglio è . Quindi affidiamoci sempre ad una etichetta ingredienti molto corta e con meno "E" o "nomi strani" possibili. E se potete, evitate i nitriti nei salumi: sembra che siano davvero dannosi . Purtoppo, elggendo l'etichetta, nessuno ci dirà mai: QUANTO CE N'E' DI QUESTO ADDITIVO? Possiamo solo sperare che il produttore rispetti le dosi fissate dalle istituzioni europee.
Direct experience
I can assure you, by experts, that the additives can be totally excluded from the recipes. Perhaps only in some cases (see leavened classics such as panettone or dove: I have almost all the monodigliceridi) becomes very difficult to exclude while maintaining the organoleptic properties of the product (especially soft). Yet improving yeast can drastically reduce the amount because we think he to give softness and moisture. In short, as usual, is only a matter of will and costs.
