Friday was a snow day for us! We decided to try and make home made hot chocolate, using healthy ingredients.
It was gross.
So we tried to make Snow Ice Cream. Which I thought was terrible, but my kids liked it. I didn’t have any heavy whipping cream and tried a substitute I found in a book. It said to use milk and melted butter, but left out the very important step of letting the butter cool. It was chunky.
Maybe letting the butter melt should have been obvious, but the dog had already dashed out the front door after someone innocently taking her puppy for a lovely jaunt in the still falling snow and I had to run out in my Uggs and jammy bottoms and wet hair to get her; and I had three kids {I gave birth to two, but my neighbor kid is always here and I raise him as my own} hopping around in wet socks, rejecting the hot chocolate and demanding something else to eat.
I don’t work well under that kind of pressure.
After declaring the Snow Ice Cream delicious, my daughter noted the added benefit of ‘no beaver butts!’.
And perhaps that too should have been obvious, but sadly; it isn’t.
I shared with you that ground up beetles are used to create ‘natural’ red food dye. That was my most disgusting find to date, until I read
that beaver anal glands were used to make vanilla (and raspberry) flavoring.
FDA has ruled that is perfectly legal. And safe. And delicious. According to Fenaroli’s Handbook of Flavor Ingredients, castoreum as it is known is also used in alcoholic beverages, baked goods, chewing gum, gelatins and jello {another reason to master my home-made version}, gravies, hard candy, meat products, non-alcoholic beverages, and soft candy.
Beaver butts are everywhere!
Photo source:Equally tasty FDA approved natural food additives include such delicacies as ambergris (sperm whale intestines) and civets, but don’t look for them by name, because just saying “natural flavors‘ is okey-dokey with the FDA. Manufacturers hide behind the ‘proprietary ingredient’ excuse. Because someone might want to steal that winning recipe featuring beaver anal glands.
This is a civet. I had to look it up because didn’t know either.
Horrified? Don’t stop there, make sure you find out why there might be sheep intestines in your bubble gum, or duck feathers in your bread.
So how do you know what you’re eating? You can’t rely on ‘natural ingredients’. You have to know what those ingredients are.
Using Vanilla as an example; let’s look at a label:
It is extracted from a vanilla bean. Not a beaver butt. My husband said that ‘extract’ sounds confusing and less natural than ‘natural flavoring’. I agree. I wish it were different, but all I can do is share what (completely disgusting things) I learn. Bon Appetit!
This is now filed under TMI. I will never be the same. I have you to thank for that.
Sarah @ Sarah’s Deals recently posted..Amazon Freebies & Deals 1/16/12 *Rice Flour, XBox Live & More!*
Changing lives over here. One beaver butt at a time
Ah, the first part is funny, the rest is just sad. BTW, I have found that I have to “relent” a little when it comes to cocoa. I’ve tried making my own with cocoa powder and real sugar (and honey, and maple syrup…), and for some reason, it just does NOT work out. I have “settled” for an organic mix that is of a “dark chocolate” variety (less sugar), made with real milk.
However, I simply. must. check. the label for beetle butts. as soon as I get home!
Just wanted to pass along our favorite cocoa recipe here. Warm milk (2 cups-ish) on the stove and stir in about a tablespoon of dutch cocoa powder and a generous splash of real maple syrup. Stir until it is mixed and warm. Taste and add more cocoa or maple syrup if needed. Simple and yummy! (And beaver butt free!)
Thank you Katie!! Someone on my FB page suggested a similar recipe, it sounds wonderful! It has been so warm since then my kids haven’t even asked for it but thanks for the information if winter actually returns to Michigan!
Ambergris is actually more like whale poop/barf – it’s what comes out of them after they digest. I knew it was used in old days in perfume but never heard of it going into food!
And Civet (the ingredient) is the anal gland secretion of the civet cat, not the whole cat (like the post kind of implies?). I have always been suspicious of “natural flavoring”! Thanks for the confirmations :]
Katherine I didn’t have the heart to get that specific
It’s very rarely used in food, I think I read like 1000 pounds a year total – but I don’t want any part of that 1000 pounds! I don’t really want any part of a civet either! It’s such a bummer, I wish the actual coloring was listed. Colored with beets? OK! Colored with beetles? Gonna pass on that…
Interesting post!
Here’s my recipe for hot choc: http://harseverse.blogspot.com/2012/01/hot-chocolate-hot-cocoa-recipe.html
Enjoy!