throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)
Ok... lets go through this step by step to make things clear.
Your post
The push to low-fat products is nothing more than big food increasing profit margins by having food with longer shelf-lives.
My response (based on 25+ years of experience in mainly technical roles within the food industry)
1. The push towards fat reduction is the result of "health" groups pressurising the government / retailers.
2. Fat reduction has been a nightmare for the food industry because generally (a) fat is cheap (b) it enhances flavour (c) it helps increase shelf life i.e. they'd like to use more fat not less.
You may believe that your statement is right, but evidence actually shows the opposite is true, i.e. food companies didn't want to reduce fat. I know from experience how difficult it is, for a wide range of products, to reduce fat and not deleteriously affect flavour, cost and shelf life.
Your post
I refuse to buy any low-fat products (I do buy reduced sugar where possible though).....and have to wonder how the big food companies have a lot to answer for with regards to the current diabetes epidemic.
My response
If we want to start pointing fingers in regards to the diabetes epidemic then top of the list is irresponsible parents who are too lazy to teach their kids the basics of a healthy lifestyle.
Now I can see why that you would think that way, based on your previous erroneous statement. "Big Food" foists all these unhealthy lower fat products on us so it must be their fault. Only (a) it wasn't their idea, (b) what you eat is what you CHOOSE* to eat and (c) irrespective of the latest food diet fad the basic message of "balanced moderation" still stands after decades. I will admit that the early evidence suggesting that certain combinations of starches (including sugars) plus fats do create craving sensations does ask questions. However, it is far too early to read much into this yet.
* Blaming others (especially groups) is an abdication of personal responsibility and the first step towards the perdition of victim identity politics
So in summary: you made statements and I refuted them without ever broaching the topic of fats vs. carbs. which renders your subsequent reply both rather moot and personally amusing. Seeing as I've been arguing about the stupidity of a one track fat reduction approach for over a decade.
If Wisdom is the coordination of "knowledge and experience" and its deliberate use to improve well being then how come "Ignorance is bliss"
Actually I do blame the food industry for the obesity epidemic. Especially with the in your face advertising, poor food labelling, hidden ingredients, etc. Lazy people existed since the beginning of mankind. So the idea that lazy people all of sudden, in recent years, have got fat is a ridiculous assertion. People are eating more processed food than what they did thirty years ago.
Another point is we are losing a large amount of play space to developers which makes it more difficult for children to get active.
However, I do eat a balanced diet. Never drunk fizzy drinks and exercise regularly from an early age. I do look young for my age and people have suggest I've hardly changed that much since my mid twenties. So yeah, I do recommend a healthy lifestyle. I could go clubbing but the music scene is pretty bland.
Is the food industry responsible for the increase in sugar use, or just responding to demand?
98% fat free, 90% sugar.
throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)
Lazy people with access to sugar and refined foods have always "got fat". Fatness was a sign of wealth and status in some centuries. And also a ticket into an early grave, but then in those centuries something was going to get you, so why not enjoy it
Trying to blame the "food industry" is ... well, I can't decide if it's ridiculous, circular, or moot ... if people didn't *want* to buy the lazy, high fat, high sugar, heavily refined, no effort foods in the first place, the industry wouldn't exist. And that market certainly hasn't been created in the last thirty years - it's been part of human existence for centuries if not millennia - the big difference is that it's only in the last century or so that some parts of the world have achieved a society in which the majority can afford to strive for obesity to demonstrate their status....
I've not tried sous vide, though I have often thought about it. Could never quite make up my mind if it's .... a) great technique, or b) a cheffy gimmick.
I have tried vacuum-marinating the chicken and, with the right marinade, that works. But chicken shouldn't be "dry" if cooked properly. Trouble is in avoiding undercooking, it's easy to over-cook.
Isn't the problem with fat when they use hydrogenated (trans) fats, which your body can't break down? Natural fats are Ok, in moderation.
I blame the food industry for their extensive use of hydrogenated fats, although this does seem to be reducing now as people become aware of what they do.
Musclefoods are just a bit of a rebranding/merge of the Westin gourmet stuff - Never had too much of a problem with the quality of it , though Its a pity they got rid of some of their more decadent line items ( once misread a deal they did and ended up with 5lb of Gala Pie and a 2Kg chorizo stick. )
my Virtualisation Blog http://jfvi.co.uk Virtualisation Podcast http://vsoup.net
I was in the same boat. I got an Anova. I am now spreading the light of sous vide and bringing people to the church.
I just love how you can transform the cheap cuts, play with proteins or just get absolute perfection from chicken every damned time.
My gf is mocking me because I'm already wanting a second one, but she knew the rules when she moved in, the kitchen is my space
throw new ArgumentException (String, String, Exception)
I don't order chicken takeaways as I am pretty sure that if the food was sourced in the UK then that would be a massive plus point to advertise on the shop front - I could go in and ask, but I really don't want to get in to a discussion that I'm implying there is something wrong with their food, or how it was produced.
Then I remembered, McDonalds spend a lot of money on their adverts to tell us that their beef is UK or Ireland sourced, so it probably follows that their chicken is UK sourced.
It isn't just the UK.
http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/wh...in-the-uk.html
To save opening the link "UK, Holland, France, Thailand and Brazil"
So, yet again, I'd been incorrectly persuaded - my fault that I didn't do the research, but beef=UK created a false association for me, that chicken=UK.
As usual the food discussion went off topic, so, so will I.
We just keep on demonising food groups - first fat - I didn't eat eggs for years 'cos of the moronic advice about eating cholesterol that I believed - now we're demonising sugar, but for some reason the advice from certain groups (especially dietting groups) is that you can eat as much fruit as you like - it's still sugar!
I now eat eggs; butter and have full fat milk - luckily I can work out portion control for myself and would eat a large number of packets of green traffic llight food and still think it was healthy.
Winds me up at work with people eating their fat free yoghurts - you can't keep pleasure rewarding yourself with food x times a day and expect to be healthy - some need to change their way of eating.
As for the sous vide Anova wand - not tried the days long cooks of tough meat, but it does do lovely chicken.
As usual on a fasting day I get morbidly drawn in to foodie stuff - will now have to try persuade my brain that I don't need to skip the fast day
I don't disagree that there are Food Companies who's activities have contributed to the situation. However, just pointing the finger at them is as blinkered as saying "all fat is bad". There is no one root cause, but hundreds of intertwined changes which have affected the lives we lead. Hence why in reality I don't actually bother with actual blame. It is a waste of energy and in many respects not emotionally healthy. Yes I used the word blame in my post, but in respect to "if you want to go down that route then here's where you should actually start".
Anyway in relation to your argument that there have always been lazy people, so that can't have a bearing on them all getting fat now. I would contend that you are thinking far too one dimensionally.
1. Prior to the formation of the welfare state and NHS the life expectancy of someone lazy wasn't great unless they were lucky enough to be born into money. So we've made the situation worse by keeping them alive...?
2. Until the 1960's the norm was "a man works and a woman looks after the home plus kids". Then there was the second wave feminism and "women could have it all", so more women went into work. Consequently they had less time to cook and convenience food became popular. So it's the women's fault for stepping outside of their traditional role...? Or is Food Companies for helping facilitate women stepping outside of their role...?
3. Since the second world war and rationing there has been a conscious effort politically / sociologically to avoid shortages and too ensure that food is cheap enough to ensure that as many people as possible can get enough. Combine this with with a relative reduction in poverty and people can now get more food for their money. So is it the fault of "progress" for facilitating gluttony...?
Now I could go on (and on), but I think they illustrates the point that the situation is complicated. However, none of this changes the simple fact that ultimately a persons health is their own responsibility. Except of course in the case of children, in which case it is the parents responsibility. Now add in the fact that a lot of our taste / dietary preferences are set during childhood, then that brings up back to responsible parenting. So when the basic principles to not getting fat, i.e. balanced moderation with a degree of "motion", haven't changed for over 100years. Then being too lazy or irresponsible to teach your kids an obvious and fundamental fact of life has to be one of the major causes for the change.
In terms of the "active" side of the equation then developers hoovering up land is an issue. However, as that is caused by a combination of overpopulation and distorted / uneven population densities it is a whole other discussion I don't want to get into. Especially as that then moves into why our current social structure, including the welfare state, is utterly unfit for purpose.
Last edited by SeriousSam; 02-03-2017 at 10:25 PM. Reason: missing 'of'
If Wisdom is the coordination of "knowledge and experience" and its deliberate use to improve well being then how come "Ignorance is bliss"
Zak33 (02-03-2017)
i think one of them is in this thread
Musclefoods as the example for me is, however just a company trying to make a profit out of marketing, branding and consumers.
which, if honest, is what every company we all work for does every day.
and It's my choice to shop or not with them, and whether to feed my boy with their product
Parents have a major part of this responsibility.
Originally Posted by Advice Trinity by Knoxville
The trick with chicken nuggets is to flash fry them first so the batter / crumb forms a "crust, then steam cook to before baking to finish.
As for marinating - tumbling at chilled temperatures for at least an hour is the best option at kitchen scale, it's that or leave it in a fridge for 8-12hours...
If Wisdom is the coordination of "knowledge and experience" and its deliberate use to improve well being then how come "Ignorance is bliss"
Not at all.
I live in a part of London which has one of the highest child obesity rates in the UK. Black child obesity rates are higher than white's. Poverty is also a factor since most of the obesity occurs centres around council estates. We have a high concentration of fried chicken shops selling cut price meals to young children near schools. Supermarkets selling cut price high fat calorie foods. Furthermore, we see sports curriculum and domestic science make way for more academic subjects in schools thus creating the next generation of unfit and non-cook young adults. Hence why the food market for takeaways and ready made meals is worth billions today.
Food corporations spends millions lobbying against better food labelling. So while you may have alluding to a bit of finger pointing towards parents lacking food education, one can't help thinking that their job is made much more difficult by the obfuscate food labelling.
At the end of the day, food corporations only care about profit margins than the health of their customers.
So, I stand in the freezer and juggle with my chicken in a marinating bag? Tumbling? For an hour?
Agreed on 8-12 hours. Overnight usually. BUT .... the pragmatics of life mean I always have that much notice, and marinating in a vacuum bag seems to be the best combination of effectiveness and minimum time. At least .... in my experience.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)