I can finally rest my mind temporarily after having my last midterm for this semester. When school starts, every part of me will function at full engine as well because there's just so much to do in school.
These were the 2 cans of Campbell soup that I was talking about last time. I did an assignment this term on Campbell soup. and my task was to compare the regular cream soup and low-fat cream soup in terms of ingredients, labeling regulations, consumer trend, and lastly, personal experience.
Out of curiosity, I tried out both products to make a better analysis on the taste and texture of these products. Okok, I'll cut out the crap and basically the most distinct difference was that the low-fat cream soup was less saltier than the regular cream soup.
It almost drove me crazy to find each ingredient's functional property to the product.The first question went like :
Explain the role of each ingredient in terms of its contribution to the product.
So the web says that oil is an emulsifier.It makes sense to assume that everything with oil in it has emulsifying property.
First I saw Chicken fat, which has oil it in. So I immediately classified it as an emulsifier.
Secondly I saw Canola oil, which is also a type of oil. Hmm, maybe they need 2 different emulsifiers, so I added it onto the list.
Then I saw other types of ingredients which are oily and contain fats, and I started to question myself.
SO ALL OF THEM ARE EMULSIFIERS? AND ADD AROMAS TO THE FOOD?
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FATS AND OILS IN A PRODUCT WHICH SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE? WHAT FOR?
Okay. I couldn't come up with a proper answer for now, although I spent quite some time researching the ingredient list. I feel like the more I understand, the more confusing I am. Ironic I know, but somehow I managed to make up some parts of it based on my own knowledge in combination with what I've learnt in class.
After doing the assignment, I definitely understand my friend's feeling:
A is a flavour enhancer, B & C are also flavour enhancers.WTH most of them are flavour enhancers, how am I supposed to explain them?
I was on the same boat too. Perhaps this assignment helped to open up my eyes to the world of food chemistry. It's time for me to make new friends with the ingredients from now onwards.
By the way, here's something extra for the day:
EU:为何有冬瓜，南瓜，西瓜，但就是没有北瓜？
That made my day.