[Sca-cooks] "Adulterated" Flour

[Lilinah]

Elise Fleming wrote:
>Greetings!  Richard, the primary researcher of the Hampton Court cooks,
>commented about his visit to the US earlier this year that the flour and
>sugar sold over here had other things added to it, implying that wheat
>flour in the UK was just that - wheat flour.
SNIP

Dragon answered:
>I don't know about anything being added to sugar, again, the labels
>must state what is in the package to be legally sold in the U.S.
>Check the label.

Part of the issue is what sort of store Richard went into... yr 
average joe stupormarket, with a limited selection of Major Brand 
stuff, or a "specialty" store with more, well, smaller brands (i'd 
put the fabulous Berkeley Bowl into the latter category, even though 
it's the average supermarket for many) (and, yes, i know, Major Brand 
Corps have been buying up the smaller brands).

I know that at least some Big Name supermarkets now have token 
"health/natural food" sections and a token selection of organic stuff 
(for some definition of "organic"). So sometimes one can find stuff 
with fewer additives.

But if all Richard saw was Pillsbury, well...

As for sugar, i only buy pure cane sugar of one sort or another 
(gotta read the label, if it doesn't say "pure cane sugar"... well... 
)

On yet another hand, nearly all powdered sugar contains cornstarch, 
which could be what Richard was remarking on.

However (yet another hand in motion here, folks, don't step over the 
moving rubber line) it's easy to make one's own, by whirling pure 
cane granulated sugar in a food processor until you've got powder 
(may need to sift).

I learned from my mother to always read the labels (although as her 
eyes got worse, she didn't always). Even in the 1950s she would only 
buy unbleached flour and bread made with unbleached flour (and i 
don't mean "whole wheat").

I'm not exactly fanatic about organic, or anything, but i do have my 
preferences for fewer chemicals in what i buy, including what my meat 
eats.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

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