[Sca-cooks] Published ingredient lists (was "minor rant")

[salbert]

On 5/8/12 8:16 PM, Tre wrote:
> For example, do you publish the ingredients that are in your breadcrumbs on the ingredient list, or do you simply say "breadcrumbs"?
>    
Absolutely post where you got the bread and info on it. If available. 
Making your own bread to specifications and making your own breadcrumbs 
takes time, but you know what's in it without doubt.
> The reason I'm asking is that for this event I have multiple breads, some of which I'm buying, and this time I checked the ingredients for the breads and some of them contain sesame and barley - two of the allergies I'm working around. If I hadn't checked, and then used those breads in other dishes as thickening agents, that would mean that the dishes the crumbs were used in would have the barley and/or sesame as well, but listing "bread crumbs" wouldn't tell someone that.
>    
Good catch. It helps that food regulations these days makes it much 
easier to figure out what is in commercial foods.
> I also have a salad that calls for stoneground mustard in the dressing. I have someone who is allergic to alcohol, to the point that she can't have wine vinegar, either. I happened to check the ingredient list on a jar of stoneground mustard and wine vinegar was listed. While I generally substitute cider vinegar in many recipes for the benefit of this individual (sometimes on the whole dish, sometimes simply on a separated portion), I would have given her this mustard without a second thought if I hadn't known her allergy ahead of time. On an ingredient list, I would only have listed "stoneground mustard", which wouldn't have told her that she couldn't eat it, either.
>    
I'd assume someone with allergies to recognize major brands of mustards, 
and know which ones he or she can or cannot eat. But list the 
ingredients. And if it's a problem for enough people, do half batches 
with two mustards: standard and 'safe.' It's all a balancing act anyway.

Morgana, thinking back wistfully to the old days when we never even 
thought about allergy accommodates like we do now . . .