Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

What The Heck Is Umami?

June 21, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Simple answer: The fifth basic taste (the other four are sweet, salty, sour and bitter). It term comes from the Japanese words for “essence” and “delicious,” and its taste is often described as savory.

It can be difficult to really identify umami – which is actually what caused its discovery more than a century ago.

A Japanese chemist couldn’t figure out what gave his dashi (Japanese seaweed soup) such a delicious taste. With testing, his laboratory found out that glutamic acid (glutamate) was what was responsible for the hard to identify taste in his soup. Although his discovery was published in a Chemical Society of Tokyo journal in 1908, umami wasn’t accepted as the fifth taste until 2002 when glutamate taste bud receptors were identified.

What Makes Gives Umami Its Taste?

The glutamate that is responsible for umami is an amino acid that is found in many foods, from meat to vegetables. When glutamate becomes “unbound,” or free from proteins — like when oysters are steamed, red wine ages, or soy sauce ferments — it reacts with taste bud receptors to make food umami, or “delicious.” When a dish has more than one umami producing food in it the effect can multiply, making something really, really delicious.

What Foods Have Umami?

Many of the foods that we eat every day are rich in umami like shellfish, fish, cured meat, mushrooms, ripe tomatoes, spinach, and certain cheeses, red wine, and fermented foods. Our first taste of umami is often breast milk.

The taste of umami is subtle. It blends well with other tastes helping to expand and round out flavors. Most people don’t recognize the savory taste of umami even when they are eating foods that are rich in it — they are just enjoying its “deliciousness.”

Dean & Deluca’s Umami Paste, shown in the photo, is a puree of tomato, garlic, anchovy paste, black olives, balsamic vinegar, porcini mushrooms, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and just a touch of sugar and salt – a combination of a number of umami rich foods. Directions say it can be used in sauces, gravies, and risottos; added to pastas, soups and stews; or smeared on fish, meat or vegetables.

Fast Food Facts For Kids And Their Parents

June 14, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

After sugar sweetened beverages, fast food is the most unhealthy food product marketed to children. Fast food companies speak to children early, often, and when parents aren’t looking. Fast food is aggressively marketed toward children as young as two.

In 2009 the fast food industry spent more than $4.2 billion on TV advertising and other media. Preschoolers saw 21% more fast food ads on TV then in 2003; children saw 34% more; and teenagers 39% more.

According to Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, a comprehensive study looked at the marketing of the twelve largest fast food chains and at the calories, fat, sugar, and sodium in over 3,000 kids’ meal combinations and 2,781 menu items.

What The Study Found

13-17 year olds buy 800-1,100 calories in an average fast food meal – about half of their recommended total daily calories.

At least 30% of the calories in menu items purchased by children and teenagers are from sugar and saturated fat.

A single meal contains at least half of the daily recommended sodium for young people in most fast food restaurants.

Although most fast food restaurants kids’ meals have at least one healthy side and beverage option, they are rarely offered as the default.

McDonald’s and Burger King show only healthy sides and beverages in child-targeted advertising but automatically serve french fries with kids’ meals at least 86% of the time and soft drinks at least 55% of the time.

Faced with pressure about portion sizes companies rename, not eliminate, their largest sides and drinks. For example, Burger King’s 42-ounce “King” drink is now the “large” option; the previous 32-ounce “large” is now a “medium”; the “medium” 21-ounce drink is now a “small”; and the 16-ounce “small” is now the “value” choice.

Kid’s food choices are affected by exposure to food and beverage ads targeted to adults. More than 60% of fast food ads seen by children are not for kids’ meals and older children (6-11) are more likely to order something from the dollar menu or a combo meal (27%) than to order a kids’ meal (21%).

Snacks and dessert choices had as many as 1,500 calories — five times more than the ADA’s recommended 200 to 300 calorie snack for active teens.

During non-meal times in the evening and after school, teens ordered more fast food than any other age group.

Of 3,039 possible kids’ meal combinations only twelve met preschool nutrition criteria; 15 met nutrition criteria for older kids and only 17% of regular menu items qualified as healthy choices.

Ice Cream, Gelato, Sorbet, Sherbet, Or Granita?

June 2, 2011 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Amazingly, after a brutal winter and an almost non-existent spring, Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer has come and gone and what is more summer than strolling down the street, ice cream (or gelato or frozen yogurt) cone in hand?.

The cold deliciousness of frozen desserts are hard to beat. The choices abound – although eating a three scoop sundae with hot fudge, whipped cream, and other assorted toppings doesn’t rank at the top of the health-o-meter.

But, why not fit in the occasional indulgence? With all of the options there are healthier, yet still delicious, choices to be had. If on occasion you go for broke and set your sights on that sundae, just plan ahead to fit it in – and maybe go for two scoops instead of three — and hold the whipped cream.

The Difference Between Ice Cream And Gelato; Sorbet and Sherbet

Ice cream means different things in different countries. In the US, the government regulates what can be called ice cream but in some other countries ice cream can mean all frozen desserts.

Ice cream and gelato are usually dairy based. The main differences are in texture, fat and air content, and ingredients. Gelato is made and stored at a higher temperature than ice cream, making it softer, smoother, and quick to melt. Both are usually made from sugar, milk, eggs, and flavorings although gelato is often made from fresh fruit. Gelato has less butterfat than ice cream, usually about 4 to 8% compared to ice cream’s 10 to 20%.

Gelato has a higher sugar content. The sugar/water combination acts like anti-freeze and prevents it from freezing solid. Most US commercial ice creams are frozen in an assembly line freezing process while gelato is frozen very quickly in small batches.

Both are churned during the freezing process which incorporates air. Most commercial ice cream contains about 50% air while gelato contains much less, generally 20-35% which produces a denser product with more intense flavor.

Ice cream, with its higher fat content, can be stored, frozen, for months while high-quality artisan gelato when stored carefully at consistent, low temperatures, only keeps its peak flavor and smooth texture for several days.

What’s In Them

According to federal standards, to be called ice cream, a frozen dessert must have a minimum of 10% milk fat: economy brands usually have the least and super premium brands have more. Less than 10% makes it ice milk or light ice cream.

Premium ice cream has between 11% and 15% butterfat which makes it richer, denser, higher in calories, and often comes in gourmet flavors.

Regular ice cream – what you usually find in larger containers in the market — is somewhat less dense and contains 10% to 11% butterfat (perfect for milkshakes).
Economy ice cream, by law, has 10% butterfat.

Light ice cream has either 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than the producer’s regular ice cream. Here’s the hitch: because of the starting point of fat content, light versions of premium ice cream can have more fat and calories than the regular version of other brands.

Reduced fat ice cream must, by law, have 25% less fat than the regular ice cream produced by the same vendor.
Soft serve ice cream is the same as regular ice cream but is served at a higher temperature.

French Style Ice Cream also called glace, has a custard base that includes eggs which makes it silky and rich.

Gelato (plural, gelati) has more milk than cream (if any) so its fat content is significantly lower. It doesn’t saturate your taste buds as much as ice cream so the flavor seems more intense. It is often flavored with fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate, and other natural flavors. Gelato is served at a higher temperature than ice cream — it usually looks more like frozen yogurt or whipped cream than ice cream.

Sorbet, which means water ice, is made from fruit, wine, or liqueur, but not milk, sometimes flavored with herbs and spices, and then whipped to lighten its texture. It is sometimes called, or used as, a palate cleanser.

Sherbet, like sorbet, is traditionally fruit flavored but with milk added for creaminess. By law it contains between 1 and 2% butterfat — which makes it lighter in flavor and texture.

Granita is similar to sorbet but not whipped. Ice crystals give it a granular appearance and crunchy texture.

Nutritional Information

In general:

3.5 oz of milk based gelato has between 120 and 160 calories, 4 g to 8 g of fat, and 30 g to 45 g of carbs
Milk and soy based gelato has between 3 g and 5 g of protein and sorbet, with no dairy, has no protein
A 3.5 oz serving of American ice cream averages 240 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 24 g carbs
These numbers are for naked ice cream and gelato – without sauce, toppings, nuts, and whipped cream.

Originally published in the May 2011 newsletter: Eat Out, Eat Well.

Hunger is somewhat unpredictable. Your actual hunger levels are not the same every day and can be affected by what your body needs and does — like activity, hormone levels, sickness, and other things.

Hunger doesn’t necessarily follow a time schedule. You can adjust the types and amounts of your meals and snacks to influence the next time you will be hungry. Eating just because the hands of the clock are at noon or 6PM – even though you’re not hungry – can lead to weight gain and unhealthy eating habits.

What you eat affects your hunger level. Carbs, fat, and protein are digested at different rates. Simple, refined carbs like soda and candy are digested rapidly. They give you quick energy from a surge in your blood sugar – which is followed by a rapid drop in your energy. Protein foods give you the most sustained blood sugar levels and satiety without the blood sugar spikes. Eating food that has a balance of nutrients is probably the best way to satisfy your hunger, keep you feeling fuller longer, and give your body the fuel it needs.

How much you ate at your last meal affects you hunger levels since larger meals take longer to digest. Haven’t you ever eaten so much for dinner that you’re not hungry until lunch the next day?

You can put off eating for a while –occasionally ignoring your hunger won’t cause a long-term or significant drop in your metabolism. If you do postpone your hunger the urge to eat will come back and may be stronger when it does return.

Your stomach is about the size of your fist and can be filled by a palm full of food. Of course, since your stomach is a muscle, it can also stretch. When you stretch it out by putting in too much food you probably don’t feel so great (like overly stuffed at Thanksgiving). When you eat small meals you’ll get hungry more often and perhaps fuel your body more efficiently. This is the rationale for 5 or 6 small meals a day rather than two or three larger ones.

Your body is smart. Have you noticed that sometimes you are hungry for a specific food? It might be your body’s way of letting you know that it needs a particular nutrient. Careful: sometimes that hunger is head or emotional hunger that popped up because you just passed a bakery and the smell of just-baked chocolate chip cookies is acting like a trigger!

All kinds of foods can play a role in satisfying your hunger. Labeling food good or bad puts the food in charge. Depriving yourself of a particular food or attaching special meaning to it can set you up for cravings and overeating. It gives the food power over you rather than vice versa. Allowing yourself to make good choices from all foods; eating when you’re hungry; and eating portions that satisfy and not stuff you, put you, not the food, in charge.

When Should I Eat: a numbered scale to help you figure out how hungry you are and when to eat.