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food facts

A Slice Of Cheese . . . Or Is It?

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It’s Orange-Yellow (Sometimes White) And It’s Square

It’s the stuff that grilled cheese – the diner kind and my childhood favorite – is made of.  It’s also the stuff the makes a hamburger a cheeseburger.  It melts but sort of stays in place without running all over the pan or the grill.  You can get it individually wrapped so it’s portable and, even though it gets soft, it can even sit in a lunchbox or on the car seat and still remain a square.

It’s also sold in blocks – think Velveeta, or in spray cans – think of Easy Cheese in summer camp and college dorms, but the way we see it most is as single slices, individually wrapped or slapped together in a plastic wrapped package of 16 or 32 and upwards.

Processed For Longevity

In 1911 Walter Gerber mixed hot shredded Emmentaler with sodium citrate and discovered a cooled product that took longer to spoil (and oozed potential profit).  James L. Kraft made a fortune selling cheese to the US government during the World War 1.

75% of the “cheese” sold in the US is now processed. Processed cheese goes for longevity:  it puts self-life before flavor. That’s just one of the technical advantages is has over “real,” unprocessed cheese.  It doesn’t separate when you cook with it, and it always tastes and looks the same. It’s cheaper to produce because it’s made from less expensive ingredients.

Heat It Up

Ever get gooey globs when you try to melt cheese?  Ever try to make cheese fondue and wonder how restaurants seem to get it nice and smooth (tip: mix the shredded cheese with some cornstarch).  Processed cheese makers use emulsifiers to produce cheese that melts smoothly when you cook with it. Prolonged heating causes unprocessed cheese to separate into a bunch of jelly-like protein and liquid fat.  Emulsifiers, most often sodium or potassium phosphate, tartrate, or citrate, reduce the tendency of the fat globules in the cheese to coalesce and pool on the surface of hot cheese.

So, because processed cheese doesn’t separate or run off when it’s melted, and it doesn’t change in texture or taste as you heat it – it has become the “go to” for grilled cheese, mac and cheese, nachos, and similar foods.

Why Can’t Those Singles Be Called Plain Old Cheese?

Because of processing and additives, some softer varieties can’t legally be labeled as “cheese” in the US (FDA regulated) so they’re sold as “cheese food”, “cheese spread,” or “cheese product,” based on the amount of cheese, moisture, and milkfat in them.

Processed cheese can be made from a single cheese or a blend of several cheeses along with milkfat, cream, water, salt, artificial color, and spices. Inexpensive milk protein concentrate makes the processed cheese a whole lot cheaper to produce – but begs the question:  is it really cheese?

Is It Really Cheese?

Take a good look the next time you’re in the supermarket: as a result of legislation some types of Kraft Singles became “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product” instead of “Pasteurized Process Cheese Food,” Velveeta became “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product” instead of “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread,” and Easy Cheese is no longer “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread” but is a “Pasteurized Cheese Snack.”

American cheese

The best known processed cheese in the US is the uniquely orange, yellow, or white, mild-flavored American cheese. It used to be made from a cheese blend, most often from Colby and Cheddar.  Today, American cheese isn’t generally made from a natural cheese blend, but from a manufactured bunch of ingredients such as milk, whey, milk fat, milk protein concentrate, whey protein concentrate, and salt. When substitutes like these are used, the end product doesn’t always meet the legal definition of cheese and has to be labeled differently.

The marketing of “American Cheese” for “processed cheese” coupled with the prevalence of processed cheese in the U.S. has led to the term American cheese being used in the U.S. (and elsewhere) in place of processed cheese.

Some Facts

  • Calories in 2% Milk American Singles (1 slice, 19g)

50 Calories, 3g fat (2g saturated), 1g carbs, 4g protein

  • Calories in Kraft American Singles (1 slice, 19g)

60 calories, 4.5g fat (2.5f saturated), 1g carbs, 3g protein

  • Calories in Free Singles American Nonfat Pasteurized Process Cheese Product (1 slice, 21g)

31 Calories, 0.2g fat (0.1g saturated), 2.5g carbs, 4.8g protein

SocialDieter Tip:

A “pasteurized prepared cheese product” is a long way from nature and nourishment.  Just a heads up:  We drink about 60% of the milk we did 50 years ago, but we eat almost four times more cheese, an increase from 7.5 pounds to almost 30 pounds a person a year.  The increase is probably from the cheese in pizza, processed food, nachos, convenience food, and packaged products – not from good quality cheeses. Each 1 ounce serving of cheese (or 31/2 ounce serving of beef) rmeans a 7 gram increase in saturated fat (the bad kind of fat that, the kind that’s solid at room temperature and directly related to cardiovascular risk factors). Go for reduced fat or 2% cheese when you can.  There are fat free cheese slices – okay for sandwiches but not good for heating up – it doesn’t really melt.

Olive Oil Or Butter On Your Bread?

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Shiny Foil Packets Of Butter

It used to be only butter on bread – big slabs, small pots, or foil wrapped rectangles.  You can still find all of these – what would a diner be without those sometimes rock hard, sometimes soft and squishy, gold or silver foil wrapped butter packets?

Butter or Oil?

Butter has stiff competition from olive oil for bread sopping and dipping – as opposed to butter spreading.  Olive oil arrives green or golden, plain, herbed or spiced.  It can be just plopped down on your table, or poured with flourish from a dark tinted bottle.  Some restaurants offer a selection for dipping – and attempt to educate you about the variation in flavors depending upon the olives’ country of origin.

Hidden cameras in Italian restaurants showed that people who put olive oil on a piece of bread eat more fat and calories than if they use butter on their bread. But, the olive oil users end up eating fewer pieces of bread.

For the study, 341 restaurant goers were randomly given olive oil or blocks of butter with their bread. Following dinner, researchers calculated the amount of olive oil or butter and the amount of bread that was consumed.

How Much Butter, How Much Oil, How Much Bread?

Adult diners given olive oil for their bread used 26% more oil on each piece of bread compared to those who were given block butter, but they ended up eating 23% less bread in total.

The researchers found:

  • Olive oil users used 26% more olive oil on each slice of bread compared to block butter users (40 vs. 33 calories)
  • Olive oil users ate 23% less bread over the course of a meal than the people who used butter

The olive oil users had a heavier hand than the butter users – for individual slices of bread.  However, over the course of the meal when the total amount of bread and either oil or butter was accounted for, the olive oil users used more per slice, but, overall they ate less bread and oil over the course of the meal. They also took in 17% fewer bread calories:  264 calories (oil eaters) vs. 319 calories (butter eaters).

SocialDieter Tip:

Butter, oil, and bread all add significant calories to a meal. A tablespoon of olive oil has 119 calories, a tablespoon of butter has 102 calories, one pat of butter has around 36 calories.  Butter and oil are all fat; olive oil is loaded with heart healthy monounsaturated fat, butter is filled with heart unhealthy saturated fat.  Bread varies significantly in calories depending on the type of bread and the size of the piece.  Most white bread and French bread averages around 90 to 100 calories a slice. Most dinner rolls average 70 to 75 calories each. The bread and butter or olive oil pre-dinner (and maybe during dinner) ritual can be a real caloric bump for a meal, without much nutritional value.  So many of us chow down mindlessly on bread and butter or oil before a meal – because we’re hungry – or, because it’s there for easy nibbling.  Choose to eat it or don’t let the bread basket land on your table.  The choice is yours – just be mindful of the calories.

Handle Food Carefully – Or Run A Big Risk

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How You Handle Food Really Matters

Here’s a great big reason why paying attention to how you handle food is so important:

Just give ‘em  (bacteria) the conditions they like:  warmth, moisture, and nutrients, and boy will they grow.   A single bacterium that divides every half hour can result in 17 million offspring in 12 hours.

Putting food in the refrigerator or freezer will stop most bacteria from growing —  except for Listeria (found in lunch meats, hot dogs, and unpasteurized soft cheese), and Yersinia enterocolitica (found in undercooked pork and unpasteurized milk).  Both will grow at refrigerator temperatures. Cooking food to a temperature of 160 F will kill E. coli O157:H7. Don’t let that container of take out food hang around on the counter, either. Put it in the fridge and heat it up when you’re ready.

Safety Tips

  • Cut produce, like half a watermelon or bagged salad, should be refrigerated or surrounded by ice – don’t buy it if its not
  • Separate your raw meat, poultry, and seafood from the other food in your shopping cart and in your refrigerator – packages do leak
  • Store perishable fresh fruit and vegetables (like berries, lettuce, herbs, and mushrooms) in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40F or below
  • Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and warm water after you prepare any food
  • Wash fruit and vegetables under running water just before eating, cutting, or cooking, even if you plan to peel them. Don’t use soap (it leaves a residue). Produce washes are okay, but not necessary.
  • Scrub firm produce like melons and cucumbers with a clean produce brush and then let air dry.
  • Toss the outer leaves of heads of leafy vegetables like cabbage and lettuce.
  • Thoroughly cook sprouts. Children, elderly people, pregnant women, and people with a weakened immune system should avoid raw sprouts.
  • Drink pasteurized milk, juice, or cider.
  • Lower your pesticide exposure by 90% by avoiding the dirty dozen: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots, and pears. Think about buying organic for the dirty dozen and conventional for the foods with the lowest levels of pesticides:  onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes (Environmental Working Group).
  • Eat locally grown food:  food is well traveled – the average mouthful has a 1400 mile journey from farm to plate. Locally raised food is fresher, closer to ripe when picked, requires less energy to get to you, and is not as likely to be treated with pesticides after harvest.
  • Wash all produce well before eating – be careful with nibbling the unwashed grapes or berries in the market or on the way home.

More information on handling produce safely

What The Heck Is The Difference Between Low Fat And Reduced Fat . . . and light, lean, and extra lean?

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The Signs Are Everywhere

How much time do you spend in the supermarket aisle confused by the labels on mayo — or yogurt — or milk?  Reduced fat, low fat, light, fat free, low in calories.  You need a spread sheet to sort out the calories and the nutritional stats.

The same thing is true on menus, in deli cases, and the little labels perched next to the choices in salad bars.  Are the calories in the low calorie tuna salad less than the calories in the reduced calorie?  Can you even believe those calligraphied labels behind the glass cases?

Check The List Of Ingredients

Most packaged food labels list ingredients in descending order by weight, not amount. The first ingredient listed has the greatest amount by weight, the last ingredient is the one with the least amount by weight.

Fatty Labels

Labels have to include the total amount of fat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat.  This carves the way for the low, reduced, and fat free categories.

  • Low fat means 3 grams of fat or less per serving (or per 100 grams of food)
  • Reduced fat means the food product contains 50% (or less) of the fat found in the regular version
  • Less fat means 25% or less fat than the comparison food
  • Fat free means the product has less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil

Salty Labels

  • Reduced sodium means at least 75% less sodium
  • Low sodium means 140 milligrams of sodium or less per serving
  • Very low sodium means 35 milligrams of sodium or less per serving
  • Sodium free (salt free) means there is less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving

Sweet Labels

  • Sugar free means there is less than 0.5 gram of sugar per serving
  • No sugar added means there’s no table sugar added but there may be other forms of sugar like dextrose, fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, or corn syrup

The Low down On Low, Light (Lite), Lean, and Reduced

  • A label that screams reduced calorie means there’s at least 25% fewer calories per serving than in the regular product
  • Low calorie means 40 calories or less per serving and less than 0.4 calories per gram of food
  • Light (fat) means 50% or less of the fat than in the regular version
  • Light (calories) means 1/3 fewer calories than the regular version
  • Lean means less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol in a 100 gram serving of meat, poultry or seafood
  • Extra lean means less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol in a 100 gram serving of meat, poultry or seafood

SocialDieter Tip:

Confused by the ins and outs of labeling?  Why shouldn’t you be – it’s downright confusing.  Try to be as savvy as possible. For instance, take the reduced fat label, which means a product contains at least 25% less fat than the original version. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that the reduced fat version is low fat. For instance, you buy what is labeled as a reduced fat muffin. If the fat content in the original full fat muffin is 30g, and the fat has been reduced to 15g, which, with a 50% reduction allows it to say it is reduced fat, the reduced fat muffin still has a fat content five times higher than the 3g of fat per serving that officially qualifies as low fat. The trick is to look carefully at the calorie count and fat breakdown on the nutrition label and note the numbers for each.  A check of the ingredients label will also give valuable information. Remember, these regulations are for packaged food, not prepared food like you find in salad bars and deli cases. Those foods may be labeled, but you are putting your trust in the preparer of the food to be approximately accurate (and truthful).  In New York City and other municipalities, fast and chain food outlets of a certain size must give caloric breakdowns.  The new Health Care Reform Act will require this nationwide for restaurants with more than 20 outlets.

Is Your Salad A Nightmare?

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A Healthy Meal Or A Caloric Fat Fest?

It’s time for lunch or perhaps to pick up a bite for dinner on your way home.  It’s Monday after a weekend of a bit of overeating.  Time for something light and healthy.

How about a salad?  Here’s a chance for plenty of vegetables, other healthy stuff, and a chance to save some calories, too.  Yeah, right!!!  Think again and read on.

Wonderful Reasons To Have A Salad

There are a whole bunch of good reasons to chow down on a nice big salad.

  • It’s easy to make your own from the salad bar at the local market, to order one for delivery, or to rip open a bag of lettuce and plop a piece of grilled chicken on top.
  • The nutrient rich plant foods that make the base of a salad are high in antioxidants — especially the dark green and orange vegetables, and legumes.
  • Most of the vegetables are full of fiber – good for your cholesterol, your GI functioning, and as a way to feel fuller for a longer period of time.
  • Salads take a long time to eat – much longer than sandwiches or pizza that you can scarf down far more quickly.
  • Salads can look really appetizing and can cost very little (they can cost a lot, too, depending upon the add-ons).
  • Salads are a great way to recycle leftovers – just toss them in the mix.

Where’s The Nightmare?

Answer:  Hidden in the fatty and sneaky high caloric add-ons and dressing.

  • Generally, at least ¼ of a cup (frequently more) of dressing is added to a tossed salad. A ladle of creamy dressing has about 360 calories and 38g of fat (a cheeseburger’s worth).  Vinaigrette dressing, usually 3 parts oil to one part vinegar, adds its own fat blast.
  • Tuna, macaroni, and chicken salads, the holy grail of delis and salad bars, are loaded with mayonnaise, which of course, is loaded with fat.  On average (for a half cup):  chicken salad has 208 calories, 16g of fat; tuna salad  has 192 calories, 9g fat; tuna pasta salad has 397 calories, 9g fat; macaroni salad has 170 calories, 9g fat.
  • Cheese, please – or maybe not. For a 1/4 cup serving:  Shredded cheddar has 114 calories, 9g fat;  blue cheese has 80 calories, 6g fat;  feta has 75 calories, 6g fat.
  • Portions:  The calorie counts above are for ½ cup of salad, ¼ cup of cheese.  Those are pretty small portions.  Do you have that kind of restraint?
  • Croutons and Crispy Noodles: ¼ cup of plain croutons has 31 calories, 0g fat; 1 serving of  McDonald’s Butter Garlic Croutons  has 60 calories, 1g fat;  ¼ cup of crispy noodles has 74 calories, 4g fat
  • Dried cranberries: ¼ cup has 98 calories, 0g fat
  • Nuts and Seeds (1/4 cup): Sunflower seeds have 210 calories, 19g fat; chopped walnuts:  193 calories, 18g fat
  • Avocado (1/4 cup) have 58 calories, 5g fat
  • Bacon: 1 tablespoon of bacon bits has 25 calories, 2g fat
  • Bread (often used to sop up leftover dressing):  1 piece of French bread has  82 calories, 1g fat; 1 dinner roll has 78 calories, 2g fat
  • Dressing sopped up by the bread or roll:  lots of extra fat calories!

Should Salads Go On Your “Do Not Touch” List?

No way, absolutely not. The healthy stuff in salad tastes great, fills you up, and is good for you.  There are plenty of ways to cut down on the fatty and caloric add-ons and still end up with a really tasty meal.  There are even good choices in fast food and chain restaurants (and plenty of really, really bad ones).

SocialDieter Tip: don’t stop eating salad, just be aware of what add-ons and dressing can do.  Check my next post for some very helpful info on choosing and making salads and for the low down on a few fast and chain food “good” and “don’t even think about it” choices.