Colour Coded

All the ground-breaking new innovations and excavations have begun to confusingly scare me.

All the ground-breaking new innovations and excavations have begun to confusingly scare me. Just as I was getting used to the fact of having food categories such as cookies and chips being shared with the IT world,I was shockingly amused when I read this advertisement about three years back on the Internet saying,We specialize in printing edible pictures and selling edible printing systems. And a tiny information display balloon in the left-hand corner seemed to sell New lower prices on edible ink cartridges and chips. I wondered how soon a pack of edible pictures will accompany a cup of tea in place of the usual Marie biscuits. Thankfully,we did not start to eat prints but we definitely started to print our pictures on celebration cakes. The sampling of such a cake happened for me a couple of years back when I got to eat the photo cake with the edible picture of our guest of honour on it. Without batting an eyelid,much to my horror and amazement,I watched the butler slice up the guest of honour into a number of pieces and plate a single for each one of us. Well,I ate up her edible eyes.

Speaking of eyes and as the saying goes,People eat with their eyes,and their eyes trick their stomach. The more colours we see across the buffet table the more we eat. But to take this distinction seriously,of all the colours that we see,only a handful of dishes are with their natural food colours while a huge spread of dishes carry artificial food colourants. Such colours make the food unnatural and spoil the original taste. There are two types of food dyes – natural and synthetic. The synthetic ones are mainly coal-tar derivatives made from chemical compounds which are made when coal is distilled. Dyes dissolve in water and are added to baked goods,beverages,dairy products,dry mixes etc. They are made as liquids and powders. The following dyes have been linked to allergic reactions,skin rashes,hyperactivity,asthma and even cancer and it may be a good idea to avoid them. These are Tartrazine,Sunset Yellow,Carmoisine,Amaranth,Ponceau,Allura Red,Brilliant Blue,Green S ,Caramel Brilliant Black,Brown HT and Aluminium.

Even though,adverse reactions to food colours occur only in a small proportion of the population,yet possible risks to humans can be associated with the ingestion of food colours over a period of time. Symptoms include skin rashes,nasal congestion and hives,although the incidence as low as one or two persons in 10,000 have been estimated. However,if you are used to ignorantly eating synthetic colours filled diet for your whole life with little or no harm to your body,its because the human body is remarkably resilient. But with age comes reduced resistance,and these toxins start accumulating in the body after a certain point. The liver,our natural cleanser,is the first to suffer. Various food colourings may be mixed together in the same package. If you pick up any processed food and read its label carefully,a few may contain more than five different added colours in them. Food colouring is commonly used in candies and desserts. Strawberry ice cream may have a red dye added to intensify the colour. Children end up consuming much more food colouring than adults.

Natural dyes,on the other hand,can make food look wholesome and real,by restoring the ingredients to their natural state. Some natural red colours are derived from cherry and beet juices. The natural yellows and reds are obtained from annatto which is a wax of a seed of a shrub in Central America,carotenoids,cochineal,beetroot extract,grape skin extract,paprika,saffron,turmeric,caramel. Caramel and vegetable carbons give the browns and blacks. Saffron and turmeric have been used from times immemorial to make yellow and orange colours. Indigo is one of the best known natural colourings derived from the indigo plant and is in use for centuries.

To use a food colour to cover up any sort of an imperfection in the colour of a food item is not the answer for enhancing eye appeal. We need to change the colour spectrum that is long engraved in our minds. Its time we started accepting tandoori murg in its original colour instead of the usual reddish orange tint it has had for centuries that remained on our fingers even after repeated hand washes. Next time,you buy candies,lollipops and jellies or flavoured ice-cream tubs for children,offer them home-baked cakes or ice creams or fudges and mousses made with natural ingredients instead.

Peanut Butter Fudge
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
5 large marshmallows (buy the colourless pack)
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter

Method
Mix first four ingredients together in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until all trace of marshmallow is melted. Remove from heat and add peanut butter,mixing well. Pour into a buttered 8-inch dish. Refrigerate until cooled. Cut in squares and wrap each individually in butter paper first and then in coloured paper. Variation: add nuts along with sundried amla and black currants.

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(The writer is a city-based food and diet consultant who can be contacted at adda.mehrotra@gmail.com)

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