The kitchen closest to our department at work is filled with the obligatory fridge/freezer, microwave, soda machine and of course the coffee maker. The company doesn't supply milk (probably because most people drink their coffee black) but there are giant jars of "non-dairy creamer" on the bench.
The contents have always appalled me and I just happened upon an explanation - which got emailed to the team in the hope they'll stop using creamer and start supporting the dairy farmers of Wisconsin, and not the corn growers of Iowa....
What’s Inside: Powdered Nondairy Creamer
Wired magazine, January 2007
Sweet, smooth, and potentially explosive.
• Corn syrup solids: Corn syrup is, for the most part, glucose. When it’s dehydrated to about 10 percent water, the resulting granules are basically sugar.
• Vegetable oil solids: Powdered creamer has to get its creamy texture somewhere. Coconut and palm kernel oils are among the heavier food oils and are added – in all their partially hydrogenated glory – for velvety smoothness. Because they add up to less than 0.5 gram of trans fat, the label can claim “zero grams trans fat.”
• Sodium caseinate: Casein is a protein found in cow’s milk, thus making this nondairy product off-limits to vegans. Officially, it’s kosher, but don’t go mixing it with meat. (Note to self: no more ground beef in your coffee.)
• Dipotassium phosphate: Also called phosphoric acid, dipotassium phosphate provides the tang in Coca-Cola. It helps us digest sugars, fats, and proteins, which happen to be nondairy creamer’s top three ingredients. Oh, it’s also a pesticide and a major ingredient in fertilizer.
• Monoglycerides and diglycerides: These single- or double-chain fatty acids end in a glycerol molecule. The glycerol end attaches to water, and the fatty acid end to fats and oils, making these substances gentle mediators between the creamer and the coffee.
• Sodium alumionosilicate: Known to potters as albite feldspar (a ceramic glaze and strengthening agent), sodium alumionosilicate is used in foods as an anticaking agent. Powdered nondairy creamer is flammable, and if it gets too anticaked (dispersed in the air like a cloud), it can explode. Just one spark, and – kaboom!
• Artificial flavors: Since glucose, palm kernel oil, and sodium caseinate don’t really taste like cream, artificial flavors are required. Manufacturers tend to keep exactly what they use a secret. Of course, these flavors can sometimes come in very noncream varieties like hazelnut, amaretto, or mocha.
• Annato: This natural pigment from a tropical plant provides a yellow color, so the creamer looks more, you know, dairy-ish.
(it’s the same product used to make cheddar cheese orange) Can someone explain why American cheddar cheese is orange?
Wired magazine, January 2007
Sweet, smooth, and potentially explosive.
• Corn syrup solids: Corn syrup is, for the most part, glucose. When it’s dehydrated to about 10 percent water, the resulting granules are basically sugar.
• Vegetable oil solids: Powdered creamer has to get its creamy texture somewhere. Coconut and palm kernel oils are among the heavier food oils and are added – in all their partially hydrogenated glory – for velvety smoothness. Because they add up to less than 0.5 gram of trans fat, the label can claim “zero grams trans fat.”
• Sodium caseinate: Casein is a protein found in cow’s milk, thus making this nondairy product off-limits to vegans. Officially, it’s kosher, but don’t go mixing it with meat. (Note to self: no more ground beef in your coffee.)
• Dipotassium phosphate: Also called phosphoric acid, dipotassium phosphate provides the tang in Coca-Cola. It helps us digest sugars, fats, and proteins, which happen to be nondairy creamer’s top three ingredients. Oh, it’s also a pesticide and a major ingredient in fertilizer.
• Monoglycerides and diglycerides: These single- or double-chain fatty acids end in a glycerol molecule. The glycerol end attaches to water, and the fatty acid end to fats and oils, making these substances gentle mediators between the creamer and the coffee.
• Sodium alumionosilicate: Known to potters as albite feldspar (a ceramic glaze and strengthening agent), sodium alumionosilicate is used in foods as an anticaking agent. Powdered nondairy creamer is flammable, and if it gets too anticaked (dispersed in the air like a cloud), it can explode. Just one spark, and – kaboom!
• Artificial flavors: Since glucose, palm kernel oil, and sodium caseinate don’t really taste like cream, artificial flavors are required. Manufacturers tend to keep exactly what they use a secret. Of course, these flavors can sometimes come in very noncream varieties like hazelnut, amaretto, or mocha.
• Annato: This natural pigment from a tropical plant provides a yellow color, so the creamer looks more, you know, dairy-ish.
(it’s the same product used to make cheddar cheese orange) Can someone explain why American cheddar cheese is orange?
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