Balance of Food

Temptation of the Week: Canadian fat cakes

I've never had a fat cake, Canadian or American. And yet I want one.

The only problem is that fat cakes aren't real.

I'm not in the ideal demo for "iCarly,' but was glad to stumble on the episode where most of the cast tours a plant where Canadian fat cakes are made. Sam (left), one of the lead characters, is obsessed with fat cakes. She has heard that fat cakes in Canada taste better because they are made with "cane fat" while American Fat Cakes are made with "corn fat."

The catch for Sam is that you aren't allowed to bring in Canadian Fat Cakes into the United States. Sam tries to bring them back across the border strapped to her person under a long coat. Unfortunately for Sam, she gets caught smuggling them back.

(Amusingly, this episode originally aired just after Michelle Obama was in an episode of iCarly. From good health to fat cakes, a true Balance of Food.)

You certainly can bring back processed baked goods from Canada into the United States. Long-time readers know of my adventures with Canadian Twinkies. And before glucose-fructose (HFCS) came to Canada, I brought back Canadian versions of soft drinks.

As it turns out, Fat Cakes have been a floating theme through the show. According to this wikia, they are "made with marshmallow and have pink coconut shavings on top and a chocolate cake in the middle with cream filling."

Sounds like more of a take on Sno Balls. They don't sound like much of a temptation, though Jennette McCurdy, the actress who plays Sam, convinces you that they are worth risking the wrath of customs. If Canadian Twinkies were illegal in the United States, I'd be tempted to smuggle them into the States.

We often are tempted by what we can't have, whether that is a certain fast food restaurant or regional favorite. When we travel somewhere, we want to retain that experience long after our trip is over.

I have "smuggled" garlic back from San Francisco on the plane, but within your own country, you can bring such things back without any customs trouble.

When you travel outside the country, you are subject to restrictions on what you can "smuggle" back into your home country. Plants and meat bring up red flags, as tempting as that ham from Spain can be.

If you aren't sure, check with the laws in the country where you live, since that is where you'll be returning. If what you want to bring back fits within those confines, travel and enjoy your food experience, wherever that takes you.

For the Canadian take, check out this story from our sister blog, CanadianCrossing.com.

photo credit: iCarly

Temptation of the Week: 'Authentic' Mexican Coca-Cola

Mexican Coca-Cola is supposed to be the cat's meow, the great alternative to those frustrated by the American version with high-fructose corn syrup. Used to be that you could travel to neighboring countries Canada and Mexico and you'd be guaranteed an experience free of high-fructose corn syrup.

Then, glucose-fructose sneaked its way into Canada; no one really explaining that glucose-fructose is high-fructose corn syrup. Lately, we've been hearing stories about Mexicans having to deal with American coke, er, Coca-Cola. And I've seen "Mexican Coca-Cola" that says on the label "high-fructose corn syrup and/or sugar."

NAFTA is the reason why high-fructose corn syrup has invaded Canada and Mexico. Free trade agreements do have some advantages, but the loss of sovereignty is always a bad side effect. The United States has a lot of power to force something into another country; that power is not as reciprocal in reality.

We live in a society where we can't find out whether the milk we drink has been treated with growth hormones. For consumers who want to avoid high-fructose corn syrup for any number of reasons (time will tell if the autism connection has much validity), they deserve to know whether they are consuming high-fructose corn syrup.

For those looking to cut down on high-fructose corn syrup, Mexican Coca-Cola has been a wonderful option while occasionally having a soft drink. The treat of Mexican Coca-Cola only works if you are drinking "the real thing" (yes, an old company slogan).

If your drink is from a glass bottle and says Coca-Cola and comes from Mexico, it's only real if the label doesn't say high-fructose corn syrup. Anything else isn't "the real thing."

Still wondering why regular U.S. Coca-Cola products are allowed to have the words "Original Formula," when no one knows that to be true.

The popularity of Mexican Coca-Cola should prove to the corporate folks in Atlanta that there is an audience for what Coca-Cola produced before the company switched to high-fructose corn syrup. I have two 2-liter bottles of Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola, another popular choice where available. The switch back to sugar would be the opposite publicity the company received for switching to New Coke.

The best rule of thumb is if the label doesn't mention high-fructose corn syrup, you should be fine. If you see the words "high-fructose corn syrup and/or sugar," place the bottle gently down and run.

"The customer is always right" and "give the people what they want" haven't applied when it comes to Coca-Cola.

This is a painful reminder that we keep needing to bring up: read labels. Seriously. You never know what food manufacturers are going to do.

Wendy's trying to make poutine Canada's national dish

Couldn't help but pass on the word in our unofficial poutine coverage that Wendy's is launching a petition — a "Poutition" — to make poutine Canada's national dish.

Wendy's is using this as an excuse to launch poutine on its menu in Canada. For all the poutine I have eaten, none of them has come from a major fast food chain. The better question for the American audience is whether Wendy's or McDonald's or Burger King would ever bring this across the border.

Canada is a rather large country and poutine is mostly a Quebec thing.

Then again, what is the United States' national dish? Mac & cheese? Hot dogs? High-fructose corn syrup?

The idea of one national dish seems unfair to the rest. If nothing else, we should vote on the national dish … for both countries.

For the whole take, check out this story from out sister blog, CanadianCrossing.com.

photo credit: Wendy's

Canada focuses sharpest budget cuts on those who protect food safety

The good news is that Canada has a department devoted to food inspection. The bad news is that there will be fewer inspectors as a result of federal budget cuts.

The Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture Canada will suffer among the worst hits in federal budget cuts by the Harper government.

In the election campaign of 2011, the Conservative budget promised $100 million over five years to increase capacity in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Politicians do break promises on occasion. When you offer to raise the stakes to protect citizens from tainted food, and you make the department that helps prevent tainted food a high priority for a deep cut, well that decision makes a significant impact on average Canadians.

Under the Harper government, a listeriosis outbreak in 2008 led to 22 deaths and 35 serious illnesses from tainted deli meat.

Canada has an advantage over the United States since it has a government agency devoted to food inspection. The USDA runs marketing and inspection of the same food, and as we've seen lately, the FDA begging for voluntary help in cutting down on antibiotics in the food supply is really sad and pathetic.

But if that agency can't be effective, especially given the increasing number of food problems in recent years, Canada's advantage isn't nearly as large as it should be.

Crossing your fingers that your food is safe isn't a smart government policy.

Previous coverage:

What a Stephen Harper government means for Canada's national food strategy

Canada's political parties have stronger food policies in their platforms for the upcoming election

Distinct Canadian cuisine through the eyes of 'Live with Kelly'

Even though I once moderated a discussion about Canadian food, I don't always have a good answer for what is Canadian food. True, we could talk poutine for days, but the truth about Canadian food depends on where you are in the country.

This issue came up during last week's "Live with Kelly" episodes in Banff, Alberta, Canada. On the last show, the hosts sampled some Rocky Mountain cuisine. Admittedly, the menu was very fancy, since this was from the Fairmont Hotel in Banff Springs and executive chef Martin Luthi.

The first two items contained elk and bison. However squeamish you might be about eating animals you don't know (assuming you eat meat), elk and bison are healthier for you than regular beef. Omega-3s, less fat — all the good stuff. So you don't have to eat your elk tenderloin with black trumpet mushrooms and sunchokes or your braised bison short ribs with barley risotto to get the health benefits of elk and bison. Kelly said she had never had bison before; perhaps she got confused over buffalo vs. bison or maybe she never had buffalo.

The Waterton Lake rainbow trout is a regional dish; served by Luthi with swiss chard, mussels, and shrimps. Fish is obviously a healthier source of protein than traditional beef, except for potential mercury. The chef also brought up salmon with mussels and clams with a broth poured over it to produce a bouillabaisse. Luthi pointed out that the dish was very low in fat, probably less than 350 calories.

Alberta is known for its beef. The sample dish was beef tenderloin carpaccio with aioli and arugula. During the phone trivia game, Thursday's contestant — David Torres of Fairhaven, MA — had heard of Calgary and Alberta but not Lake Louise. Yet, Torres did know Alberta beef: "not the best looking, but it is the best tasting steak." They didn't even ask him about the beef, but that is what he associated with Alberta.

Dessert was a lovely poached pear with maple mousse. Ripa's co-host, Ben Mulroney, an actual Canadian, said, "nothing says Canada like maple, huh." Agreed.

Ripa, after trying the dessert, chose to dip the dessert in the cheese fondue with truffle. She enjoyed it, even if that freaked out the chef.

The vast majority of Albertans do not eat this way. However, they and other Canadians do incorporate the elk, buffalo, trout, and other creatures along with tastes such as maple to produce a distinct Canadian cuisine. But they also eat poutine and donuts from Tim Horton's and lots of foods that look the same as those on American plates. Well, they do put ketchup on their Kraft Dinner (macaroni & cheese) and vinegar (or mayo) on their fries.

So you see, there are a few differences between eating Canadian and eating American.

Special thanks to the coverage of "Live with Kelly" from CanadianCrossing.com.

photo credit: WABC-TV, New York

Culinary high school programs could solve multiple food issues

Those of generations before me (I'm not that old) remember home economics as an option for high-school students to learn the basics of running a house.

Grist recently linked to an article about culinary students at Jasper Place High School in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To show surprise, the author then said, "(yes, Canada apparently has culinary programs in high school)."

I did not know that.

The article talked about how the students were raising 100 tilapia in such a way that the fish add leftover vegetables and scraps and how the fish waste helped the plants grow above the fish tank. Talk about a life cycle.

Though I am much more into food than I would have been in high school, I still would have loved the idea of taking culinary classes in high school. The folks at Grist and I agree on one thing: we would love to know if this type of program exists throughout much of Canada or if this is a rare occurrence.

The original article via the Winnipeg Free Press noted that the kids cook in a commercial-style kitchen, fixing lunches each day for 2,500 students and staff. Having some students cook for other students would make cooking and food into a teaching moment on both sides of the cafeteria. Students learn a valuable skill in cooking the food and those who eat the food would appreciate the food more if it came from their peers.

This isn't some kind of left-wing warm-weather place such as Berkeley, CA. This is Edmonton in Alberta, the most conservative province, at a latitude of 53°34', slightly south of Juneau, Alaska.

Searching for mayo alternatives to Miracle Whip

Now that Miracle Whip is off my list, thanks to its on-again switch to high-fructose corn syrup, what will (try and) replace Miracle Whip?

While the "fat police" — not to be confused with overweight cops — freak out over mayonnaise or salad dressing, occasionally, you need something like mayonnaise.

I realize no product on the market can replace the taste of Miracle Whip. On my next trip to Canada, I will try and find a glucose-fructose free version of Miracle Whip. Short of that, a different product is in order.

This depends on how you use mayonnaise, but the two common uses are as a sandwich spread and to work in a tuna/chicken/potato salad.

Miracle Whip points out on its Web site that "we've got half the fat of Regular Mayo." Yes, and added sugar (now HFCS and sugar). This is the irony: I've been trying to use less sweet foods, and yet I love the taste of Miracle Whip — with sugar.

So regular mayo would be less sweet but contain more fat, not a bad trade-off. Kraft makes a olive oil mayo that seems healthier, but rewarding Kraft for screwing up Miracle Whip again isn't on my radar.

The Smart Balance mayo would be logical, but since taste is an issue with the replacement mayo, I'd be concerned that health would not equal taste.

The foodies out there are screaming at the screen going "Why don't you make your own?"

Why don't I?

When I see Alton Brown or the YouTube videos, they are pouring oil slowly through the tube of the food processor. Well, I don't have a fancy tube on the food procesor, but I could do this with a blender.

As for whisking homemade mayo myself, I'll buy store-brand before I work that hard.

One disadvantage homemade mayo has over the store-bought brand is that it doesn't keep as long. Advantage? Mayo, Miracle Whip, salad dressing is very expensive, especially if you don't buy huge containers.

When I went to make the tuna salad for work, when I realized that I had no Miracle Whip in the house, I used fat-free yogurt instead. It wasn't bad, but wasn't great, either. That might work for a tuna salad, but not for a sandwich.

Avocado would be brilliant for a BLT, when summertime comes. Avocado doesn't keep as well, though some lime juice will make it last longer.

Though losing a favorite food is difficult to take, sometimes, occasionally, it can be a wakeup call. Miracle Whip, you no longer have my trust. I am going to see if I can live without you. Like the ketchup search of 2011, we will keep you informed.

Miracle Whip goes back to using high-fructose corn syrup

Kraft got a lot of good publicity when it switched several of its major brands from high-fructose corn syrup to sugar. Though Oreos weren't on that list, the most prominent name for me was Miracle Whip. I had been eating Miracle Whip from Canada to fulfill my needs, since the Canadian version contains sugar and not high-fructose corn syrup.

Toward the end of using the Canadian Miracle Whip, I discovered it was using glucose-fructose, which we know now is high-fructose corn syrup.

Miracle Whip made the change in the fall of 2009. Now, high-fructose corn syrup is back in Miracle Whip.

The current Miracle Whip ingredient list has both high-fructose corn syrup and sugar, an unfortunately growing trend in food products. We see now that in Canada that soft drinks are using the Canadian version of that long-hated phrase "high-fructose corn syrup and/or sugar." At least, Miracle Whip is being honest.

But now this once lauded childhood product is now back to being off-limits. In a world where good press comes from getting rid of high-fructose corn syrup, Miracle Whip has sneaked high-fructose corn syrup back into its ingredients list.

As for Ray Turner, no, it isn't your imagination. While there may be several reasons why Miracle Whip never replied, one good reason is that Miracle Whip isn't going to admit it deliberately went back to putting high-fructose corn syrup in its product.

When Miracle Whip announced its return to its original formula, we saw a major PR blitz. Where was the PR blitz to announce Miracle Whip changed back to high-fructose corn syrup?

Miracle Whip changed the formula to high-fructose corn syrup some time ago without much fanfare. Funny how you never see the front of a food product market the fact that it now contains high-fructose corn syrup.

After an eventual backlash, the company switched to sugar and made sure you knew about it. Of course, Miracle Whip went back and didn't have the guts to openly admit that decision.

Even if Miracle Whip somehow comes out and makes a switch back to sugar, consumers across the United States will find themselves looking at the ingredients list every single time we buy the product. That might appeal to food nerds, but the average consumer will just buy something else.

Canada proves that high cheese standards are worth having

The Supreme Court of Canada could be considered a "foodie" in the United States.

The court refused to hear an appeal from cheese manufacturers Saputo and Kraft that wanted to use more milk solids in cheese and less milk in the process. The rules that were upheld require cheese to have more full-fat milk.

This may have seemed like a common sense ruling but in the United States, common sense in food labeling is very difficult to locate. Substances that are labelled "cheese" in marketing in the United States as already identified as "processed cheese" in Canada.

Previous coverage: U.S. standards need to limit labeling 'cheese' for actual cheese

The ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada shows what regulation can mean to the quality of food. You can imagine that if the current U.S. Supreme Court had a chance to rule on food quality standards, corporate food manufacturers would walk away smiling.

Knowledgable people know processed cheese isn't real cheese, but if you aren't paying attention, and you hear the word "cheese," you should have a reasonable expectation of getting cheese. You can get that in Canada, but not in the United States. Freedom indeed.

'And/or' should never be on an ingredient list

The front of food labels usually features very deceptive language, but the ingredient list is supposed to contain what is in the food product. Yet for years, soft drink companies had "high-fructose corn syrup and/or sugar" on their labels. Either you have an ingredient or you don't.

Now what we are seeing in Canada is "glucose/fructose and/or sugar" (glucose/fructose is what Canada calls high-fructose corn syrup).

For more on this disturbing trend, read the story first reported on CanadianCrossing.com.