[shel]

Originally Posted by Focus

It's apparently already in a lot of the food you already eat - ice cream being one.

It's not in the ice cream I eat, nor is it in any of the food I eat.

scb

[Focus]

excuse the **** out of me. didn't mean to offend your purist sensitivities. I bet it's in your toothpaste, though.

[shel]

Originally Posted by Focus

excuse the **** out of me. didn't mean to offend your purist sensitivities. I bet it's in your toothpaste, though.

You've not offended my sensitivities. I was just responding to your broad based comment. There's no need for sarcasm or rude language.

Methylcellulose is not in the toothpaste I use.

scb

[Blueicus]

Many traditional and ancient foods have long used chemistry to make things happen. They simply didn't know what exactly caused it. Cooking corn in calcium hydroxide (lime rock, not lime fruit) or many other bases allowed native americans to achieve a balanced diet eating a primarily corn-based diet (note that when corn migrated across the Atlantic people who started eating corn-dominated diets suffered malnutrition because they didn't know about nixtamalization).

Granted, methylcellulose isn't the same thing as calcium hydroxide... but they can both sound scary and they're both additives, no?

[shel]

Originally Posted by Blueicus

Many traditional and ancient foods have long used chemistry to make things happen ... Granted, methylcellulose isn't the same thing as calcium hydroxide...

Methylcellulose is a man-made chemical, and while it's probably safe, we've seen over the years that many of man's creations have caused health and environmental problems. Of course, eating some natural things may not be healthy, but that's a different situation IMO.

shel

[Focus]

simply stunning. I wasn't looking for a debate over it. and I don't especially care what everyone's opinion is. I'm truly sorry I asked.

Is it just me or is this site really pretentious and uptight?

[Focus]

BTW, if all this crazy chemistry talk has freaked anyone out, check your lables:

Add methyl cellulose for healthy battered food "Methyl cellulose is amongst the most frequently used hydrocolloids by the food industry."

Chicago Personal Trainer Explains Common Food Ingredients and Additives "It is used as a thickener in many jams, jellies, and pie fillings"

It seems to be safe: Clean safety profile for HPMC as a food ingredient "A safety assessment of the widely used hydrocolloid hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) has shown that everyday intake is well below any level that may cause safety concerns."

It may even be good for you: Hydrocolloids' health benefits extended

But it may not be explicitly labled: Clean safety profile for HPMC as a food ingredient "HPMC, also authorised to be labelled as carbohydrate gum in the US,"

And foodfacts.com lists 135 common products containing it including:
Burger King Chicken Whopper Sandwich
Breyers Carb Smart Vanilla Ice Cream Cone
Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Giant Bites
Loads of hot pockets
Morning Star Farms Breaded Broccoli Cheddar Veggie Bites
Progresso Roasted Potato Garic Chowder Pizza rolls

This is by no means an all-inclusive list but it looks like it's in a ton of stuff.

Edit: I should say at this point that - apart from a 16 hr marathon work session during which I will eat the occasional hot pocket - noting on the above list appeals to me in any way. The evidence would just suggest that this particular synthetic ingredient is in more stuff than we realize.

It like ninja - it everywhere. Be afraid, be very afraid...

Again, I'm willing to roll the bones. If eating processed food shortens my life by 2 years and I only make it to 84 (men in my family live a long time), oh well. At least it tasted good.

Focus

[OahuAmateurChef]

Originally Posted by Focus

simply stunning. I wasn't looking for a debate over it. and I don't especially care what everyone's opinion is. I'm truly sorry I asked.

Is it just me or is this site really pretentious and uptight?

I agree. You asked a particular question about an ingredient that happens to not be man made. I would definitely say you received pretentious and uptight responses.

Of these you consider pretentious and uptight, we are only talking about 3 or 4 members that have posted on this thread, out of many hundreds of forum members. We three or four have a great passion about what kinds of ingredients are appropriate and inappropriate to cook with. I admit I'm one of them!

I'd like to say that we have almost no posts about cooking with synthetic ingredients for at least several months, probably much longer.

To sum it up:
I think a more accurate way to word the statement would be, "Is is me or are the recently most active forum members pretentious and uptight about cooking with man-made ingredients?"

In this case I'd say, yes! Guilty!


How about we respect your original question and keep those kinds of comments out of this thread?


I am eager for a debate about this! Perhaps we can start a new thread?


Anyways, have you been able to test methylcellulose much since your first post?

Have you had sucess?

[OahuAmateurChef]

Your above post is great debate material.

I have a lot to say.
Won't touch it here.

Need a new thread.

[Focus]

Well put OAC, I think I understand a little better. The other message board I spend a lot of time on is one for homebrewers. They're serious about being very laid back - so that's where I'm coming from.

This probably is a good subject for a debate amongst the chefs and foodies here - I just wouldn't participate. I have no strong feelings either way. These synthetic ingredients are what they are. If you like using them, fine. If not, fine. I'm not worried about them killing me either next week (unlikely) or pretty much any time after age 75 (more likely, but not troubling - how long does anyone want to live anyway?)

Regarding the stuff in question: I've only just ordered it and hope it gets here soon. I'll post my experimental results when I have some for anyone that does care.

Focus

[siduri]

Originally Posted by Focus

And foodfacts.com lists 135 common products containing it including:
Burger King Chicken Whopper Sandwich
Breyers Carb Smart Vanilla Ice Cream Cone
Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Giant Bites
Loads of hot pockets
Morning Star Farms Breaded Broccoli Cheddar Veggie Bites
Progresso Roasted Potato Garic Chowder Pizza rolls

Wow, what great things to eat! Is that supposed to be evidence that it's ok? All you've shown is that it seems to be a product essential to the junk food industry. Even you don;t like eating these things you say. So what's your point?

[Focus]

Originally Posted by siduri

Wow, what great things to eat! Is that supposed to be evidence that it's ok? All you've shown is that it seems to be a product essential to the junk food industry. Even you don;t like eating these things you say. So what's your point?

my point is no more or less than that it's common.

Remember, I'm not here to debate about it or convince anyone anything about it.

[RSteve]

I'd be very surprised if the initiator of this thread didn't know full well that methylcellulose is the base ingredient for Citrucel, a very widely used laxative. It's been a very cruel gag ingredient in many a fraternity pledge party. It's also the key ingredient in most water based personal lubricants, i.e. K-Y Jelly.

Someone wrote: "It makes you fart." It does far more than that and shouldn't be used to play with someone's food. If someone with a severe disgestive disorder were to be subjected to ingestion of methylcellulose, even if no malice were intended, and they became ill, it is by definition felony battery.

[shel]

Originally Posted by RSteve

I'd be very surprised if the initiator of this thread didn't know full well that methylcellulose is the base ingredient for Citrucel, a very widely used laxative. It's been a very cruel gag ingredient in many a fraternity pledge party. It's also the key ingredient in most water based personal lubricants, i.e. K-Y Jelly.

Someone wrote: "It makes you fart." It does far more than that and shouldn't be used to play with someone's food. If someone with a severe disgestive disorder were to be subjected to ingestion of methylcellulose, even if no malice were intended, and they became ill, it is by definition felony battery.

Let me preface my comment and question by saying that I agree with you, and also that I'm surprised by the uses you mention. Of course, being a skeptic, I'll look further into your assertions with the intention of learning more about this and similar chemicals and how they're used.

Assuming that you're correct, and that methylcellulose can cause severe problems to those ingesting it, how can its use in these products, as posted by Focus, be explained:

Burger King Chicken Whopper Sandwich
Breyers Carb Smart Vanilla Ice Cream Cone
Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Giant Bites
Loads of hot pockets
Morning Star Farms Breaded Broccoli Cheddar Veggie Bites
Progresso Roasted Potato Garic Chowder Pizza rolls

Would the major corporations that produce these products risk the potential problems that you suggest ...?

scb

[shel]

Originally Posted by OahuAmateurChef

I agree. [...] I would definitely say you received pretentious and uptight responses.

And I'd strongly disagree with you.

scb