Omnivore's Dilemma: Chapter 5
As we already know, corn plays a significant role in our food system. In fact, it is so important that we hardly eat real corn products (corn on the cob or baked into muffins, tortillas, and chips). Out of the ten million bushels of corn harvested each year, the actually corn we eat comes out to less than a bushel per person per year. Even so, majority of the rest of the harvested corn ends up in our bodies one way or another (in meat, drinks, snacks, and other foods). The breakdown of corn is actually very interesting. Each part of the kernel is used differently. The skin is processed is vitamins and nutritional supplements. The dark part close to the cob, scientifically known as the germ, holds to embryo for a new corn plant and is crushed for oil. Lastly, the endosperm is stripped for carbohydrates. These carbs are broken down even further and then rearranged into many ingredients that we know of such as citric and lactic acid, glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, ethanol, sorbitol, mannitol, xanthan gum, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Breaking down the corn is an intricate step-by-step process. Processing it into our foods in another operation. In the end, it is corn that plays a big part in making most of the foods we commonly eat today.
I was very intrigued by the process of breaking down the corn. The parts are all chemically divided. The kernels are soaked in an acid bath for about thirty-six hours and then ground to be separated. Once the parts are separated, they are operated on differently to obtain the needed product. I also found the concept of "substitutionism" very interesting as well. It's amazing how a producer can switch from hydrogenated fat or lecithin from corn one day to soybeans the next and not change the taste of the product. This is why some ingredient labels say "contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean, or sunflower oil." The food system is truly a complex industry.
1. How do products taste the same when using the process of "substitutionism?"
2. What is it about each separate part of the kernel that allows them to be used to make different ingredients and such?
I think the problem of substitutionism that you discussed is an extremely important process. The fact that producers can so easily change their product is a huge part of the industrial food system today. The complexity of this process, and the various number of ingredients corn can become, is one of the main reasons in my opinion of food system needs to be transformed.
ReplyDeleteI agree it's definitely interesting how much they can alter food's with the corn and still get a product that tastes relatively the same. Really food engineering.
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