Food Processing - July 2008 - (Page 27) Consumers eventually learned that not all granolas were healthful. Bear Naked snacks kept health in focus, and endeared itself to athletes. Formulating By Mark Anthony, Ph.D., Technical Editor healthier n 1971, Sally De Vore and Thelma White took readers on a trip through the dietary cultures of nine civilizations noted for their health. In a refreshing book titled Appetites of Man, the authors showed how a balanced diet of nutrientrich foods played a significant role in the health and success of each civilization. And they did so without the usual dietary evangelism and extremism that characterizes today’s popular diet books. De Vore and White compared the diets, both meals and snacks, of various civilizations with the “typical American” meals and snacks of the time. Although this was just prior to the fast food explosion, the American diet was viewed as rich in calories and low in nutrients, just the opposite of the healthy cultures featured in this fascinating out-of-print book. In the healthy civilizations, snacks were an extension of a healthy diet. Nutrition wasn’t sacrificed simply because a snack was quickly prepared or easily transported. In the modern world, snacks all too often undermine a healthy diet and contribute to the growing epidemic of obesity. Taste and convenience so overwhelm nutrition that the real value of snacks is lost. Only recently has the practice of eating healthy food several times per day to maintain energy and blood sugar been recognized as a legitimate dietary strategy, especially for athfoodprocessing.com snacks I letes. But of course this is old news to healthy civilizations where snacking fills both a hunger and an energy gap. The modern approach to snacking is changing, however, as progressive companies make an effort to lift snacking to its original status. Redeeming the potato chip While some of our snacks stem from ethnic traditions, others are relatively modern in origin. Potato chips were popularized when an exasperated chef, Charles Crumb of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., tired of fielding complaints of thick soggy fried potatoes from the same customer. Crumb sliced the potatoes too thin to be eaten with a fork and stir-fried them. “Saratoga Chips” were a surprise hit, and the popularity of potato chips would grow. From a nutrition perspective, the low point of potato chips came when they were deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oil. Today, manufacturers have replaced the trans fatrich hydrogenated oils with healthier selections. But the most innovative twists on potato chips are methods of preparation and formulation. Popchips Inc. was formed in 2007 to bring to market a natural line of popped chips with half the fat of fried chips. July 2008 food processing • 27 http://foodprocessing.com
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