Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe eggnog you're about to drink is technically illegal!
https://medium.com/%64patrickdijusto/in-2011-i-was-the-sole-writer-for-wired-magazine-s-what-s-inside-column-b1832c58d1eWhen I decided to look at eggnog for the December issue, I spoke with a food chemist about some of the ways the drinks various ingredients react with each other. As a good interview will sometimes do, our talk ventured off into other topics, and the scientist casually mentioned that the United States food laws regulations determining what can and cannot be used in food are not always very strictly enforced....
I told the chemist that I was amazed to read in the Standard of Identity for eggnog, 21CFR131.170(e)(4), that the FDA makes it absolutely clear that eggnog may not contain any type of food coloring that makes it look as if there are more egg yolks in the eggnog than there actually are. This essentially means that any sort of yellow, or orange and yellow, food coloring should be banned from eggnog. This includes substances like the standard Yellow #5 food coloring, as well as more natural food colorings, such the plant-based extracts annatto or turmeric....
The chemist got very, very quiet, and said This kind of thing happens all the time. I asked what she meant by that. She said that over the past 15 years or so, the FDA has had its funding cut dramatically. Because of this, they pretty much have lost the ability to do standard proactive enforcement of many of their regulations. They spend too much of their time running around putting out fires; dealing with an E coli outbreak in hamburger, say, or tainted pharmaceuticals from China. And because of that, it has sort of become open season for those manufacturers who would like to bend the rules a little bit. She warned that she couldnt be certain that thats what was happening with eggnog, but she wouldnt be surprised if the dairy companies that make eggnog decided to push the rules a bit to see what they could get away with....
Athena at the American Dairy Association was efficiency personified. She asked me for my e-mail address, and send me an excerpt from a 1981 Federal Register, the official journal of the United States government. In it, the government explained its ruling on the use of color additives in eggnog. The report explained that some eggnog manufacturers objected to the new rule, saying that the public has come to expect deep yellow eggnog, a color that can not be reached by pure egg yolk alone. Another manufacturer argued that different eggs (especially from chickens fed on annatto) have yolks that are different shades of yellow, and if egg farmers can tint their products to obtain a uniform appearance, eggnog manufacturers should be able to do the same.
I told the chemist that I was amazed to read in the Standard of Identity for eggnog, 21CFR131.170(e)(4), that the FDA makes it absolutely clear that eggnog may not contain any type of food coloring that makes it look as if there are more egg yolks in the eggnog than there actually are. This essentially means that any sort of yellow, or orange and yellow, food coloring should be banned from eggnog. This includes substances like the standard Yellow #5 food coloring, as well as more natural food colorings, such the plant-based extracts annatto or turmeric....
The chemist got very, very quiet, and said This kind of thing happens all the time. I asked what she meant by that. She said that over the past 15 years or so, the FDA has had its funding cut dramatically. Because of this, they pretty much have lost the ability to do standard proactive enforcement of many of their regulations. They spend too much of their time running around putting out fires; dealing with an E coli outbreak in hamburger, say, or tainted pharmaceuticals from China. And because of that, it has sort of become open season for those manufacturers who would like to bend the rules a little bit. She warned that she couldnt be certain that thats what was happening with eggnog, but she wouldnt be surprised if the dairy companies that make eggnog decided to push the rules a bit to see what they could get away with....
Athena at the American Dairy Association was efficiency personified. She asked me for my e-mail address, and send me an excerpt from a 1981 Federal Register, the official journal of the United States government. In it, the government explained its ruling on the use of color additives in eggnog. The report explained that some eggnog manufacturers objected to the new rule, saying that the public has come to expect deep yellow eggnog, a color that can not be reached by pure egg yolk alone. Another manufacturer argued that different eggs (especially from chickens fed on annatto) have yolks that are different shades of yellow, and if egg farmers can tint their products to obtain a uniform appearance, eggnog manufacturers should be able to do the same.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
21 replies, 2412 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
21 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The eggnog you're about to drink is technically illegal! (Original Post)
KamaAina
Nov 2015
OP
What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?
underpants
Nov 2015
#14
ret5hd
(20,496 posts)1. The eggnog you're about to drink is technically in the way of my vodka!!!
Move it or lose it!
I thought the only nog-spiking options were whisk(e)y and rum.
ProfessorGAC
(65,076 posts)4. Brandy!
That works REALLY good in eggnog
suffragette
(12,232 posts)6. Mmmm. Brandy and rum with my eggnog, please.
ret5hd
(20,496 posts)8. I'm not wasting good vodka to fix bad eggnog!
PufPuf23
(8,790 posts)3. I learned today of annatto which is ubiquitous in our foods. Thanks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto
Annatto (/əˈnætoʊ/ or /əˈnɑːtoʊ/) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana). It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery".[1]
The color of annatto comes from various carotenoid pigments, mainly bixin and norbixin, found in the reddish waxy coating of the seeds. The condiment is typically prepared by grinding the seeds to a powder or paste. Similar effects can be obtained by extracting some of the color and flavor principles from the seeds with hot water, oil, or lard, which are then added to the food.[2]
Annatto and its extracts are now widely used in an artisanal or industrial scale as a coloring agent in many processed food products, such as cheeses, dairy spreads, butter and margarine, custards, cakes and other baked goods, potatoes, snack foods, breakfast cereals, smoked fish, sausages, and more. In these uses, annatto is a natural alternative to synthetic food coloring compounds, but it has been linked to cases of food-related allergies. Annatto is of particular commercial value in the United States because the Food and Drug Administration considers colorants derived from it to be "exempt of certification".
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Culinary uses
2.1 Traditional cuisine
2.2 British cheeses
2.3 Industrial food coloring
3 Chemical composition
4 Safety
5 Potential medical uses
Annatto (/əˈnætoʊ/ or /əˈnɑːtoʊ/) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana). It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery".[1]
The color of annatto comes from various carotenoid pigments, mainly bixin and norbixin, found in the reddish waxy coating of the seeds. The condiment is typically prepared by grinding the seeds to a powder or paste. Similar effects can be obtained by extracting some of the color and flavor principles from the seeds with hot water, oil, or lard, which are then added to the food.[2]
Annatto and its extracts are now widely used in an artisanal or industrial scale as a coloring agent in many processed food products, such as cheeses, dairy spreads, butter and margarine, custards, cakes and other baked goods, potatoes, snack foods, breakfast cereals, smoked fish, sausages, and more. In these uses, annatto is a natural alternative to synthetic food coloring compounds, but it has been linked to cases of food-related allergies. Annatto is of particular commercial value in the United States because the Food and Drug Administration considers colorants derived from it to be "exempt of certification".
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Culinary uses
2.1 Traditional cuisine
2.2 British cheeses
2.3 Industrial food coloring
3 Chemical composition
4 Safety
5 Potential medical uses
Historic NY
(37,451 posts)5. My comes direct from upstate NY dairy farm
they did use glass bottles but now switched to BPA free plastic. I guess the 3 dollar deposit was enough to get the bottles back. You can hardly tell its egg nog unless you look closely. They use turmeric for color.
underpants
(182,829 posts)9. How do they get the cows to eat the eggs?
And who are they to play GOD?!?
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)10. The cows don't eat them, dummy--they lay them
Duh!
underpants
(182,829 posts)12. Where do you find a turkey with no legs?
Exactly where you left it
Historic NY
(37,451 posts)13. You should see how they make chocolate milk then....
underpants
(182,829 posts)14. What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?
Pumpkin Pi
Aerows
(39,961 posts)17. What is all of this yam-mering? n/t
underpants
(182,829 posts)19. Okay okay enough. Let's squash it.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)20. You must be out of your gourd
underpants
(182,829 posts)21. It could have gratin worse
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)7. That code section is not a model of clarity
(a) Description. Eggnog is the food containing one or more of the optional dairy ingredients specified in paragraph (b), one or more of the optional egg yolk-containing ingredients specified in paragraph (c) of this section, and one or more of the optional nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners specified in paragraph (d) of this section. One or more of the optional ingredients specified in paragraph (e) of this section may also be added.
....
(e) Other optional ingredients. (1) Concentrated skim milk, nonfat dry milk, buttermilk, whey, lactose, lactalbumins, lactoglobulins, or whey modified by partial or complete removal of lactose and/or minerals, to increase the nonfat solids content of the food: Provided, That the ratio of protein to total nonfat solids of the food, and the protein efficiency ratio of all protein present shall not be decreased as a result of adding such ingredients.
(2) Salt.
(3) Flavoring ingredients.
(4) Color additives that do not impart a color simulating that of egg yolk, milkfat, or butterfat.
(5) Stabilizers.
-------
Okay, so it says that color additives can be used, if they "do not impart a color simulating that of egg yolk, milkfat, or butterfat".
I can see why interpretive guidance was needed, because it depends on what one means by "impart" and "simulating". If, say, egg yolk is in there, but the color additive is used to render the color to be consistent, then its not as if the color additive is "imparting" a "color simulating that of egg yolk", just altering the color of the egg yolk that is already there.
DreamGypsy
(2,252 posts)11. Eggnog??? That's not eggnog they're talking about!!
The only real eggnog is homemade; my recipe is from the Joy of Cooking:
Ingredients:
12 egg yolks
1 pound confectioners sugar
4-6 cups dark rum (or other liquor of choice...see below*)
8 cups heavy cream
8 to 12 egg whites
fresh grated nutmeg
cinnamon
Directions:
1. Beat egg yolks until light in color. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar. Add 2 cups rum very slowly, beating constantly. Let mixture stand covered for 1 hour to dispel the eggy taste.
2. Add remaining rum and whipping cream, beating constantly.
3. Refrigerate covered for 3 hours.
4. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites lightly into the other ingredients. Serve sprinkled with fresh nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.
Source: Joy of Cooking
Over the years I have made it variously with Jack Daniels, or a number of single malt Scotchs...Lagavulin, Balvenie, Glenlivit, Glenfiddich, Macallan... I am sure your favorite would be fine, too.
Cheers!!
DFW
(54,405 posts)15. I have to check the "N/A" box
I haven't tried egg nog in 30 years!
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)16. Do they even have it over there?
DFW
(54,405 posts)18. They have something more potent: Eierlikör
Not sweet and nutmeggy like egg nog, but somewhat thick and very eggy--and potent!! It is a viable substitute for rocket fuel.