Label Reading For Dummies :roll:

[tex]

Hi All,

Last yesterday afternoon, I posted a glowing report about a corn-based snack product, that happened to contain this statement on the label:

ALLERGY INFORMATION: MANUFACTURED ON EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES PRODUCTS CONTAINING MILK, WHEAT, AND SOY.

Since so many products, (especially snack foods), contain that disclaimer these days, I've decided that a lot of manufacturers put that warning on the package, just to cover their butts, in case of a freak accident. So, I was dumb enough to point out that I had started ignoring that warning, for that reason.

Well, it turns out that apparently, some manufacturers do it for a good reason - yep, there could be gluten, or milk, or soy, or "whatever they warned about" in there. Duh!

I had worked late, yesterday, and when I got home, it was already around 10:30, so I decided to just nuke some leftover grilled jalapena pork sausage, and have some of those great Tom's corn chips along with it. By the time I finished reading/posting on the board, and decided to take a bath and go to bed, I noticed that I was bloated pretty badly, and I wondered why. The D started around 5am - a classic example of a gluten reaction, (roughly six hours or so after eating it). Hahahahaha. Who woulda thunk it?

Here's a link to the topic that I'm referring to:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9899

Sooooooooo, I reckon I'll stop ignoring those warnings, in the future.

Love,
Tex

[Gloria]

The problem is that you never know until you eat it - and so many products have that disclaimer that it's hard to find any without one.

I suppose to be on the safe side, we could follow the Rotation Diet recommendations and wait 4 days before eating the product again.

I hope you're feeling better.

Gloria

[tex]

Maybe I was just having an unlucky day.

It could have been a lot worse, I suppose. After the morning session, I seem to be as good as new.

Tex

[kate_ce1995]

Sometimes I feel like I'm getting a reaction from those, and sometimes I don't notice a thing. Can be frustrating. I'm ignoring one of those labels on my new favorite summer product...Hagen Das Chocolate Sorbet (no gluten/no dairy). seems to be going okay so far.

[Gloria]

OK Kate,
You've piqued my interest. Hagen Das Chocolate Sorbet w/o gluten or dairy? How have I, a chocoholic missed this? It must have soy, no?

Gloria

[starfire]

How have I missed that?? If it has soy someone tell me - OK!!! I've never heard of it!!
Love, Shirley

[tex]

From their website:

Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Egg Whites, Lowfat Cocoa and Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Fruit Pectin, Natural Vanilla, Salt. Product may contain trace amounts of milk protein.

http://www.haagen-dazs.com/ingredients/ ... fat+sorbet

http://www.haagen-dazs.com/products/product.aspx?id=7

Tex

[starfire]

Thank You, Tex!!

Love, Shirley

[Gloria]

Oh, well. It was nice to dream. I still love the SoDelicious coconut chocolate ice cream.

Thanks, Tex.

Gloria

[tex]

Both of you are most welcome, of course. Sorry it wasn't better news.

Tex

[alexandraCA]

Here in Los Angeles we have VONS supermarkets which are also part of the SAFEWAY supermarket chain. I can't be sure how far spread these grocers are but at VONS I have purchased Safeway brand Chocolate Sorbet w/ following ingredients:

Filtered Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Lowfat Cocoa and Cocoa processed with Alkali, Guar Gum, Natural Flavors, Salt

The only one that has a question mark is the "natural flavors" as I know this can possibly mean soy. So far, I have found no problem with the sorbet. I'm glad to hear good things about SoDelicious Coconut ice cream. I thought it was ironic that Rice Dream contained soy.

I also have a Cuisinart ice cream and sorbet maker (about $50). They offer recipes on their site. For chocolate sorbet you need:

1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1-1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (GF)

A great option for those who want a chocolate fix but can't find it instore. They also have recipes for a variety of sorbets. And given that a pint of SoDelicious is about $5, it's pretty cost effective.

[tex]

Alex,

Legally, at least, soy can no longer be hidden in the "natural flavors" category. Since it's one of the items that the legislature deemed to classify as the 8 primary allergens, which must be specifically spelled out, in plain terms, on the label, if soy is anywhere in a product, it has to be clearly listed on the label.

Thanks for the recipe on the chocolate sorbet.

Tex

[Gloria]

Alex,
I borrowed my daughter's Cuisinart to make ice cream, but it was more crystalized than the So Delicious ice cream. I probably should have churned it a little longer, but I was afraid the plastic paddles would break. How do you determine when to stop the churning? We used to have an older electric ice cream maker and I remember having the same issues.

Gloria

[mbeezie]

You can let the Cuisinart go quite a while - 20-25 minutes or more. Mine starts to make a funny noise if it is getting too thick.

I made a Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (Cooking Light recipe) and substituted lite coconut milk and rice milk for the 2% milk and half and half - it was declicious and less coconutty tasting than the SoDelicious. Can't say it was much cheaper because the vanilla bean was expensive, but it was worth every penny - my son thought it tasted like real ice cream.

Gloria, I know you can't have eggs and so many of the homemade ice cream recipes call for eggs. I found a Cooking Light recipe for chocolate ice cream with cornstarch instead of eggs. You could try using a can of coconut milk and whatever milk substitute you use.

Hmm - tried to post the link but it didn't work. Go to www.cookinglight.com and type in Chocolate Ice Cream - it's from May 2008.

Mary Beth

[tex]

Let's see if this works:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recip ... id=1734335

EDIT: This link seems to work with Firefox, at least.

Tex