Traditional...or travesty?

Good Food Blog

What is RSS?

Posted at 12:02PM, 14 July 2008 by Carol Wilson - Food writer

Do you recognise any of these: Sorbitan, Monostearate, Polysorbate 60, Humectant, Potassium Sorbate, and Sulphur Dioxide? No? Well, believe it or not, these are just some of the ingredients in a Bakewell tart I had the misfortune to taste recently.

This set me thinking - how many other traditional recipes for regional delicacies have been mucked about with? Well, for a start I've come across 'Traditional Bakewell Pudding' containing peanuts (to bulk out the more expensive almonds perhaps?) and Scottish shortbread made with lard and vegetable oil instead of butter. Even more depressing are scones containing emulsifier, mono and diglycerides of fatty acids and palm oil and 'traditional' biscuits from the Scottish Isles made with hydrogenated vegetable oil and artificial colouring.

In Ashbourne in Derbyshire I joined a long queue of (mainly Japanese) tourists in one of the town's bakeries to buy some 'famous Ashbourne Gingerbread' a kind of ginger shortbread. At least that's what it's meant to be. It was truly awful - dry, dull and tasteless - even my friend's dog wouldn't eat it! I read the ingredients with a sinking heart... rapeseed oil, soya oil, hydrogenated palm oil... The original recipe used just flour, butter, sugar and ginger.

My collection of old cookbooks has a wealth of recipes for fantastic regional cakes, puddings, pies and tarts, made with wholesome, recognisable ingredients. The trouble is, many of these time-honoured specialities are now made commercially on a massive scale, often using ingredients more at home in a science lab than a kitchen. Nonetheless, such foods are heavily marketed as 'traditional' or 'heritage' foods.

We seem to have lost sight of what is traditional

What on earth is going on? We seem to have lost sight of what is traditional. These industrially produced foods have lost all links with the taste and texture of the original recipes and I think they're an insult to our great culinary heritage. God knows what tourists must think.

To be fair, I did manage to track down some authentic regional foods made with fresh free-range eggs and natural ingredients, mostly made by dedicated artisan producers who take pride in upholding traditions. There are some excellent products out there; just be sure to read the labels carefully - or, if in doubt, ask what's in them. Apparently, if a food item is packaged, the ingredients must be listed - if sold loose, at a bakery, say, then there's no requirement to list the ingredients at all.

As food writer Michael Pollan says in his book, In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating, 'don't eat anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognise as food'!

Comments

James

14 July 2008, 12:34PM
James

All those ingredients in the bakewell tart sound lovely. Sulphur dioxide jam is a delicacy too. That's mass production for you. Reduce the quality of ingredients, source them from the cheapest source, pump it with air add some MSG, add some preservatives and it'll keep for a year or two. That's how they leave room for all the warehouse, storage and nationwide distribution costs. Of course, local and fresh (mmm fresh, no need for humectant there then) made by people who care is available, but uuuugh. It tastes too real.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Sally

14 July 2008, 1:58PM
Sally

Reading your post Carol, has got me looking at what's in my cupboards. I've got a jar of Lemon Curd with 22 ingredients in it and pickled onions with 9 ingredients including gluten and milk! And my horseradish sauce has got turnip in it - at least its a natural product but not what you'd expect to find in horseradish sauce. I work in catering and do try to make as much as possible from scratch, mainly because I love cooking but also so I know what I'm actually eating. Looking at all the labels when you're in the supermarket isn't always possible if you are short of time. But I for one will certainly be taking more notice in future.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Karen

15 July 2008, 12:43PM
Karen

My husband was taken ill and diagnosed with Crohns disease in November. This forced me to look at how we ate. As soon as I started looking at labels on things that I previously had thought were harmless (we are not talking pork pies here!) I was shocked. I now cook from scratch so that I know exactly what we are eating. I have four kids and run my own business so it is a struggle to do this BUT I cant justify putting some of those things on to my table now that I am aware. I remember a friend telling me her child would only eat value chicken nuggets because "real chicken" tasted too "chickeny" ... ehhh??!!

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
smitty

15 July 2008, 3:17PM
smitty

I'll be reading the labels closely from now on. Its frightening reading some of the ingredients of foods in my cupboard. I guess we're all taken in by the 'tradtional' images and pretty pictures on the labels.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Chris Pakett

18 July 2008, 11:51PM
Chris Pakett

I heard recently on Radio 4, {I can't remember the gentleman's name. "Don't eat anything that your Granny wouldn't recognize, or something with more than five ingredients". Not bad advice I think.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:
Siw

19 July 2008, 5:25PM
Siw

I agree, mass produced food is pumped full of unecessary ingredients, unecessary to us that is, not however to the manufacturers. there are however a few artisan producers throughout the country, one of the best known countrywide artisan producer is the Country Market, found in most towns and some villages, otherwise known as the WI cakes, savouries and preserves. Traditional food, homebaked with care and exceptional taste. Find your nearest at http://www.country-markets.co.uk/. Country Markets are a co-operative of local producers (mainly housewives) throughout the UK well worth the visit.

Flag as inappropriate

Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Your name: Reason:

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons to sign up:

You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.
You can add your own recipes to this site for others to try; plus, rate and make comments on recipes, and share your views on our blog.
You can sign up for our weekly newsletter (sent out on Wednesdays) - it's packed with recipes, special offers and competitions.

Search Good Food

Keywords

Refine your recipe search

Search filter options

BBC Good Food

Primary Navigation

Good Food Blog