Labeling and Labeling Guidelines-May 2002

The Wild and Wacky World of Cheffy Boy
Somewhere in the hills of South Carolina
May 2002
Labeling and Labeling Guidelines

Hello World
Have too much to discuss, so not much rambling...Thank everyone for 
the prayers and concerns over Jamie. We are ecstatic to announce that 
she is officially in remission of her metastatic cancer of her liver. 
Her markers went from 178 in December to 8.5 as of the last Dr. 
visit...thanks a million for all the prayers, cards and email's.

New Websites
Thanks to my friend Jamie for publishing a bunch of my writings, 
including some of the old newsletters on Cheffy's newest website. 
This is a mega site with too much information to mention, but is 
definitely worth the visit. All of Jamie's websites link to mine, so 
please pop in and give us a visit. http://cheffy.spike-jamie.com



Labeling Laws
I know how confusing reading labels can really be unless you know 
what you are looking for and understand some of the definitions set 
forth by the Food and Drug Administration.. 

Most legislation regulating food and drug manufacture has been passed 
in the 20th century, though in ancient Greece and Rome there were 
laws forbidding the adulteration of, or the addition of impurities 
to, wine or butter. In the 19th century Great Britain took the lead 
in protecting the public. The Sale of Foods and Drugs Act of 1875 
prevented the addition of harmful ingredients, such as poisonous 
chemicals and dyes, to foods and drugs. The act also allowed medical 
officers to inspect foods. 

In the United States effective federal legislation was about a 
generation behind the British law of 1875. Some weak laws had been 
passed by Congress in the 19th century, but the publication in 1906 
of Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle', a sordid but realistic novel about 
the meat-packing industry in Chicago, caused a public sensation and 
an outcry for workable legislation. The result was the Pure Food and 
Drug Act of 1906. Mr. Sinclair's classic helped shape the concern 
about the safety of food and the food industry as a whole.

The Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Chemistry was charged with 
enforcing the law until 1928, when Congress authorized the 
establishment of the Food, Drug and Insecticide Administration 
(renamed the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] in 1931) for that 
enforcement. Unfortunately the 1906 act was never successfully 
enforced, mostly because of insufficient policing and the imposition 
of low fines.
To remedy the situation, Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, 
and Cosmetic Act in 1938. It effectively prohibits producing and 
marketing foods and beverages dangerous to health and prevents the 
use of insanitary, or contaminated, containers. You can find out more 
of what I have written about the FDA at: 
http://www.geocities.com/chefmikesworld/flourandtheFDA.html

Some pointers about reading labels.

"Free". This means that a food or foodstuff contain no or a very 
minute amount of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar 
and/or calories.
"Calorie Free". Less than 5 calories per recommended serving size.
"Fat Free". Less than 0.5 grams of fat per recommending serving.

Low.
Low-saturated fat": 1 gram or less per serving. 
"Low-fat": 3 grams or less per serving. 
"Low-cholesterol": 20 milligrams or less and 2 grams or less 
saturated fat per serving. 


"Low-sodium": 140 milligrams or less per serving. 
"Low calorie": 40 calories or less per serving. Other words that 
mean "low," include: "little," "few," and "low source of."


Lean and extra lean. These claims can be used to describe the 
saturated fat and fat content of meat, poultry, seafood and game 
meats.
"Lean": less than 10 grams of fat and 4.5 grams or less of saturated 
fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving. 
"Extra lean": less than 5 grams of fat, less than 2 grams saturated 
fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving. 

Tips.
When looking at any list of ingredients, remember that ingredients 
are in order of their relative weight. The first ingredient is the 
one that makes up the greatest part of the product. The last 
ingredient on the list represents the smallest part of the product, 
and the others represent amounts in between.
Anything that has the word sodium is a derivitive of sodium naturally.
Anything ending in -ose contains sugar


How about some recipes Cheffy!!!!

To start off with, here is one of my favorite pesto recipes, a little 
bit off the norm as far as pesto goes, but is really yummy. My 
favorite thing to do with this Hazelnut-Spinach Pesto is to toss it 
with Farfalle (bowtie pasta) spinach, artichokes and roasted red 
peppers...mmmm...if you try it, let me know what you have done with 
it. A friend of mine made a lasagna using this pesto that was to die 
for, she made a vegetarian lasagna with pesto as a base for the cream 
sauce she made to use instead of using tomato sauce...mmmm

Hazelnut Pesto Sauce
1 bunch of spinach
2 large bunches of basil
2-3 cloves of garlic (or 800 if you ask Cheffy...LOL)
1/2 cup of Hazelnuts
2 ounces of Hazelnut Oil
2 ounces of Olive Oil
a little lemon juice
1/2 cup of water

1. Wash and stem the spinach and basil then roughly chop. Add 
spinach, basil, garlic, hazelnut oil, olive oil, and lemon juice to 
food processor or blender. 

2. Blend/process ingredients while gradually adding water until a 
smooth puree. 

**chefmike note** The water is not necessary for this sauce, you can 
use the full one cup of oil, but using the water breaks the amount of 
fat you are going to put into your dish. You may also substitute the 
water with a juice or a good stock.

Caponata

1/2 cup olive oil 
2 eggplants, cut into 1" cubes (skins removed)
1 onion, diced 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
4 ribs celery, sliced 
1 green pepper, diced 
15 oz. can chopped tornatoes 
1 cup sliced green olives with pimientos 
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives 
2 T. capers 
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar 
1 T. dried oregano 
2 T. sugar 
1 tsp. salt 
1/2 tsp. black pepper 
Method:
In medium saucepan (4 quarts), heat olive oil. Add the eggplant and 
saute until they are soft, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add 
onion. Cook another minute. Add garlic, celery and green pepper. Cook 
on low heat for another 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, olives, 
capers,vinegars, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover; simmer for 
20 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Cool. Serve at room temperature with 
sliced baguettes. 

**chefmike notes** This is awesome served hot on pasta, as a sauce 
for grilled fish or chicken, stuffed inside a flour tortilla, tossed 
in with some rice pilaf among a million other 
things...chungachungabam baby....


Divine Ecstacy

I had gotten a couple requests for some candies. I do not really know 
a lot about making candy (probably cuz it hurts when you try to stick 
you finger in sugar thats 250 plus degrees to taste it, ha ha). This 
recipe is from an old pastry chef friend of mine, whom I had written 
to ask her a couple questions. Thanks Beck, love ya baby....

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup white corn syrup
3/4 cup water
3 egg whites
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Method:
Combine sugar, syrup, and water in saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar. 
Bring to a boil, cover with a tight lid to wash down sugar crystals. 
Remove lid and without stirring, cook to a hardball stage (about 260 
degrees). 
While syrup is cooking, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Do not 
allow egg whites to stand long after beating. 
Remove syrup from heat. While continuing to beat whites, slowly pour 
hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites (this should take about 3-
5 minutes). Continue to beat candy, scraping sides of bowl 
occasionally. Beat just until candy starts to lose its shine. Test 
candy by dropping a spoonful onto a sheet of waxed paper. Candy 
should keep its mound and have soft peaks. Stir in chopped nuts, if 
desired. Quickly drop spoonfuls of candy on waxed paper. 
When cool, store candy in a single layer tightly covered container to 
mellow. 
Notes: 
**Becky note**
VARIATION: 
After beating egg whites, gradually beat in one package (3 oz.) dry 
gelatin powder. Cook syrup to a soft crack stage (about 270 degrees). 
Gelatin will give candy a light color and a slight fruity taste. 
**chefmike notes**
Due to the thick stiff nature of this candy a heavy-duty freestanding 
electric mixer is best. Lighter weight mixers do not always have the 
power necessary and may burn out (if using a hand mixer, after adding 
syrup remove beaters and continue beating process by hand). 
Sugar absorbs moisture. Trying to make this candy on a stormy or 
humid day may result in a limp sticky candy. 
Be careful sugar crystals are washed from sides of pan. Large sugar 
crystals may cause candy to go sugary. 
Allow egg whites to come to room temperature for greatest volume. 

Until Next time my friends
Well, that is all for this issue, hope you try something and as 
always please send your ideas, questions etc. to me directly, would 
love to hear from you...

Here's to hoping that peace and serenity find its way into your day 
today.

Peace, Hugs and Cookies,
cheffy