I can still remember Milkmaid (Nestle) sweetened condensed milk which I had as a child. More recently, it was MP Tony Pua who pointed out that it is difficult to find sweetened condensed milk because what we see in the supermarkets are mostly described as creamers, made from vegetable oil, instead of milk. Apparently, it had something to do with classification, pricing, supply and/or costs. Non-dairy products can keep longer than dairy, and if in powdered form, expiry dates can be further extended.
Just a few weeks ago, my daughter Cheng posted a picture of Dutch Lady sweetened condensed milk which she found to her delight for making 'teh tarik', thanks to some Asian stores in Maastricht. I mentioned (to her surprise) that she is lucky to have condensed milk there instead of creamers which we are likely to get here.
I used to assume Carnation as synonymous with evaporated milk, until closer scrutiny reveals it as 'evaporated creamer'! Now, Ideal milk is the one to go for if one is looking for a dairy-based one.
There is a continual debate on the advantages and disadvantages of milk and other products. Creamer has its strong critics on health grounds, like this article being forwarded to me:
Link
Just a few weeks ago, my daughter Cheng posted a picture of Dutch Lady sweetened condensed milk which she found to her delight for making 'teh tarik', thanks to some Asian stores in Maastricht. I mentioned (to her surprise) that she is lucky to have condensed milk there instead of creamers which we are likely to get here.
I used to assume Carnation as synonymous with evaporated milk, until closer scrutiny reveals it as 'evaporated creamer'! Now, Ideal milk is the one to go for if one is looking for a dairy-based one.
There is a continual debate on the advantages and disadvantages of milk and other products. Creamer has its strong critics on health grounds, like this article being forwarded to me:
Subject: Powdered coffee 'creamer' isn't food, it's processed chemicals
This is the reason You should avoid 3-in-1 coffee/tea, etc
Every day, millions of Americans add powdered coffee "creamer" products to their morning cups of coffee because they falsely believe that these substances are somehow healthier than real cream. But little do they know that most coffee creamer products contain no actual cream, or food for that matter, as they are really nothing more than a crafty blend of toxic chemicals.When powdered coffee creamers first came onto the scene back in the 1950s, they actually contained real dehydrated cream and sugar, which made them a convenient, non-perishable source of cream for coffee. Over time, however, manufacturers began to phase out the cream, and replace it with things like processed vegetables oils, stabilizers, chemical sweeteners, and other additives that were less expensive and that more easily dissolved in coffee. Today, the average canister of so-called "creamer" substitute contains not a trace of actual food, at least not food in the technical sense of the word. Take the Coffee-Mate brand of coffee creamer, for instance. The original powder flavor contains corn syrup solids, hydrogenated vegetable oils, and a handful of stabilizing, emulsifying, and flavoring chemicals (http://www.coffee-mate.com/).Not only is there no "cream" of any kind in Coffee-Mate's Original Powder, but there are also no natural food ingredients whatsoever. This is why some countries actually require that powdered coffee additives be called "whiteners" rather than "creamers," since they do not actually contain any real cream.Corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils are highly-toxic 'non-foods'Though both are derived from real food, corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils are not technically foods themselves. To produce corn syrup solids, corn kernels are first transformed into corn starch, which is then chemically treated with hydrochloric acid, a highly-corrosive, industrial chemical solution that is also used to make plastic materials. The resulting liquid goo is then processed again and dried to form dried crystals -- delicious, eh? And hydrogenated oils are produced using a similar chemical process that involves subjecting already heated, pressurized, and highly processed oils to various chemical catalysts and metals such as nickel and platinum that change its density and molecular structure. The final product is the definition of a trans-fat, which are linked to causing heart disease and death (http://www.naturalnews.com/027445_fat_fats_trans.html).Then, there are ingredients like sodium caseinate, a milk derivative; mono- and diglycerides; sodium aluminosilicate; and artificial flavor, all of which are non-foods as well. Sodium caseinate, for instance, is derived from a milk protein known as casein using a chemical extrusion process. The chemical alteration is so significant that the U.S.Food and Drug Administration(FDA) does not even consider the final product to be a dairy product.And sodium aluminosilicate is an anti-caking, flow agent chemical additive produced specifically for use in processed food items, laundry detergents, and other dry, powdered products.Like its name implies, sodium aluminosilicate contains toxic aluminum, which is linked to organ and tissue damage, bone disorders, gastrointestinal problems, Alzheimer's disease, cell damage, and other problems (http://www.angelfire.com/).If dairy is problematic for your dietary needs but you still want to add creamer to your coffee, it is important to always read ingredient labels and carefully avoid all powdered creamer products that contain artificial ingredients.Some great non-dairy alternatives to conventional creamer products include liquid coconut creamers like those made bySoDelicious(http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/), for instance.Fresh coconut cream or milk (http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/) and homemade almond milk (http://georgiapellegrini.com/2012/03/07/recipes/homemade-almond-milk/), are several other useful options as well.Sources for this article include:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-dairy_creamer |
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