Mixes Revealed: Brownies...
There are dozens of options at the grocery store, but the average brownie mix contains several unnecessary “ingredients.” Why not just make your own?
Take, for example, Betty Croker’s Supreme Brownie Mix, which boasts a slew of entries:
Sugar, Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Corn Starch, Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Artificial Flavor, Gellan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Nonfat Milk. Dark Chocolate Syrup: Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Potassium Sorbate, a Preservative, Salt, Mono & Diglycerides, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 60, Vanillin an Artificial Flavor
Artificial flavor? Are you kidding me? The base of a brownie is cocoa powder, flower, eggs and a “fat” - in which case I use butter (not oil). Of course you need baking powder and salt, but that’s the guts of a non-nut brownie, and I’m not sure why people will pay $2 for a box of mix whereas you still have to add the fat (oil) and eggs yourself.
Now, there are varations of brownies. Some recipes call for a dah of vanilla while others call for other flavorings, none of which should be artificial.
My point is this… Brownies are a very simple food. The ingredients are simple, and natural. I’m not sure why one would spend $2 + some of their own ingredients, when making your own is less expensive and, although brownies themselves are not “healthy”, ones made from scratch are certainly better than ones boasting artificial flavoring and other ingredients added to increase shelf life.
And before anyone exclaims, “But those chocolate syrup pouches make it so moist!”, I’ll give you a trick. Butter will make your brownies moister, and so will the oven, IF you don’t overbake them. The only “danger” ingredient in standard brownies are eggs, and they need to reach 160 degrees to be considered safe to eat. So if you often overbake brownies and other goodies because you’re concerned, heck, get yourself a digital probe thermometer and and check the temperature. Just save that punctured portion for you to eat.
One of my favorite brownie recipes is offered up at AllRecipes.com - the instructions are for gift-giving (and if you opt to gift them, the recipients will beg you for the recipe or more jars).
Posted
Monday, February 12th, 2007 at 12:11 pm EST
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