Cheese that isn’t Cheese?

I don’t usually put more general blogs on my website but I’ve brought this over from myspace because I think it’s important.

Have you ever heard of Analogue Cheese?

No, I hadn’t either until I happened to see a mention of it on television last week. Analogue Cheese is cheese that isn’t cheese! You can read more on it here in this wiki reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_analogue but honestly, this makes it sound more palatable than it is. In the programme I saw, they made some up in its raw state and it looked like baby sick to me. According to the presenter, it didn’t taste much better either.

It’s actually fats, emulsifiers and powdered milk and if you’ve ever eaten a supermarket pizza or ready-meal the chances are you’ve consumed some. I don’t buy ready meals and we don’t eat much pizza; when we do I sometimes make my own but I’ve vowed never to eat a cheap pizza again. Yuck!

I’ve since been informed that there was a huge scandal in Germany over Analogue Cheese and it’s already been banned. Pity the UK never acts as quickly regarding such cases. The law shouldn’t allow manufacturers to call this cheese. It’s a cheese substitute, which comes in lots of flavours including Monterey Jack so even looking at the ‘type’ doesn’t help.

We try to eat healthy, eat very little processed food and buy fresh produce but even I had no idea cheese existed that wasn’t actually cheese! As someone who loves cheese I’m particularly disgusted, even more than I am by the thought that someone invented things like cheese string, and cheese sprays, and advertise these as a way to feed children.

The fact is we’re complaining about the rise in obesity in the UK and an increase in certain forms of cancer but are consumers really entirely to blame? Yes, overeating and lack of exercise is a problem but I find it horrifying to think that we’re becoming a nation that no longer seems to know how to cook. I was talking about this with a friend the other week — a friend who happens to live on other people cooking for her or ready meals. I’m sorry but taking something out of a packet and putting it in the oven is not cooking: it’s heating something up. Yet I’m more horrified by the thought that many ready-meals contain a large proportion of chemicals and most of us don’t even know they are present.

Is the consumer really to blame for eating food that is advertised as cheap, convenient, and possibly misleading as to its contents and health value? I think not. I don’t even think they’re entirely to blame for not knowing how to cook. Many parents no longer teach their children to cook because they weren’t taught themselves and many cookery or (as we used to call it at school) Home Economics classes are under threat or have even disappeared altogether owing to budget cuts. The government wants our nation to get fit and be healthy yet typically, they’ve created part of the problem. You want people to understand nutrition then put the subject in our schools and show children the consequences of what they eat.

One other thing my friend and I agreed on is the way we eat. Most specialists will say that overweight people eat as a substitute for something missing in their lives and while I believe that comfort eating does exist and is a very real problem for some, I also grit my teeth and think a few choice words when I hear this.

The fact is, food is a pleasure and as a race, humans love indulging in pleasure. Food tastes good! It’s that simple and I think if we could eat what we like without consequences a large proportion of the world’s population would indulge.

Yet, it’s also ‘how’ we eat, not what we eat that I believe has consequences. Did you know that you should chew each mouthful 32 times? Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds and it’s a rather antiquated view but there is some sense in this. The fact is in today’s society we tend to gulp our food. Some people manage to lose weight just by eating more slowly and have said they felt more satisfied.

Why? Think about it. You’re gulping your food and your stomach doesn’t have time to process that it’s full until it’s ‘very’ full. Over time, your stomach stretches and wants more food. Your stomach is actually only about the size of an apple. It doesn’t need huge portions at any one sitting. In my grandmother’s day, they actually had four meals in a day: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Supper but I don’t remember snacking because food was spread out so that we never ate a huge portion — most people couldn’t afford to — yet never went hungry.

Gulp food and you’re asking your body to try to break down whole chunks of matter. The eating process is supposed to begin in the mouth. The idea isn’t to chew to get food down your throat but to break down the food in the first instance so that the stomach can then work on it. Swallow unchewed lumps and you’re asking your digestive system to work overtime. I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t a strain on the body or that we fail to digest certain nutrients as a result.

Gulp food and what happens is we finish the plate, think “Ooooh that was nice. I’ll have some more of that…” when what we should have done is slow down and enjoyed what was already on the plate for longer. Some people eat so quickly they cannot possibly taste half of what they eat.

I’m just as guilty. I do my best but even I eat things I shouldn’t. I’m in a hurry and eat on the run. I don’t do enough exercise, but I’m trying to change that and I’m equally determined to slow down and chew my food…I just won’t be chewing any more store bought pizza and fake cheese.