A Sweet History of Nutella
Fuel your day with a delicious spread that is part of a complete breakfast. With many essential ingredients for maintaining a healthy diet, why would two mothers from California file a lawsuit against this breakfast spread (7)? The breakfast spread they have been feeding their children, although seemingly beneficial, has the nutritional values of a candy bar. However, Nutella continues to contribute to Ferrero family’s net-worth of over $26 billion (10).
To discover how Nutella came to be, we have to go back 13.83 billion years to the Big Bang. It all started with the theory that an explosion of an extremely dense singularity, created the raw material for everything (6). This theory is based on logic, but there is more evidence to support this theory every day. After the Big Bang, the universe was rapidly expanding with time as matter and energy began to separate (6). However, matter was only composed of protons and neutrons in this stage of the game. When temperatures fell low enough, protons were able to link up with electrons to form atoms such as hydrogen and helium (4). From dying stars we received other atoms of higher mass, such as carbon and oxygen, from the fusion of atoms in high temperatures. Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen provide the basic molecular structure for hazelnuts, but where would they grow?
Earth was formed 4.8 billion years ago (3) . It became the home for hazelnuts because it had an atmosphere and environment which allowed for life to prosper in later years. Earth’s surface was once composed of a single landmass, known as Pangaea (1).Over time it was broken up into seven different plates which were free to move as a result of movements in the hot, semi-liquid magma beneath the...
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... oil or to feed livestock. Today , the shells are even used for mulching and landscaping (9).
It wasn’t until World War 2, however, that hazelnuts found their way into the bakery treat that is known today as Nutella. Due to a shortage of cocoa, Pietro Ferrero used hazelnuts in his bakery products because they were plentiful in his hometown in Italy (8). Nutella was first produced in block form, but was later turned into a spreadable paste. Nutella spread to America in 1983 and soon became popular worldwide.
Although some parents may only see the harmful consequences of Nutella, this iconic breakfast spread would not have made it with the slightest historical alteration. Similar to a thousand piece puzzle, everything has to fit into place in order to produce the final product, Nutella. The historical path that led to the creation of Nutella is astounding.
Jose Antonio Burciaga, in his essay “Tortillas”, leads us to believe that tortillas actually helped to make him who he is (507). I am not convinced that banana pudding helped to mold me into the man I am today, but it definitely plays a big role in many of the memories I have made throughout my life. As far as my family is concerned, banana pudding is more than a desert; it is a reminder of family gatherings, loved ones, and days gone by.
During the time frame of 1450-1750, the Columbian Exchange was at its height of power and influence. Many products were introduced from foreign lands, like animals such as cattle, chickens, and horse, and agriculture such as potatoes, bananas, and avocados. Diseases also became widespread and persisted to distant lands where it wreaked devastation upon the non-immunized people. One such influential product during this time period was the cacao, or more commonly known as chocolate. First discovered and used in the Americas, cacao beans quickly traveled to and became a popular treat in European lands. It was valuable in the New World and even used as a currency by the Aztecs. Only the rich and privileged were allowed to purchase the valuable item in the beginning. Cacao was even used in religious ceremonies by the native people. When it moved to Europe and other lands, it also created a lot of stir. The cacao plant had quite a large impact upon the Columbian Exchange.
Until 1996, the FDA received over 10,000 complaints from consumers against NutraSweet. This corresponds to 80% of all complaints on food additives, but the FDA does nothing to alert the public, which assumes that a product advertised as healthy as it should be safe. Not the first time the FDA approved a drug harmful.
I can remember rare occasions as a child when I would wake up for school and there would be pancakes, eggs and bacon on the table and orange juice or Sunny Delight to drink. These exciting occasions, however, were just that: rare. Most days I would bound down the stairs to the toaster loaded with Pop-Tarts. I would usually be disappointed that I couldn't devour a wholesome breakfast, but I later came to understand the convenience of the Pop-Tart. My parents could put pastries in the toaster and continue to get ready for their day without having to worry about too much clean-up. It was during these early days of my education that I really found a love for the sugary, fruit-filled pastries.
including wild strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. The roots of cattail plants and water lilies were eaten. Persimmons, cranberries, and wild plums were also eaten. Nuts such as walnuts, butternut, hickory nuts and chestnuts were gathered in early fall. Oak trees supplied many acorns, but acorns had a bitter taste. Lenape women discovered that they could remove the bitter taste by roasting the acorns or by crushing these nuts in a wooden mortar and rinsing them in hot water. Leached acorns were cooked into a porridge, or pounded into flour to make bread. Cooking oil was made from nuts by crushing and cooking them in boiling water. The nut oil floated to the top of the water where it was scooped out with spoons made from turtle shells or clam shells. The nut oil was stored in bottles or clay pots until
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the tropical tree, Theobroma cacao. Theobroma is the Greek term for 'food of the gods.' In Aztec society chocolate was a food of the gods, reserved for priests, warriors and nobility. The Aztecs used cacao beans to make a hot, frothy and bitter beverage called chocolatl. Chocolatl was a sacred concoction that was associated with fertility and wisdom. It was also thought to have stimulating and restorative properties. The bitter drink was first introduced to Europe in 1528. However, it was not until 1876 that milk, cocoa powder and cocoa butter were combined to form what we now know as chocolate (1).
University of North Carolina, 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/1866> Coe, Sophie D., and Michael D. Coe. The True History of Chocolate.
Nutritionism and Today’s Diet Nutritionism is the ideology that the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other components. In the book, “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan, he critiques scientists and government recommendations about their nutritional advice. Pollan presents a strong case pointing out the many flaws and problems that have risen over the years of following scientific studies and government related warnings on the proper amount of nutrients needed for a healthy diet. Pollan’s main point is introducing science into our food system has had more of a negative impact than a positive one, we should go back to eating more of a traditional diet. I believe food science has given us
The Pecan tree is a native tree to North America. When early European settlers traveled across the sea to settle in the New World, they found pecan trees located in numerous places in this new land. Since then, the pecan tree has become one of the most important orchard species in terms of acreage. Indians began using pecans almost 8000 years ago in what is now Texas. The first budded pecan trees were produced in Louisiana in the mid-1800s and orchards have been established throughout the Southern states. The first recorded shipment of pecans to England was documented in 1761, by Spanish and European explorers (Anderson and Crocker, 2004). In 1917, a commercial shipment of pecans came out of Georgia and since then, Georgia has been the leading producer of pecans. Although Georgia is the leading producer, in some years collections of pecans from wild trees in Oklahoma and Texas surpass the production in Georgia.
(Beckett S.t, 2008) Christopher Columbus from his journey to the Aztec realm brought back some cocoa beans to Europe as an investment, however it was just after the Spaniards vanquished Mexico that Don Cortez acquainted the beverage with Spain (1520s). Here is the place sugar was added to beat a portion of the severe, brutal flavours, yet however the beverage remained very nearly obscure to whatever is left of Europe for almost a hundred years, until it got to Italy in 1606 and France in 1657. It was exceptionally costly and, being a beverage for the upper rich and compelling class, and its spread was regularly through associations between effective families, "for instance, the Spanish princess Anna of Austria
Brand recognition: NutraSweet invested heavily in building their U.S. brand with the introduction of a “branded ingredient” campaign, which required an extensive advertising investment ($30M annually) and resulted in 98% brand recognition.
The recipe was named the Toll House Cookie. One day Nestlé was going over their
Indeed, many people have had jelly beans but few know of the process in which they are produced. Frist, it is necessary to understand what jelly beans are; jelly beans contain a je...
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
Did you know that a healthy breakfast is essential to your body? It is important that you take a healthy breakfast every morning. You will realize that most people have changed their lifestyles. Most of them tend to eat fast food for breakfast. These foods usually contain saturated fats. It is important that you avoid taking these foods for breakfast as they can result in weight