On May 14, 9:13*am, Food SnobŪ > wrote:
> On May 13, 9:32*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 13 May 2010 16:36:27 -0700 (PDT),
> > wrote:
>
> > > There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> > > breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> > > water, and calling it broth?
>
> > "Broth" means it contains animal juice. *That's slightly better than
> > your typical water + salt + trisodium phosphate. *
>
> You mean sodium triphosphate. not trisodium phosphate. *Trisodium
> phosphate is that stuff you wash painted walls with, the stuff that
> will only dissolve in fairly hot water. *It also works great for
> stripping off built up floor finish, especially when mixed with
> ammonia. *I wouldn't eat it.
Yiles! What a molecule!! My basic chemistry knowlege at first caused
me to think (now I know Na has a valence of +1, how on earth do they
get three phosphate ions of valence -1 to bond to them?), but thanks
to Google and Wikipedia, I now know:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_triphosphate
"Food Applications
It is common in food production as E number E451[citation needed]. In
foods, STPP is used to retain moisture. Many governments regulate the
quantities allowed in foods, as it can substantially increase the sale
weight of seafood in particular.
Many people find STPP [sodium triphosphate] to add an unpleasant taste
to food, particularly delicate seafood. The taste tends to be slightly
sharp and soapy and is particularly detectable in mild-tasting foods.
The increased water holding properties can also lead to a more diluted
flavor in the food."
None for me, thanks!
John Kuthe...