The End of Craving: Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating Well

by Mark Schatzker

Names such as Methocel, Beta-Trim, or Lycadex sound painfully corporate and do little to arouse the palate. These are the industry brand names, the cheesy monikers for which the creators of processed food have a peculiar affinity. You’ll never find one on an ingredient panel. Simplesse goes by “milk protein” or “whey protein concentrate,” which makes it sound as if it came from a farm. According to its brochure, Genutine “can help you create a range of gelatin-like textures for desserts, confectionery and dairy systems,” while Genugel “is used to create rheological profiles ranging from free-flowing liquids to thixotropic liquid gels and self-supporting solid gels with a wide range of textures, setting temperatures and melting temperatures.” But you know them, if you know them at all, as “carrageenan.” One of Creamfibre 7000’s many attributes is its “clean label.” It shows up on the ingredient panel using an absurd but technically correct alias: “citrus fiber,” which sounds not only healthy but as if it might prevent bowel cancer.