Anyone Ever Read The Ingredients On A Store Bought Cake?
Decorating By berryblondeboys Updated 23 Jan 2007 , 5:46pm by angelas2babies
I was at the store earlier and decided I was going to pick up one of their pieces of presliced/packaged cakes. I wanted to see - how is the texture of the buttercream? How thick? What's the cake like... How different TRULY is it from mine?
Well, now I want to run an ad like Breyers did! "you can pronounce everything in mine. Can you pronounce everything in the store bought cake? Do you want to eat something you can't pronounce?"
The list of ingredients is daunting and that's taking into account that they have to list what's in enriched flour... So, if I take out all the "in paranthesis" explanation of ingredients, these are the things in their cakes and icing (and this was pure white - no color) and I'm listing it as written, so Idon't know where cake ends and buttercream begins:
Sugar, Enriched Wheat flour bleached, nonfat milk, whole eggs, egg whites, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, invert sugar, propylene glycol mono and diesters, food starch - modified, leavening (basically baking powder), dextrose, mono and diglycerides, salt, soy lecithen, water, polysorbate 60, sodium propionate (as preservative), xanthum gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, guar gum, cellulose gum, artificial flavor, corn starch propylene glycol, sugar, vegetable oil, mono and diglycerides, corn starch, natural and artificial flavor, salt guar gum, polysorbate 60, artificial color, water, cream, salt, sugar, vegetable shortening, water, butter, wheat starch, mono diglycerides, salt, artificial flavor, polysorbate 60.
Here's my ingredient for yellow cake and plain buttercream: unbleached wheat flour, sugar, organic whole milk, organic cage free eggs, organic unsalted butter, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt. Buttercream: unsalted organic butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, organic whole milk.
And what is polysorbate 60? An oily liquid (chemically made, of course)
Mono and diglycerides? Simply hydrogenated oils
Guar gum - a natural thickening agent
xanthum gum - used to make liquids more viscous and stable
stearoyl lactylate - an emulsifier (to act like an egg yolk in making things stick together, basically)
Propylene glycol - oily liquid used with food coloring as an emulsifier
cellulose gum - thickener and water gellent
soy lecithin - an anti spattering agent? Surficant? huh?
invert sugar - mixture of glucose and fructose syrup
Artificial flavor??? - who knows!
So... why do they need this stuff in theirs and I don't in mine? is it necessary?????
ETA: and how does it compare? Well, if you are wanting to simply have something sweet, then it's sweet... but don't really taste anything except sweetness, you know? Creamy buttercream... fluffy cake... OK. Buttercream is WAY too thick on top and in the middle... cake is just that... cake and blah. But I think people are SOOOOO used to this that they don't even REALIZE what MORE cake can be!
And why am I doing this now?? little one is sick and I have a free arm! LOL
Melissa
I'm with you. When I read ingredients I'm amazed. I guess all that stuff lengthens the shelf life, but it just doesn't sound right. And I personally, have never been able to stand box cake mixes or store bought (like Wal-Mart, not a bakery). Maybe I'm spoiled.....
It's amazing! First they want to imulsify the mixture, then thicken it, then make sure they add that surficant. Can't have it to splattering all over. I'm surprised they don't add in a digestive aid too. 
Maybe some of those ingredients are preservatives. Either way, there are hundreds of other foods that we eat daily that have unidentifiable ingredients. It's cake. It's not supposed to be healthy for you-it's a sweet treat.
That said, I try to avoid the ingredient list on anything from the grocery store bakery. I try and walk by without getting inticed by the doughnuts, and I know there is nothing good in those!! I am weak. 
Maybe some of those ingredients are preservatives. Either way, there are hundreds of other foods that we eat daily that have unidentifiable ingredients. It's cake. It's not supposed to be healthy for you-it's a sweet treat.
I disagree - for those of us who make most things from scratch and don't buy ready made foods, we don't eat hundreds of these ingredients.... Bread is probably the exception for me and even that I buy as "natural" as can be.
And there's a difference between unhealthy as it has too much fat calories and unhealthy because it's full of unnatural ingredients. You can't lump all of that together. That's like saying eating one donut or a dozen donuts is the same "badness" for the body.
Melissa
I agree most of the ingredients in store cake and mixes are preservatives, if you put a slice of "homemade" cake and store cake you will see how quickly the homemade cake goes stale.
I know this because I used to make muffins for a dinner...
now...muffins are a very rough dough and when you make them they are under the "quick bread" categories...
they don't last more than one day to the next, they get hard.
I lost that account because he was used to "commercial" muffins...more like cake! and they stay soft like a week!!! YUCK
no matter WHAT I tried to tell this man he was not having it...he said he wasn't making any profit on muffins that had no shelf life.
He didn't take into account that if they were better he could sell more..
go figure!
Actually, I bake most of my cakes from scratch. I cook nearly every day for my famiy and am very conscious about what I serve at every meal since I love to cook and use fresh ingredients. So I guess I'm in the "for those of us that make most things from scratch" crowd. 
My point is that most people (even the ones that "make most things from scratch") will occassionaly eat out or indulge in something that has preservatives in it. Food sits too long on the shelves, especially bread. If I make any bread at home, I can personally tell you that it doesn't last very long and still taste fresh.
All I am trying to say is that it's not such a shocking list of ingredients. Especially for cake.
Angie
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