Leila Choudhry Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 A colleague of mine said that they were left severely bloated after cooking a chicken chow mein meal from a sauce packet. Their usual brand was out of stock and so they just picked up another. Compleyely unaware that this would happen they tried another brand soon after and was left with no symptoms. They are now trying to narrow down the culprit. Results back from AI suggested the following: "Comparing the two lists, the sauce that caused you severe bloating includes ingredients like Barley Malt Extract, Defatted Soya Bean Flakes, and Roasted Wheat in the Dark Soy Sauce component. It also contains Red Chilli Paste with an additional acidity regulator (Acetic Acid) and yeast extract paste." The white list: Water, Sugar, Soy Sauce (8%, Water, Soybeans, Salt, Wheat Flour), Garlic, Modified Starch, Sesame Oil, Sunflower Oil, Spring Onions (1%), Ginger (1%), Yeast Extract, Chilli, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Colour (Plain Caramel), Flavouring The black list: Water, Sugar, Dark Soy Sauce (7%) [Water, Salt, Sugar, Barley Malt Extract, Defatted Soya Bean Flakes, Colour (Plain Caramel), Yeast Extract, Spirit Vinegar, Roasted Wheat], Ginger Purée (4.5%), Spring Onion (4.5%), Modified Maize Starch, Garlic Purée (3.5%), Onion Purée (3%), Toasted Sesame Oil, Red Chilli Paste (1%) [Red Chilli Peppers, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)], Colour (Plain Caramel), Yeast Extract Paste, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid) They say that they can eat French stick baton bread and have soya sauce withouht issues. Any ideas ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exchemist Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 1 hour ago, Leila Choudhry said: A colleague of mine said that they were left severely bloated after cooking a chicken chow mein meal from a sauce packet. Their usual brand was out of stock and so they just picked up another. Compleyely unaware that this would happen they tried another brand soon after and was left with no symptoms. They are now trying to narrow down the culprit. Results back from AI suggested the following: "Comparing the two lists, the sauce that caused you severe bloating includes ingredients like Barley Malt Extract, Defatted Soya Bean Flakes, and Roasted Wheat in the Dark Soy Sauce component. It also contains Red Chilli Paste with an additional acidity regulator (Acetic Acid) and yeast extract paste." The white list: Water, Sugar, Soy Sauce (8%, Water, Soybeans, Salt, Wheat Flour), Garlic, Modified Starch, Sesame Oil, Sunflower Oil, Spring Onions (1%), Ginger (1%), Yeast Extract, Chilli, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Colour (Plain Caramel), Flavouring The black list: Water, Sugar, Dark Soy Sauce (7%) [Water, Salt, Sugar, Barley Malt Extract, Defatted Soya Bean Flakes, Colour (Plain Caramel), Yeast Extract, Spirit Vinegar, Roasted Wheat], Ginger Purée (4.5%), Spring Onion (4.5%), Modified Maize Starch, Garlic Purée (3.5%), Onion Purée (3%), Toasted Sesame Oil, Red Chilli Paste (1%) [Red Chilli Peppers, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)], Colour (Plain Caramel), Yeast Extract Paste, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid) They say that they can eat French stick baton bread and have soya sauce withouht issues. Any ideas ? If you buy these industrial concoctions you are asking for it. Why use 5 ingredients when 25 will do, eh? Worse than a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe.😄 But I don't know what ingredients cause bloating in susceptible individuals. That's more of a medical than a chemistry question, it seems to me. Someone else here may be able to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVat Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Black list not only had four times as much spring onion, but also additional onion puree that the white list lacked. That's your cuprit. Both high in fructans, which are fermentable oligosaccharides that are intensely gas producing. Severe bloat is just another way to say "I need to stroll around for a while, farting nonstop." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leila Choudhry Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 I believe they used the term "bed stricken" i.e. they had to go to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Sensitivity to onions is common. Similar issues exist for corn, potatoes, cinnamon, avocado, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 hours ago, exchemist said: If you buy these industrial concoctions you are asking for it. Why use 5 ingredients when 25 will do, eh? Worse than a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe.😄 I mean, looking at the ingredients it does not seem too bad. The second one might have different design principles as they used a lot of coloring, potentially suggesting that the ingredients were not of great quality (though this is probably true for all sauce packages). The use of caramel for color is generally not harmful, but should not be found in decent quality soy sauce. It darkens during the fermentation process naturally, so adding colour just makes it appear to have aged longer, without providing the flavour. It is also possible that the production process bleaches out the colour and they restain it, but chances are that this will impact taste, too. But for bloating onion is a good first assumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leila Choudhry Posted January 9 Author Share Posted January 9 Thank you all for your help. They are aware that onions negatively affect them, but missed the ingredient on the labelling. For thousands of years medics of all hues ascribed stomach ulcers to stress, but it just wasn't true. They had a protective layer that prevented the stomach's acid from dealing with them. An Australian came along and proved this and demistified the matter, once and for all. I am sure something similar will happen with so called allergies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exchemist Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 20 hours ago, CharonY said: I mean, looking at the ingredients it does not seem too bad. The second one might have different design principles as they used a lot of coloring, potentially suggesting that the ingredients were not of great quality (though this is probably true for all sauce packages). The use of caramel for color is generally not harmful, but should not be found in decent quality soy sauce. It darkens during the fermentation process naturally, so adding colour just makes it appear to have aged longer, without providing the flavour. It is also possible that the production process bleaches out the colour and they restain it, but chances are that this will impact taste, too. But for bloating onion is a good first assumption. Maybe you are right, I was a bit thrown by the enumeration of the ingredients in the soy sauce. I don’t know what modified maize starch is for - a thickener perhaps? - nor what function yeast extract paste serves. But aside from these and some of the soy sauce components, the other ingredients seem broadly recognisable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 2 minutes ago, exchemist said: maize starch is for - a thickener perhaps That's my interpretation. It's corn starch, like what we use in slurries to thicken sauces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exchemist Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 Just now, iNow said: That's my interpretation. It's corn starch, like what we use in slurries to thicken sauces What we call cornflour, then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 We call it corn flour https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cornstarch-vs-corn-flour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 37 minutes ago, iNow said: That's my interpretation. It's corn starch, like what we use in slurries to thicken sauces Also, yeast extract is typically used for flavoring. It is a cheap source for umami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNow Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 6 hours ago, CharonY said: Also, yeast extract is typically used for flavoring. It is a cheap source for umami. Good to know. Next time I lack mushrooms for my dish I’ll add some bread starter 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Didn't know we had amateur 'chefs' here. Do we need a Recipe forum ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Cooking is just applied biochemistry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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