New sweetex
- Thread starter James
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Make real buttercream like a real baker. Shortening mixed with powdered sugar is not food by any definition or stretch of the imagination.
Profiting off of selling garbage to people is wrong on so many levels
Sweetheart, have you ever operated a multi million dollar wholesale bakery that delivers to facilities over 50 miles from its operation?
We are a reputable wholesale bakery in which all our clients receive an ingredient list for all products. Learn the word wholesale. Our customers are reselling our product which means they need a profit margin to work with.
You stick to making your 5 to 10 cakes a day and I’ll continue producing hundreds a day.
Our reputation is what sells our product, we have no sales people pushing our product, it’s all word of mouth.
Oh yeah, I wasn’t asking you or anyone their opinion on what I do or how I run my business. With that said, Anytime you want to compare product and skill you let me know!
Have any awards under your belt?
All the best
We are a reputable wholesale bakery in which all our clients receive an ingredient list for all products. Learn the word wholesale. Our customers are reselling our product which means they need a profit margin to work with.
You stick to making your 5 to 10 cakes a day and I’ll continue producing hundreds a day.
Our reputation is what sells our product, we have no sales people pushing our product, it’s all word of mouth.
Oh yeah, I wasn’t asking you or anyone their opinion on what I do or how I run my business. With that said, Anytime you want to compare product and skill you let me know!
Have any awards under your belt?
All the best
I've been paying attention to ingredients and product labels for some years now, as well as having been in different aspects of the retail industry for many years.
"Fat free" is nothing more than a gimmick to sell MORE of whatever it is they are selling.
The labels that I've looked at are 99% of the time only a 1% variant (or less) from the "regular" version or "full fat" version.
That is NOT a significant change to actually DO anything to the product. If anything, they add MORE chemicals to the product to "reduce the fat" in it, so depending on what "fat free" or "low fat" product it is, will actually be worse than just eating or using the standard/regular product.
"Fat free", "Low fat", "Organic", etc.... are ALL "buzz words" that actually mean NOTHING! In most cases, manufacturers only slap on these labels to regular/standard product and sell twice as much of the same thing.
Car manufacturers do it, furniture companies do it, clothing companies do it, shoe companies do it, ALL retail ALL across the board does this. They will market the SAME product under SEVERAL "types" and "varieties" when in fact it is ALL THE SAME EXACT THING. A big apple juice producer in the USA got sued several years ago, because it was found out that they were selling regular apple juice as "apple cider". All they did was slap a cider label on the bottle and sold twice as much of the same thing.
As a matter of fact, in the USA, the FDA says that companies can call a product ANYTHING they want, as long as it contains at least 5% of what it is they are selling the product as!!! That means that EVERYTHING you buy in the United States is grossly mislabeled and miscategorized, and grossly over exaggerated, especially when it comes to food products.
Yes, a lot of companies try to keep their products simplified, and as a result have simple labels......but they don't need to advertise EVERYTHING they put into their products......nor do they need to advertise WHAT they do to a product to make it "fat free", "low fat", "diet", "organic", etc... IF they do anything to it at all besides just slap a different label on it.
And you might work on that nasty attitude, since YOU willingly came onto a public forum asking for information.......which does NOT stipulate "no personal opinions". And as for what was stated, I agree..........if you are going to make buttercream, make the real thing. I would also suggest you do your research and find out if what you are buying is a company retail gimmick or the real thing. Even if it is the "real" thing, is it even enough of being "fat free" to even bother with, or what other things they added or did to it to warrant a "fat free" label.
"Fat free" is nothing more than a gimmick to sell MORE of whatever it is they are selling.
The labels that I've looked at are 99% of the time only a 1% variant (or less) from the "regular" version or "full fat" version.
That is NOT a significant change to actually DO anything to the product. If anything, they add MORE chemicals to the product to "reduce the fat" in it, so depending on what "fat free" or "low fat" product it is, will actually be worse than just eating or using the standard/regular product.
"Fat free", "Low fat", "Organic", etc.... are ALL "buzz words" that actually mean NOTHING! In most cases, manufacturers only slap on these labels to regular/standard product and sell twice as much of the same thing.
Car manufacturers do it, furniture companies do it, clothing companies do it, shoe companies do it, ALL retail ALL across the board does this. They will market the SAME product under SEVERAL "types" and "varieties" when in fact it is ALL THE SAME EXACT THING. A big apple juice producer in the USA got sued several years ago, because it was found out that they were selling regular apple juice as "apple cider". All they did was slap a cider label on the bottle and sold twice as much of the same thing.
As a matter of fact, in the USA, the FDA says that companies can call a product ANYTHING they want, as long as it contains at least 5% of what it is they are selling the product as!!! That means that EVERYTHING you buy in the United States is grossly mislabeled and miscategorized, and grossly over exaggerated, especially when it comes to food products.
Yes, a lot of companies try to keep their products simplified, and as a result have simple labels......but they don't need to advertise EVERYTHING they put into their products......nor do they need to advertise WHAT they do to a product to make it "fat free", "low fat", "diet", "organic", etc... IF they do anything to it at all besides just slap a different label on it.
And you might work on that nasty attitude, since YOU willingly came onto a public forum asking for information.......which does NOT stipulate "no personal opinions". And as for what was stated, I agree..........if you are going to make buttercream, make the real thing. I would also suggest you do your research and find out if what you are buying is a company retail gimmick or the real thing. Even if it is the "real" thing, is it even enough of being "fat free" to even bother with, or what other things they added or did to it to warrant a "fat free" label.
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Do not call me sweetheart. Tame your male sexism. Read a newspaper; you’ll see the country is revolting against sexism/sexual harassment in every industry, including the culinary industry.
Every industry has it’s unacceptable business practices. In the baking industry it’s the misuse of ingredients like shortening.
Mixing shortening and sugar and feeding it straight up to consumers is plain wrong.
Sit down with a tub of shortening, stick a spoon in it and eat it straight off the spoon.
Slather that sweetex shortening straight from the tub right onto a muffin as you would do with butter, and eat it.
Spread that sweetex shortening straight from the tub right over a bowl of hot mashed potatoes and eat it.
If you won’t eat shortening straight from the tub, then you have to ask yourself why you think nothing about mixing shortening with sugar and feeding it to children.
Your practice certainly does not make your business reputable. Quite the contrary.
There is not a single reputable bakery anywhere that mixes shortening with powdered sugar and passes it off as “buttercream.” The only ones that engage in such practices are businessed that have no commitment to quality and community.
Businesses like yours do it because it’s cheap, durable, and extends the shelf life. It’s about profit margin, not flavor, quality, or health.
Your practice has nothing to do with running a reputable business.
There is nothing reputable about your practice of mixing shortening with powdered sugar and food coloring and then feeding it to children. How is that reputable?
There’s not a reputable culinary school that teaches students to mix shortening with powdered sugar to pass off as “buttercream.”
I’ve taken pastry and cake classes at the Culinary Institute of America, Greystone; San Francisco Cooking School, founded by a James Beard Award recipient.
I attended a culinary programs in Italy.
I’ve even take home bakers’ classes from places like William Sonoma and Sur La Table.
Not only do these culinary programs promote the making and use of real buttercream, but they all voice strong opposition to the practice of using shortening and powdered sugar as “buttercream.” It’s not taught or embraced by industry educators.
Just because you engage in objectionable business practices does not make it right—and it most certainly does not make it reputable.
If you’re such a consummate bakery professional, why are you asking a bunch of “5 to 10 cake a day” cake bakers about your shortening failures.
If you’re a multi million dollar wholesale bakery, then why are you on an obscure baking forum asking for advise? With your claim of wealthy, why don’t you pay a reputable bakery consultant to solve your problem.
Here’s a link to a reputable bakery consultant.
https://www.sfbi.com/on-site-consulting.html
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The shortening that you have for years been mixing with sugar and feeding to children has been found to be unsafe by the Food and Drug Administration. It is simply not fit for human consumption.
That is the whole reason the shortening you use was reformulated. The most disturbing part about it all is that people like you have for years been feeding children a product that is completely unfit for human consumption. You’ve been mixing it with sugar to mask the taste and feeding it straight up to children.
“FDA released its’ final determination that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). The determination is based on extensive research into the effects of PHOs, as well as input from stakeholders during the public comment period.”
https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm449162.htm
That is the whole reason the shortening you use was reformulated. The most disturbing part about it all is that people like you have for years been feeding children a product that is completely unfit for human consumption. You’ve been mixing it with sugar to mask the taste and feeding it straight up to children.
“FDA released its’ final determination that Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) are not Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). The determination is based on extensive research into the effects of PHOs, as well as input from stakeholders during the public comment period.”
https://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm449162.htm
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Chester, don’t make me laugh so hard when I’m trying to be mean! I’m saving that image. That’s so me when it comes to shortening!
Not to change the subject..............but I've been trying to come up with ways over the years, to make American buttercream without much lard, shortening, or butter.
I'm not big on European style buttercream, and anything meringue is kind gross to me, although I have eaten it before to see what it is like.
I haven't come close to cutting out the amount of grease in American buttercream that I want to cut out, simply because the substitutions I've made over the years just don't work as well as using grease of some kind.
I think the closest I got was using instant pudding in the mix, along with some sour cream. I used the pudding for stability and the sour cream to cut the harsh sweet. Using the pudding mix did help with cutting down on the grease content, but it wasn't so workable as to be used to decorate a cake with. Frost a cake yes, decorate it, no.
The only other method I've discovered is using the butter flavored Crisco like I prefer, mixing in some meringue powder and a dash of vinegar, along with French Vanilla syrup......and then whipping the hell out of this to get a lot of air into it.
This method is tricky, but it does work. I've had people complain that it's not buttercream, it's whipped topping! LOL I tell them no, it's buttercream.
The only problem with this is, you have to keep it chilled, as all that air dissipates and the frosting will start melting in your hand (or the piping bag in your hand rather). So it's something that has to be done fast and quick, especially when frosting and decorating the cake.
You know those sugary puffy ball candies you put in your mouth and they melt on your tongue? Well, thats kind of what this buttercream adaptation is like.
And like the European buttercream, it's a PAIN to get it mixed just right.
I did try gelatin before, but it made it gummy, and was more like eating slime on the cake than frosting.
I've tried many things, but the only thing that works just right, is Crisco, sugar, flavoring, and a bit of apple cider vinegar.
I'm not big on European style buttercream, and anything meringue is kind gross to me, although I have eaten it before to see what it is like.
I haven't come close to cutting out the amount of grease in American buttercream that I want to cut out, simply because the substitutions I've made over the years just don't work as well as using grease of some kind.
I think the closest I got was using instant pudding in the mix, along with some sour cream. I used the pudding for stability and the sour cream to cut the harsh sweet. Using the pudding mix did help with cutting down on the grease content, but it wasn't so workable as to be used to decorate a cake with. Frost a cake yes, decorate it, no.
The only other method I've discovered is using the butter flavored Crisco like I prefer, mixing in some meringue powder and a dash of vinegar, along with French Vanilla syrup......and then whipping the hell out of this to get a lot of air into it.
This method is tricky, but it does work. I've had people complain that it's not buttercream, it's whipped topping! LOL I tell them no, it's buttercream.
The only problem with this is, you have to keep it chilled, as all that air dissipates and the frosting will start melting in your hand (or the piping bag in your hand rather). So it's something that has to be done fast and quick, especially when frosting and decorating the cake.
You know those sugary puffy ball candies you put in your mouth and they melt on your tongue? Well, thats kind of what this buttercream adaptation is like.
And like the European buttercream, it's a PAIN to get it mixed just right.
I did try gelatin before, but it made it gummy, and was more like eating slime on the cake than frosting.
I've tried many things, but the only thing that works just right, is Crisco, sugar, flavoring, and a bit of apple cider vinegar.
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The French make something called ganache montee. It’s not something that is really made here in the US. But essentially it’s ganache, mixed with a whip cream, chilled overnight, then whipped the next day. While it’s not super stable it is a nice alternative to the meringue buttercream. So you end up with a ganache that is so much lighter and delicate than a traditional ganache.
It can be pipe into basic swirls shapes. But it probably would not make great flowers…not that I’m keen on icing flowers. And you can’t leave it out for a very long time. But given the heavy cream base, you can toss it in the freezer if needed. I’m going to use a ganache montee on a cake for our Thanksgivings dinner.
My go to icing is Italian meringue buttercream. I much prefer the taste of the meringue buttercreams the following day. When they’re freshly made the butter is too pronounced.
I’ve never been able to get past the shortening in American icings. Even in the classroom Italian meringue buttercream was made and used for practice. CIA did give us a recipe for shortening icing to make it home for practice. But it wasn’t even something used in classes.
Shortening icings are going the way of the buggy whip. The full ban on PHOs is just months away now. The government warned the food industry back in 2013 that they were reviewing this whole PHO health issue, with an eye toward banning it. Then in 2015, they changed PHO’s status to unsafe. Even then they still gave a three-year window for the food industry to remove PHOs from their products.
The US government is so lax in its food regulations, they allow crap like wood pulp in food products. So a food ingredient or additive has to be really bad for the US government to ban it. But the government put the food industry on notice back in 2013. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for the bakeries who refused to change their product lines in anticipation of this ban. They have the equipment, production capacity, knowledge, and staff to offer and array of products. And as licensed commercial kitchen they can sell cakes with real meringue buttercream.
I think the bakers who will really have a difficult time are the cottage food operators. Cottage food law does not allow for the sale of products containing fillings or frostings made with milk, butter, and egg. A lot of them don’t like to work with ganache for various reasons including the price. So they’ve opted to use shortening based icings under their fondant, in fillings, as well as decorating whole cakes and cupcakes with the stuff.
It can be pipe into basic swirls shapes. But it probably would not make great flowers…not that I’m keen on icing flowers. And you can’t leave it out for a very long time. But given the heavy cream base, you can toss it in the freezer if needed. I’m going to use a ganache montee on a cake for our Thanksgivings dinner.
My go to icing is Italian meringue buttercream. I much prefer the taste of the meringue buttercreams the following day. When they’re freshly made the butter is too pronounced.
I’ve never been able to get past the shortening in American icings. Even in the classroom Italian meringue buttercream was made and used for practice. CIA did give us a recipe for shortening icing to make it home for practice. But it wasn’t even something used in classes.
Shortening icings are going the way of the buggy whip. The full ban on PHOs is just months away now. The government warned the food industry back in 2013 that they were reviewing this whole PHO health issue, with an eye toward banning it. Then in 2015, they changed PHO’s status to unsafe. Even then they still gave a three-year window for the food industry to remove PHOs from their products.
The US government is so lax in its food regulations, they allow crap like wood pulp in food products. So a food ingredient or additive has to be really bad for the US government to ban it. But the government put the food industry on notice back in 2013. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for the bakeries who refused to change their product lines in anticipation of this ban. They have the equipment, production capacity, knowledge, and staff to offer and array of products. And as licensed commercial kitchen they can sell cakes with real meringue buttercream.
I think the bakers who will really have a difficult time are the cottage food operators. Cottage food law does not allow for the sale of products containing fillings or frostings made with milk, butter, and egg. A lot of them don’t like to work with ganache for various reasons including the price. So they’ve opted to use shortening based icings under their fondant, in fillings, as well as decorating whole cakes and cupcakes with the stuff.
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Chester, have you tried white balsamic vinegar? It imparts a sweet-sour flavor similar to the tanginess of cream cheese or sour cream. I've put it in some sweet stuff, including the no-bake cheesecake custard I just made for my dessert shooters. It made it taste more cheesecake-y to me.
Also, have you ever tried the ermine buttercream, where flour and milk are cooked to a pudding like paste? The one I was telling NorCalBaker about, from a Serious Eats article, has the sugar cooked with those two, and then that pudding is blended into butter. I want to try this and see if it cuts the buttery taste and the sugary taste a bit. The one I really want to try is German buttercream, where you cook a custard and then beat it into butter.
A while back I saw a cute video where the baker made several different types of buttercream and did a taste test with her friends and children. It was fun to see what the kids and adults reacted to, though they seem to have used just Italian meringue, not Italian meringue buttercream? She didn't add butter and describes it as fat-free. Maybe that's an Aussie thing?
The kids are cute.
Also, have you ever tried the ermine buttercream, where flour and milk are cooked to a pudding like paste? The one I was telling NorCalBaker about, from a Serious Eats article, has the sugar cooked with those two, and then that pudding is blended into butter. I want to try this and see if it cuts the buttery taste and the sugary taste a bit. The one I really want to try is German buttercream, where you cook a custard and then beat it into butter.
A while back I saw a cute video where the baker made several different types of buttercream and did a taste test with her friends and children. It was fun to see what the kids and adults reacted to, though they seem to have used just Italian meringue, not Italian meringue buttercream? She didn't add butter and describes it as fat-free. Maybe that's an Aussie thing?
The kids are cute.
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Hi James,
Pay no mind to the snarky comments from those with nothing better to post about. They serve no purpose. Despite what some elitists may think about what does or does not make up buttercream I too, would like to hear from other users of the new Sweetex. I found their original product superior to any other shortening used, and am concerned about this new product's performance. Thankfully I've got about 65lbs. stored until I can find a suitable replacement. Have you contacted Stratas/Ach about this inability to remain stable over time? That was a big selling point for me with their original product.
Pay no mind to the snarky comments from those with nothing better to post about. They serve no purpose. Despite what some elitists may think about what does or does not make up buttercream I too, would like to hear from other users of the new Sweetex. I found their original product superior to any other shortening used, and am concerned about this new product's performance. Thankfully I've got about 65lbs. stored until I can find a suitable replacement. Have you contacted Stratas/Ach about this inability to remain stable over time? That was a big selling point for me with their original product.
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Yes, people like me do serve a purpose. We raise the standard of baked goods by insisting on quality ingredients. If your shortening icing wasn’t dangerous to human health the government would not have outlawed it. The reason the sweetex has been reformulated is because it’s an out right dangerous product. Bakers like you been feeding that crap to children for years.
Finally, the government has taken a stand. But it’s a little bit late. This generation of children coming up have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. They will suffer the horrible effects of obesity and diabetes. It is the first time in over 100 years that American children will actually have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. And it’s all because of the crap that’s been pumped into them by the processed food industry.
If people do not take a stand, demand the government take action, then people like you will continue to create harmful products. Children can only taste the sweet. They don’t understand how bad it is for them to eat pure shortening and powdered sugar.
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First, drop the accusations. It's sensationalist and unbecoming. "People like me" are not bound by your dogmatic opinions on buttercream and icing. You really should learn some grace before spouting off with yet more snarky comments. The OP asked a very specific question about having trouble with the new Sweetex, he/she did not ask for your definition of "buttercream" nor did they ask you to preach your baking sermons.
Secondly, if you ever bothered to ask, I have a wide range of needs for a wide range of clients, some of which suffer from allergies, lactose intolerance, and moral/ethical oppositions to consuming animal byproducts, so try showing some class and getting off your high horse. Your philosophy is not the only philosophy. I have clients who just simply want a pure white product, and what they want is what I want.
A very talented and successful baker(who need not be named) whose YouTube channel I've followed for years, had a successful bakery for a decade before successfully transitioning to vegan only baking . She has never, in her history on YouTube, held her nose up to the many reasons for which many bakers choose full butter or like her original Best Swiss Buttercream, a mix of butter and shortening. She also used shortening in her snicker doodles and Italian Spritz cookies among others. Her new vegan procedures continue to utilize shortening now that she cannot use butter. Her wonderful recipes aside, it's her approach to baking and encouraging (not preaching to) other bakers that has attributed to her success and fan base.
Secondly, if you ever bothered to ask, I have a wide range of needs for a wide range of clients, some of which suffer from allergies, lactose intolerance, and moral/ethical oppositions to consuming animal byproducts, so try showing some class and getting off your high horse. Your philosophy is not the only philosophy. I have clients who just simply want a pure white product, and what they want is what I want.
A very talented and successful baker(who need not be named) whose YouTube channel I've followed for years, had a successful bakery for a decade before successfully transitioning to vegan only baking . She has never, in her history on YouTube, held her nose up to the many reasons for which many bakers choose full butter or like her original Best Swiss Buttercream, a mix of butter and shortening. She also used shortening in her snicker doodles and Italian Spritz cookies among others. Her new vegan procedures continue to utilize shortening now that she cannot use butter. Her wonderful recipes aside, it's her approach to baking and encouraging (not preaching to) other bakers that has attributed to her success and fan base.
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It’s not a matter of preaching. It ILLEGAL to use Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) in food. The government has OUTLAWED the use of Partially Hydrogenated Oils (PHOs) in food.
It’s simply not possible to make a PHO shortening and powdered sugar icing anymore because the government says PHOs cannot be manufactured and marketed after mid-2018 for food applications. Whatever Stratas Foods is now using in their Sweetex is the new reality. PHO shortening is no more. You either change your product line or change your recipe.
In announcing the ban, the government stated, “Removing PHOs from processed foods could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year.”. The emphasis is theirs, not mine.
The baking industry is the largest user of PHOs.
The government announced their intention to ban PHOs in 2015.
They gave the entire processed food industry 3 years to change their product line and/or recipes.
The ban goes into full effect June 18, 2018. But producers of PHO ingredients, such as Sweetex, are already phasing PHOs out. So the bakers who did not heed the long lead up to the PHO phase out are dealing with the reality of that ban.
Just because some YouTube vegan baker uses pure PHOs in her snickerdoodles does not make the use of PHOs safe and acceptable. The notion that vegan translates into healthy is simply not true or logical.
Vegan simply means that they do not eat animal products or animal byproducts. It doesn’t translate into healthy or better.
Having grown up in ground zero of the whole vegetarian/vegan movement, I can attest to the fact they not only harass carnivores—and vice versa, but they even harass people like my sister, a fiber artist who spins wool into fiber.
The health and welfare of over 300 million people who live in the United States is not dependent on whether a YouTube baker thinks it’s okay to use PHOs in a snickerdoodle. It’s the science and medical community, medical insurance community, life insurance communities, and the federal government whose opinions count. And since there is a mountain of scientific data, spanning more than two decades, detailing the findings of countless studies on the adverse health effects of PHO‘s clearly your YouTube baker hasn’t a clue about nutrition and health.
I live in the a major food center. Some of the top bakeries in the country are located here. They do not use PHO shortening. And never have—not even in their icings. The event cakes here start at $8 per serving. The top event cake baker here routinely sells event cakes at $25 per serving. You don’t need PHOs for a thriving bakery business.
I have never once in 25 years of baking ever made a pure shortening and powdered sugar icing. I’ve added 1/4 cup of Sweetex to an Swiss meringue buttercream only three times. This past summer I made an Italian meringue buttercream cake that travelled 2 hours by car. The event was outdoors. The temperature somewhere in the mid-70’s or higher. The cake was fine.
But the bottom line is this: the government has determine PHOs kill people. So they banned its use in food applications. You simply can’t make a PHO shortening and powdered sugar icing anymore.
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Vitriol like this comes to mind:
"Bakers like you have been feeding that crap to children for years"
"People like you will continue to create harmful products"
Your memory seems selective, and your preaching about what is and is not buttercream seems totally glossed over. I never argued whether or not trans fats were healthy. You missed the point of the OP's query yet again. Bakers using the new trans fat free Sweetex are in full compliance with trans fat bans. Stratas is under the same compliance rules as you and me so obviously we are in compliance by virtue of using their product. OP asked whether any other users of the new Sweetex flex trans fat free shortening is causing problems.
You really come off as narrow minded. Shortening, in this case vegetable based, is not limited to your single definition of partially hydrogenated oils. This thread would not exist if this were true, that is the whole point of this thread. Palm oils(a subject for an entirely different thread) are naturally solid at room temperature, and comprise the bulk of new trans fat free shortening. So yes, American buttercream can continue to please those who enjoy it, and "people like" me can continue icing our cakes this way, despite your views. The question is whether bakers that use Sweetex flex can achieve the same consistency we seek for our products.
Why, again, you feel the need to preach here, is beyond me. Create a new thread and spout your gospel somewhere else, so that those who are interested in using this Sweetex can learn and adapt to the new product. The only relevance in regards to vegan lifestyles I was trying to impress upon you is that the customer has a choice in their purchase and can exercise it for whatever reason they see fit.
"Bakers like you have been feeding that crap to children for years"
"People like you will continue to create harmful products"
Your memory seems selective, and your preaching about what is and is not buttercream seems totally glossed over. I never argued whether or not trans fats were healthy. You missed the point of the OP's query yet again. Bakers using the new trans fat free Sweetex are in full compliance with trans fat bans. Stratas is under the same compliance rules as you and me so obviously we are in compliance by virtue of using their product. OP asked whether any other users of the new Sweetex flex trans fat free shortening is causing problems.
You really come off as narrow minded. Shortening, in this case vegetable based, is not limited to your single definition of partially hydrogenated oils. This thread would not exist if this were true, that is the whole point of this thread. Palm oils(a subject for an entirely different thread) are naturally solid at room temperature, and comprise the bulk of new trans fat free shortening. So yes, American buttercream can continue to please those who enjoy it, and "people like" me can continue icing our cakes this way, despite your views. The question is whether bakers that use Sweetex flex can achieve the same consistency we seek for our products.
Why, again, you feel the need to preach here, is beyond me. Create a new thread and spout your gospel somewhere else, so that those who are interested in using this Sweetex can learn and adapt to the new product. The only relevance in regards to vegan lifestyles I was trying to impress upon you is that the customer has a choice in their purchase and can exercise it for whatever reason they see fit.
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I am not narrow-minded. The facts are the facts.
It is a FACT the baking industry uses more PHOs than any other processed food industry
It is a FACT the demand for PHOs was so high in the food industry that producers like Stratas Foods had 12 shortening products
It is a FACT the demand for PHOs was so high in the baking industry that producers like Stratas Foods produced and marketed some 4 or 5 shortenings exclusively for the baking industry
It is a FACT that high ratio shortening used in the baking industry is pure PHO.
It is a FACT the producers of high ratio shortening have reformulated their products to comply with the government ban on PHOs.
There is no fix for the Sweetex. The base stock has been replaced by palm oil to eliminate the PHOs. When you change the base stock you completely change the product.
Bakeries do not put big labels on their products stating “Our Icing Is Made With Delicious 100% PHO Shortening and Powdered Sugar.” The vast majority of people don’t know what’s in a food product.
In addition to lack of labeling these pure PHO products are marketed in poorer communities. The poor have far fewer choices. And the choices are always made from the worst and cheapest ingredients.
It’s just downright wrong to assert that people are making informed decisions to purchase PHO shortening and powdered sugar icing over real icing. Show me the data on studies where consumers were offered the choice and then selected PHO shortening and powdered sugar icing over real buttercream.
I used to work for one of the largest processed food lobbyists in the country. The membership list reads like the who’s who of multinational processed food companies. They literally spend tens of millions of dollars each year to fight and litigate against all food labeling laws.
They employ and fund a food science department that pumps out white papers in an attempt to dispute and counter the studies from medical, science and consumer groups.
It is a FACT that they all knew about the detrimental effects of PHO‘s almost 20 years ago.
Up until 2015 the processed food lobby successfully convinced the government to allow the use of PHOs in food.
The government announced the ban three years ago. The entire food industry including the baking industry knew this ban was coming.
High ratio shortening no longer exists because the base stock has been changed. When you eliminate the base stock, you create a completely different product.
Adapting is realizing that the product that you have been using has been banned and removed from the market.
Adapting is realizing you have to change what you’ve been doing—then actually change what you’ve been doing.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2018
- Messages
- 6
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- 1
Hello. I am a cake artist in Detroit who has been using the old sweetex for 20 years. Yes it was wonderful and held up beautifully in hot weather. But alas, the rug has been pulled out from underneath us and we are now required to use something else. I've found the Sweetex Golden Flex for ICING to be an acceptable product. (I've found that warming it up before I mix it will help make it smooth and less chance of burning out my mixer. It is REALLY firm) There are 4 sweetex formulas and the one you need depends on what you'e using it for. I use it for icing only. Not cake AND icing. The Golden Flex for ICING is thicker and heavier than the original but it stays on the cake. It will fall off in chunks though if you try to cut a refrigerated cake as it gets super hard like refrigerated butter. So let the cake sit for an hour or two before you try to cut it. Wedding cakes are already sitting at room temp for a few hours so there is no issue there. I've just started using it (January 2018) I don' know what is going to happen when the hot weather comes.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2018
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 1