It ’s rare to read an ingredients label these days without stumbling over at least a few unfamiliar words , and many of these intelligence can be a slight … disconcerting .
Here are some of the weirdest , consummate , and most unpleasant - sounding additive to ever deck the back of a food package — admit what intellectual nourishment you ’ll find them in , and what they ’re actually used for .
10 . Carageenan
Sounds like : The smell that emanates from old , dampish sink - sponges
What it really is : A kinfolk of carbohydrate extracted from carmine seaweed . People have been using these extracts in cooking due to their mousse properties for hundreds of years . You ’ll find it in thing like ice cream , milkshakes , andGushers .
Oh , andlube . Almost forgot lube .
9 . Cochineal
Sounds like : An insect that sucks the lifetime out of last beings .
What it actually is : Actually , this one is precisely what it sounds like . Dactylopius coccus are , in fact , shell insects . Like most scale dirt ball , they are parasites , survive on sap and juices from plants ’ vascular system .
But these bugs have also been used for century as a natural crimson - colourise dyestuff . The cochineal pictured here , which was smooshed while feeding on a prickly pear cactus , shows their distinctive carmine colour . dry out the bugs out and grinding them into a hunky-dory gunpowder earmark for the creation of what are in effect natural paint microprocessor chip . You ’ll find it in everything from ice emollient to yoghourt to juice .
Some concerns have been lift over the consumption of Dactylopius coccus as a dye , but the FDA has deemed it perfectly dependable for uptake . [ Photo by Steve viaTree of Life Web Project ]
8 . Transglutaminase
Sounds like : The film that delineate your backtalk when you stir up up with morning time breath .
What it really is : Transglutaminases are a family of enzymes used to bond together protein molecules ( earning them the evenly unsavory nickname of “ nitty-gritty mucilage ” ) . Your body , for example uses transglutaminases in the blood clotting process . In food , they ’re often used in the production of serve heart and fish , to make yogurt creamier , or to make bonce firmer .
A few twelvemonth ago , someone even used transglutaminase to forge a pasta mantrap featuring the bonce you see here , which contain no flour whatsoever , and insteadconsist almost completely of shrimp meat ..
7 . Titanium dioxide ( TiO2 )
voice like : The exterior material of a starship
What it really is : A course occurring , oxygenise form of the metallic element atomic number 22 that has the quality of wait incredibly white . Consequently , TiO2 is one of the most , if not the most wide used livid pigments on Earth , most commonly under the name of titanium white , or pigment white 6 . You ’ll notice it in everything from food to wear to toothpaste . ( And yes , by the bye , the rouge used for the outside of the Saturn V rocket . )
6 . Borax
Sounds like : A race ofrock alienfrom the Futurama creation . Oh , wait .
What it actually is : A chemical compound of the elementboron , in the beginning discovered over a thousand years ago in ironical Tibetan lake beds , borax was finally popularized in the 1800s under the earmark of 20 Mule Team Borax ( if there ’s a box of borax in your family , there ’s a dear chance you ’ll recognize some version ofthe fellowship ’s logo ) . It was tout as a multi - purpose household cleaner , and still is to this day , but it ’s alsoused in research laboratory as a buffer , attack asphyxiator , andin small - scale minelaying task to extract amber .
Its use as a food linear in the U.S. was cast out long ago by the FDA , but it ’s still legal in many other countries around the world . Imported caviar , in special , is notorious for its borax content . The compound is used topreserve the fish eggs ’ gristly grain .
( Almost forgot : borax can also be mixed with glue and water to make a non - newtonian fluid ! )
5 . os ash
sound like : What it sounds like . Bone ash tree . descend on , citizenry .
What it is : The bloodless material give rise by the heated decomposition of bones ( a process known ascalcination ) . It ’s also produced in a synthetic form known astricalcium phosphate , which is used as an anti - caking federal agent , alkaliser , and as a calcium supplement — in food for thought like Milk River , for instance .
4 . Humectant
Sounds like : The dark chunks of max that you hack up after age and years of smoking . ( There ’s just something about possess “ ect ” and “ ant ” appear in taking over that calls to take care the word “ expectorant , ” is n’t there ? )
What it actually is : A form of chemical compound commonly used to hold or preserve wet . You ’ll discover humectants in everything from skin lotion to paintball to marshmallows .
It seems meet that “ humectant ” would regain its etymological origin in the Latin word humectare , which means to be moist — a word that many people also find to be cringe - desirable . Plus , the phlegm that is dislodge by expectorants is sure as shooting moist , which brings us back to the whole humectant / expectorant tie . It ’s all very disgusting to reckon about , really . Especially when you realise that one of the most well known humectant is actually :
3 . Bee vomit
Sounds like : Did I bumble ? Bee barf , hymenopteran hurl , insect - queasy .
What it really is : Honey . It ’s honey . Honey bee transform nectar into honey by regurgitate it . Of naturally , man have been using honey as a humectant and hook for millenary , because — well , let ’s face it , bee vomit is delicious . But the fact that honey is , in fact , bee puke is something that many people often forget .
2 . Lecithin
Sounds like : The slurry that forms when the Drano is through dissolving the hair clogging your tub drainpipe .
What it really is : A class of fatty substances commonly witness in brute and plant life tissue . It was first isolated over 250 year ago from egg egg yolk ( in Greek , the Book for egg yolk is “ λέκιθος , ” or lekithos , hence “ lecithin ” ) .
Today , lecithin is found in everything from nonstick cooking spray to animal feed to printer ink . If you ’ve had a drinking chocolate bar recently , probability are you ’ve eaten lecithin ; candymaker use it to keep cocoa and cocoa butter from separating out of mixture once they ’re mixed in with all the other ingredients .
1 . FECULA
Sounds like : occupy in the blank : I administered the clyster . Five minutes later , out flew the _ _ _ _ _ _ ! Do n’t lie , “ fecula ” sounds like it go there , does n’t it ?
What it really is : Fecula is in reality a form of flavorless , pulverised starches commonly used as food thickeners . Cornstarch ? That ’s a fecula . Tapioca ? Boom , fecula . They ’re overpoweringly common , and are used in thinks like pudding , pastas and cake .
So why does it register with us as something vile and disgusting ? Its etymology . The word “ fecula ” is descend from the Latin word faecula or faes , meaning “ dregs ” — the same origin as words like “ stool ” and “ fecal . ”
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