The Surprising Ingredient Aldi Won’t Allow in Its Products - Yahoo Life

Apparently it's been banned since 2015.

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We love Aldi for so, so many reasons. The budget-friendly copycats, unique products, and exciting monthly finds, and general aesthetic of the store. But did you know it also holds its products to high and rigorous quality standards? Since 2015, the grocery chain has banned several ingredients as a way to uphold those standards.

Among those ingredients is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), partially hydrogenated oils, and one unexpected one. We actually didn't believe it until we start checking Aldi products at home, and lo and behold, none of them contain synthetic colors. So how did Aldi remove synthetic food colors and dyes from their products? And why?

Why Aldi Removed Synthetic Colors From Its Products

First, it's important to understand that Aldi still uses food coloring in its products, just colors derived from natural plant sources, not synthetic sources. Here's why the distinction matters.

Artificial colors and food dyes are one of the more controversial food additives out there. Without going too far into the debates, some studies have found a supposed correlation between artificial food dyes and the incidence of ADHD in children, while others posit a link between these dyes and obesity or even link them to carcinogens.

Some states have even gone so far as to propose bans against certain synthetic dyes that are found in lots of popular foods. But the FDA still contends that synthetic color additives are, "safe when they are used in accordance with with FDA regulations."

However, Aldi made the decision to remove them back in 2015, "in response to our customers’ feedback." According to its website, the decision was made after customers expressed interest in more natural, plant-based food colorings. But what does that actually mean? Where are those dyes coming from?

Where Does Plant-Based Food Coloring Come From?

When you start to look around, you'll notice lots of foods have naturally occurring rich pigments. Foods like turmeric, paprika, and lots of different fruit and vegetable juices are used as natural food dyes. A few years back, scientists even discovered a way to derive blue food coloring from red cabbage (ironically).

In a recent viral TikTok video, one consumer went to test if the synthetic dye ban at Aldi was, in fact, real. They found that Aldi was indeed keeping up with its promise. They also found that a lot of the products that would typically contain red dyes—cheese curls, fruit snacks, and nacho-flavored tortilla chips, for example—instead contained Annatto extract.

What is Annatto Extract?

Annatto extract is a food coloring agent and flavor additive derived from the seeds of the achiote tree. The seeds have a natural bright orange-red hue, making it an ideal choice as a natural food dye. Its color comes from compounds called carotenoids, the same compounds that give carrots, pumpkin, salmon, and even autumn leaves their potent pigment.

The extract is also commonly used to flavor dishes in South and Central American cuisine, and goes by the names achiote, achiotillo, bija, urucum, and atsuete.

Annatto had become widely used as a food coloring because it's truly natural and does not impart any flavor on the final product. Start looking and you'll find annatto extract on a lot of ingredient lists ranging from cheddar cheese and that blue box of macaroni to ice cream and cookies.

It's not hard to see why Annatto was an easy choice for Aldi when the store was looking for naturally-derived colorings for its foods. The chain writes that since 2015, it has worked hard to reformulate its products, removing these banned ingredients without compromising on, "the exact same high-quality and taste shoppers expect from ALDI exclusive brands."

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The recipe for McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is no secret — just don’t use this ingredient - WOODTV.com

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The recipe for McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is no secret — just don’t use this ingredient  WOODTV.com
The recipe for McDonald’s Big Mac sauce is no secret — just don’t use this ingredient - WOODTV.com
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Sudan conflict threatens supply of key fizzy drinks ingredient - Sky News

The conflict in Sudan has left international consumer goods makers racing to shore up supplies of gum arabic - critical to the food, drinks and cosmetics industry.

The northeastern African country is the world's largest producer of gum arabic, a resin tapped from the acacia tree.

It is a key ingredient in everything from fizzy drinks to candy and cosmetics, and is also used in the pharmaceutical industry.

About 70% of the world's supply of gum arabic, for which there are few substitutes, comes from the acacia trees in the Sahel region that runs through Africa's third-largest country, which is being torn apart by fighting between the army and a paramilitary force.

Twelve exporters, suppliers and distributors contacted by Reuters told the news agency that trade in the gum, which helps bind together food and drink ingredients, has ground to a halt.

Right now it's "impossible" to source additional gum arabic from rural parts of Sudan because of the turmoil and road blockages, said Mohamad Alnoor, who runs Gum Arabic USA.

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What is happening in Sudan?

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Footage shows scale of destruction in Khartoum

The current explosion of violence in Sudan comes after two generals fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists, which was meant to incorporate the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

In 2019, Islamist autocrat Omar al Bashir was overthrown in a popular uprising. The army and RSF later jointly mounted a 2021 military coup.

But the relationship between the two factions broke down during negotiations to integrate and form a civilian government.

Image: Gum arabic is used in fizzy drinks, where it prevents ingredients from separating

Wary of Sudan's political instability, companies dependent on gum arabic, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico, have long stockpiled supplies, some keeping between three to six months worth to avoid being caught short, exporters and industry sources told Reuters.

"Depending on how long the conflict continues there may well be ramifications for finished goods on the shelf - branded goods made by household names," said Richard Finnegan, a procurement manager at Kerry Group, a supplier of gum arabic to most major food and drink firms.

He estimates current stockpiles will run out in five to six months.

It is a view echoed by Martijn Bergkamp, a partner at Dutch supplier FOGA Gum, who estimated between supplies would last for three to six months.

Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to supply the product.

US-based Ingredion Inc, an ingredients supplier in Illinois, told Reuters: "We have proactive measures in place across our business to ensure the continuity of supply for our customers."

Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1bn (£883m), according to estimates cited by Kerry Group.

Kerry Group and other suppliers, including Sweden's Gum Sudan, said communicating with contacts on the ground has been difficult.

"Our suppliers are struggling to secure necessities because of the conflict," said Jinesh Doshi, managing director of Vijay Bros, an importer based in Mumbai, India. "Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise."

Read more world news:
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Reuters said PepsiCo declined to comment on supply chain and commodity issues, while Coca-Cola did not return a request for comment.

"For companies like Pepsi and Coke, they can't exist without having gum arabic in their formulations," said Dani Haddad, of Agrigum, a supplier.

Fawaz Abbaro, the general manager of Savannah Life Company in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, said he had purchase orders and plans to export 60 to 70 tonnes of gum arabic but doubts he'll be able to due to the conflict.

He said: "It's not stable even to get food or drink. It's not going to be stable for business. All trading will be jammed for the time being."

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Federal rules don't require period product ingredients on packaging labels. States are stepping in. - CBS News

Tens of millions of Americans use menstrual products, and while manufacturers contend they are safe, most disclose little about the chemicals they contain. Now, amid calls for more disclosure and research into the health effects of these products, some states require more transparency.

The manufacture and sale of period and related products is a big business, with revenue expected to top $4.5 billion in the United States this year. On average, a person uses up to 17,000 tampons or pads in their lifetime, and they might also use rubber or silicone cups, or absorbent period underwear.

The FDA regulates and classifies menstrual products as medical devices, meaning they are not subject to the same labeling laws as other consumer items. But companies can voluntarily disclose what's in their products.

Now, some states are stepping into the breach. In 2021, New York became the first state to enact a menstrual product disclosure law requiring companies to list all intentionally added ingredients on packaging. California's governor signed a similar law that took effect this year, but it gives manufacturers trade secret protections, so not all ingredients are necessarily disclosed. At least six other states have introduced legislation to address safety and disclosure of ingredients in these products.

Advocacy groups studying the effects of the New York law say the new labels have revealed commonly found ingredients in menstrual products that may contain carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, endocrine disruptors, and allergens.

Shruthi Mahalingaiah, an assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women's health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, evaluates endocrine disruptors in personal care products and studies menstrual health. She said the health risk depends on the dose, duration, and sensitivity of a person to the ingredients and their mixtures.

Harmful chemicals could come from manufacturing processes, through materials and shipping, from equipment cleaners, from contact with contaminants, or from companies adding them intentionally, said Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research for Women's Voices for the Earth, a Montana-based nonprofit focused on eliminating toxic chemicals that affect women's health.

Vaginal and vulvar tissues are capable of absorbing fluids at a higher rate than skin, which can lead to rapid chemical exposure. Scranton said scarcity of clinical studies and funding for vaginal health research limits understanding about the long-term effects of the ingredients and additives in period products.

"We think manufacturers should do better and be more careful with the ingredients they choose to use," Scranton said. "The presence of toxic and hormone-disrupting chemicals in menstrual products is unsettling. We know that chemicals can cause disease, and exposures do add up over time."

Scranton's organization advocates for labels to include the chemical name of the ingredient, the component in which the ingredient is used, and the function of the ingredient.

K. Malaika Walton, operations director for the Center for Baby and Adult Hygiene Products, a trade industry group, said in an email, "BAHP supports accurate and transparent information for users of period products and many of our member companies list ingredients on their packages and websites."

In a written statement, Procter & Gamble, a major manufacturer of menstrual products, said that ingredients it uses go through rigorous safety evaluations and are continuously tested, and that all fragrance components are added at levels the industry considers safe.

Even though manufacturing of scented tampons for the U.S. market has mostly stopped, companies still use fragrances in other menstrual products. Laws protecting trade secrets keep details about fragrances in pads and tampons confidential so competitors can't copy the formulas. The Children's Environmental Health Network lists phthalates, a group of chemicals commonly called plasticizers that are suspected hormone disruptors, as an ingredient found in fragrances.

Manufacturers follow regulatory guidance issued in 2005 by registering with the FDA and submitting a detailed risk assessment of their products' components and design, and a safety profile before being cleared to sell in the U.S.

Pads and menstrual cups are considered exempt from regulatory guidance and do not require premarket review, according to FDA spokesperson Carly Kempler. While tampons do require review, the FDA "does not clear or approve individual materials that are used in the fabrication of medical devices."

"There's an understanding that the FDA is regulating these products, and they are; it's just not very adequate," said Laura Strausfeld, an attorney and a co-founder of Period Law, an organization working to advance state and federal period-equity policies that would stop taxation of products and make them freely available in places like schools and prisons. "The consumer is supposed to trust that when these products are put on shelves they've been vetted by the government. But it's basically a rubber stamp."

In a 2022 report, a congressional committee directed the FDA to update its guidance for menstrual products to recommend that labels disclose intentionally added ingredients, such as fragrances, and test for contaminants. The FDA is reviewing the directives outlined by the House Appropriations Committee and will update the 2005 guidance as soon as possible, Kempler said. "We will share additional details when we are able to."

At least one period product company makes disclosure of its ingredients a selling point. Alex Friedman, co-founder of Lola, said a lack of knowledge is a problem, and more action and awareness are needed to keep people safe.

"The hardest part to swallow is why this is even up for debate. We should all know what's in these products," Friedman said.

New York's law requires companies to disclose all intentionally added ingredients no matter how much is used, with no trade secret protections for fragrances. Though it applies only to products sold in that state, similar detailed labeling is appearing elsewhere, advocates said.

"We're also seeing similar or identical disclosure on packaging in other states outside of New York, which is a testament to the power of the law," said Jamie McConnell, deputy director of Women's Voices for the Earth.

Manufacturers have 18 months from the passage of the New York law to comply, and some products on shelves in New York still list few ingredients other than "absorbent material," "surfactant," "ink," and "adhesive."

"We're like, 'OK, what is that exactly?'" McConnell said.

Her organization is calling for a federal law at least as strong as New York's. Previous federal legislation failed to advance, including the most recent, the Menstrual Products Right to Know Act, introduced in 2022.

BAHP, the trade group, supported the federal legislation and the California law. McConnell said she opposed both bills because they didn't require companies to list all fragrance ingredients.

"I think what it boiled down to at the federal level was the support of corporate interests over public health," she said.

---

KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

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A model that generates complex recipes from images of available ingredients - Tech Xplore

The combination of a large language model and image detector can convert any ingredient list to a full recipe with instructions and portion sizes. Credit: Noever and Noever, (2023).

Artificial intelligence (AI) models have already made their way into a wide range of real-world settings, helping humans to tackle everyday problems faster and more efficiently. Recently, computer scientists have also been exploring their potential for assisting humans with creative tasks, such as coming up with interesting designs, poems and even recipes.

Two researchers at PeopleTec, a technology company based in Alabama, developed a computational model that can create complex recipes containing ingredients that users have available, after analyzing images of what is inside their fridge. Their approach, presented in a paper pre-published on arXiv, is based on models that can identify objects in images and GPT-4, the renowned large language model (LLM) developed by OpenAI.

"In 2020, a group of our AI researchers had a party game where one team would propose a list of ingredients and another would use a language model to dream up an original recipe," David Noever, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Tech Xplore.

"As the ingredients got more interesting, the recipes got worse and worse, finally degenerating into nonsense like 'A Recipe for Hungarian Shoe Leather, serving 2 for breakfast'—basically, complete gibberish. But since 2020, both the image and language models have gotten so good, that now we could really build an application that would solve the practical cook's challenge—just look in your fridge right now, take some basic preconceived ideas about what one might want to cook today and generate a great novel recipe."

The combination of a large language model and image detector can convert any ingredient list to a full recipe with instructions and portion sizes. Credit: Noever and Noever, (2023).

A key objective of the recent work by Noever and his colleague Samantha Elizabeth Miller Noever was to highlight recent advances in the field of AI in a practical and useful way. To achieve recipe generation from imagery, they specifically used application programming interfaces (APIs) of models for image analysis as well as the text generator underpinning ChatGPT.

"The basic idea behind our work was to combine raw food and recipe ingredients using image analysis, then to ask a powerful language model to construct a plausible cooking recipe, including the expected title, proportion, and steps," Noever explained.

"One of the interesting twists of this language-image approach is to constrain the recipe style generator in different and often complex ways based on say minimizing the cost of the meal, changing the portion sizes, or accommodating dietary restrictions. The hard parts of that really fall on how good the language model is, which of course, has made tremendous breakthroughs in only the last few months."

The researchers evaluated their computational approach in a series of tests, feeding it more than 2,000 images of open refrigerators with different ingredients inside them. Using these images, their model generated a 100-page recipe book, with interesting and unique recipes featuring the 30 top ingredients pictured in the input images.

• 

  Steps of modular AI cooking and recipe application based on combining image analysis with language understanding. Credit: Noever and Noever, (2023).

• 

  Modifications to basic ingredients for specialized recipe outputs. Credit: Noever and Noever, (2023).

"Several researchers had helped us by building pictures of the top 30 items to find in a refrigerator," Noever said. "We trained our own image models to give back a list of those in different settings. The novel part of our work was to continuously make the recipe fit to different constraints. Of course, there are billions of combinations available for even a small list of ingredients, but putting seasonal availability, leftovers, serving sizes, cost and dietary restrictions really got the problem and solution rolling."

In the future, the computational approach introduced by Noever and Noever could be integrated into a smartphone application or other software tools designed to inspire both amateur and expert human cooks. Concurrently, it could also inspire other teams worldwide to apply LLMs and other AI models to recipe generation tasks or other creative problems.

"In our next studies, we plan to develop a convenient mobile application that takes a picture and inventories a real refrigerator in its likely cluttered state, without the constraint of using all ingredients but mixing and matching," Noever added. "This would be a great refinement of this initial work."

More information: David Noever et al, The Multimodal And Modular Ai Chef: Complex Recipe Generation From Imagery, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2304.02016

Journal information: arXiv

© 2023 Science X Network

Citation: A model that generates complex recipes from images of available ingredients (2023, April 27) retrieved 27 April 2023 from https://ift.tt/8bUIozB

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

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4-Ingredient Chicken Enchiladas Recipe: On the Table in 30 Minutes - 30Seconds.com

My husband and sons love Mexican food. I do, too, but perhaps not with quite the same passion as they do. They’d be thrilled with Taco Tuesday, Taquito Thursday, Fajita Friday and more. I’d be up for Margarita Monday and one Mexican meal per week but I like to switch things up a bit, too.

Here’s a new one for us, that we’re all thrilled about: chicken enchiladas. This meal can be made a variety of ways, some more traditional than others. This is a quick and easy version of enchiladas that tastes delicious and makes chaotic weeknights just a little easier. It’s a 5 out of 5 at my house!

Bonus: Enchiladas freeze well so this recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen. If you’re making them in advance, let them cool completely in the fridge. Then transfer the enchiladas to a plastic storage bag or freezer-safe container and place in the freezer. Serve this easy dinner with rice, refried beans and guacamole.

Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked shredded chicken (for a time-saver, use rotisserie chicken)
• 2 cups enchilada sauce, green or red (divided)
• 8 flour tortillas
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese (divided)
• optional toppings: diced tomatoes, diced onions, avocado, cilantro, sour cream, shredded lettuce

Here’s how to make it:

1. In a large bowl, combine cooked shredded chicken, 1/4 cup enchilada sauce and a pinch of both salt and pepper. Mix together and taste. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
2. Microwave the tortillas on a plate for 1 minute, flipping them halfway through until they are warm and easy to work with.
3. Fill each tortilla evenly with the shredded chicken mixture and 1 cup of the shredded cheese (set aside the other 1 1/2 cups cheese). Roll the tortillas tightly and place in a 13x9-inch baking dish, seam side down.
4. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas, top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately with desired toppings. 

Note: 30Seconds is a participant in the Amazon affiliate advertising program and this post contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission or fees if you make a purchase via those links.

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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Cucumber-derived ingredient Q-actin supports joint function and mobility in clinical study - Medical Xpress

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A new clinical study of adults with moderate joint health issues demonstrated that a novel iminosugar-containing dietary supplement ingredient, marketed as Q-actin , improved joint function and mobility significantly better than a placebo. The results were published in the February issue of Current Rheumatology Reviews.

Q-actin is a cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) extract containing the iminosugar acid idoBR1 standardized to > 1% produced by IminoTech, Inc. Iminosugars are an emerging class of biologically active carbohydrate analogues that can modulate processes in the body to potentially enhance human health. idoBR1 can be considered as an analogue of iduronic acid. The six-month observational study evaluated 91 subjects who consumed Q-actin or a placebo daily.

"The results clearly show study participants were able to significantly improve their joint function and health by taking as little as 20 milligrams of Q-actin daily," said Robert Nash, Ph.D., a phytochemistry researcher and leading expert on iminosugars who led the study. "The health benefits were evident from the early days of the study and at every evaluation point."

Study design and results

The study, conducted by PhytoQuest Limited, enrolled 101 subjects with moderate osteoarthritis, 91 of which were evaluable. Subjects were divided into three groups taking a placebo or 20 mgs or 100 mgs of Q-actin daily for six months. Following a baseline evaluation, subjects were evaluated at 30-day intervals using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Lequesne's Functional Index (LFI).

Both Q-actin groups experienced significant reductions in pain and improvements in other joint function parameters at every point of the study by every evaluation method. For example, subjects taking 20 mgs daily of Q-actin experienced a 32% improvement in WOMAC scores over six months, compared with a 5% improvement for the placebo group. The Q-actin health benefits were dose dependent. The WOMAC score of the 100 milligram-group increased 39% over the duration of the study.

"It is remarkable that a daily serving of only 20 mgs of Q-actin produced significant improvements in joint function, including the ability to complete daily activities such as using stairs, shopping and working at home," said Shil Kothari, IminoTech Chief Executive Officer. "Q-actin's daily serving size is a small fraction of leading joint health dietary supplement ingredients. It opens the door to many new joint health product formats and applications."

Previous research supports efficacy

A previously published randomized, double-blinded clinical study involving 122 adults reported that 20 mg of Q-actin daily significantly improved joint health in comparison with 2,700 mg of glucosamine-chondroitin over a six-month period. Subjects were evaluated at 30-day intervals using WOMAC, VAS and LFI. Q-actin reduced WOMAC scores 70% over six months.

Earlier studies showed Q-actin/idoBR1 reduced LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in both ex vivo human serum and THP-1 cells. TNFα can drive degenerative changes such as in joints when chronically elevated. Research shows that idoBR1 works in a dose-dependent manner to reduce inflammatory markers, including LPS-induced production of TNFα, IL-6, nitric oxide and the transcription factor NF-κB.

More information: Robert James Nash et al, Standardised ido-BR1 Cucumber Extract Improved Parameters Linked to Moderate Osteoarthritis in a Placebo-controlled Study, Current Rheumatology Reviews (2023). DOI: 10.2174/1573397119666230206105703

Provided by Bentham Science Publishers

Citation: Cucumber-derived ingredient Q-actin supports joint function and mobility in clinical study (2023, April 25) retrieved 26 April 2023 from https://ift.tt/j6pQDmt

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

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The Viral K-Beauty Skincare Ingredient Snail Mucin Could Be Your Way To Achieve Glass Skin - NDTV Swirlster

We have been quite influenced by K-beauty and the ingredients it has to offer. Another buzzing ingredient that deserves a top spot in our beauty arsenal is snail mucin. When we say snail mucin, all we can picture is a gooey, slicky substance. Well, that's exactly what it is but once you know the benefits, you would definitely add it to your beauty shelf. Who would have thought that those little critters can get us so many skincare benefits, well surprisingly, they do. Snail slime or snail mucin is the excretion from a snail and the skincare industry is buzzing with this hyped ingredient. We find out what the hype is all about.

Also Read: 5 Cute Korean Nail Art Ideas To Bookmark For Your Next Manicure Session

Here's Why This Buzzing Ingredient Is Worth All The Hype

With the right ingredients, your skincare regimen only grows further. Snail mucin has been a K-beauty skincare staple for quite some time and with all the hype, we absolutely had to dive deeper to know it all. K-Beauty ingredients have slowly crept into our beauty arsenal and become a favourite. This is just another one. Snail mucin is infused in multiple products and once you incorporate them into your routine, your skin will feel all the difference.

SPONSORED BY VUUKLE

Also Read: 7 Essential K-Beauty Products To Add To Your Beauty Arsenal Right Now

What Is Exactly Snail Mucin And How Does It Help?

Snail muchin is basically a slimy and slick textured fluid excreted from snails. While it might sound icky, trust us, it is an absolute skincare treat. Did you know that earlier snails were also made to crawl on people for their skincare benefits. With innovation, your favourite skincare staples are now formulated with this too-good-to-be-true ingredient and many K-beauty brands have been on the top of our list for the same. Snail mucin has the benefit of popular ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid and more that eventually helps in repairing the skin barrier. Snail mucin in skincare products is a total win for beauty fanatics and your skin will feel an instant change. It helps in effectively healing the skin and shedding dead skin cells. You can inculcate this in your regimen through beauty products, that is one way to do it. Once you apply it over the skin, it feels soothing and hydrated in no time and a few days, you will notice the difference.

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This 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta Is the Perfect Easy Weeknight Meal - The Kitchn

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Pasta is one of my favorite dishes to eat. Whether it’s rigatoni or linguine with crab, there aren’t many variations that I’ll turn down. So imagine my excitement when I ran across content creator Kristen Faith (@kristenfaith_eats on TikTok) and her recipe for 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta. A simple and quick pasta that had garnered over 2 million views on the social media site? I was definitely here for it. 

While watching the video for the recipe, however, I — along with many of the commenters — discovered that the recipe itself was a little more than five ingredients. But the extra additions weren’t going to deter me from trying this one out. So, off to the store I went in a rush to get the few ingredients I didn’t have at home. And once I returned, I headed straight to the kitchen to see if this was as good as everyone claimed it to be.

How to Make 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta

Place your Calamarata noodles in a pot of hot water and cook according to the packaging. Once complete, run cold water over the noodles to stop the cooking process. While your pasta is cooking, rinse and chop your asparagus into bite-size pieces and place to the side in a small bowl. With a cheese grater, shred Parmesan cheese and set aside for later use. Chop garlic and slice a lemon in half. Set aside. 

Heat a medium-size pan over medium-high heat, adding a tablespoon of olive oil and butter to the pan together. Once the butter has melted, add the minced garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, asparagus, fresh-squeezed lemon juice from your half of lemon, and a little black pepper to taste. Add in your noodles, a little lemon zest atop of your pasta, and some of your freshly grated cheese. Mix together for an additional two minutes before serving. 

My Honest Review of 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta

The short part of this is that this pasta was simply delicious! From the perfectly blended flavors to the added texture the asparagus delivered, this dish was truly delectable. It was so good, I made it a second time just to make sure my taste buds weren’t deceiving me. For my second attempt, though, I added a little twist to it. 

While my ingredients were all the same as those listed from my first time, I added sockeye salmon, which took it to another level of enjoyment for me. Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this recipe a 9. 

3 Tips for Making 5-Ingredient Asparagus Pasta

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SPFL fails to understand Scottish football’s magic ingredient - Celtic Quick News

With no genuine drama left in the title race, the SPFL had significant licence in determining which game Celtic needed to win to secure the league title. A home game would have been a great event for supporters and the club. But, with only one more TV game allowed at Celtic Park this season, the decision was made to prioritise TV needs. We will receive the trophy on the final weekend of the season against Aberdeen, and a few thousand of us will shuffle into Tynecastle hoping to see the league won on Sunday, 7 May.

It is as though those making the decisions don’t get what it means to follow a club through the long months of a season in the hope of winning the ultimate prize, the hope of being there in person to see the event. More than anywhere else in the world, Scottish football is about the live event. We all know and understand this, perhaps with the exception of whoever scheduled our next fixture.

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Butter Powder Is The Underrated Staple Ingredient You Should Know - Tasting Table

Buy butter powder from stores or make it for yourself at home by melting unsalted butter and blending the cooled batch with a nonfat dry milk powder to form a paste. Once this mixture is dry, you'll blend it into a fine powder to store. If you're familiar with powdered peanut butter, the idea is the same. Butter powder made in large-scale operations is dehydrated in a hot chamber until only that fine powder remains.

When stored in an airtight container in a cool place, butter powder can be kept for more than a few years; some companies even claim that an unopened package should remain usable for close to a decade. Regardless of whether you buy butter powder pre-made or make it yourself, the ingredient can be reconstituted with water at any time to create buttery sauces or be added to dishes for that extra sumptuous flavor. 

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Butter Powder Is The Underrated Staple Ingredient You Should Know - Tasting Table
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Stanley Tucci’s Favorite 2-Ingredient Snack Is an Embarrassingly Simple Childhood Staple - Yahoo Life

Whether you're 2 or 102, this snack still holds up.

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When I think of Stanley Tucci, I think of the man making delicious Italian recipes while likely wrecking his Le Creuset sets with metal spoons and speaking to his adorable camerawoman wife off-screen.

So when it comes time for a quick snack, I always imagined Tucci was heating up his leftover homemade pasta or chowing down on his mother’s stuffed artichokes. And while he probably does do that sometimes, I certainly never imagined Tucci would eat one of my childhood staples as a mid-day meal.

During a Q&A session on Instagram, Tucci was asked what his favorite quick and easy snack is.

“I do like a peanut butter sandwich,” he said simply—much to the amusement of his wife, Felicity Blunt (actress Emily Blunt's sister), who let out a small chuckle.

Not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Oh, no, Stanley Tucci is a PB-only snacker, which I wholeheartedly support. Sure, he might use artisanal bread—he didn’t elaborate on that—but it’s nice to know that one of the late-night snacks I always make because of its ease, is also on Tucci’s menu. Now, the follow-up question I have is does he grill it? Or simply eat it as-is?

Tucci went on to say that he also enjoys a nice avocado as a snack. But I think I’ll stick to a peanut butter sandwich instead of digging my spoon into one of my avocados that are always somehow not-at-all ripe or over-ripe no matter when I use them.

During the rest of the Q&A, which was put together through his partnership with San Pellegrino, Tucci told viewers that he and his wife served wheels of cheese at their wedding instead of a traditional wedding cake. Talk about a new take on the cheese cake.

“I’m not a big dessert person. I think cheese and honey together is a really delicious dessert,” he said.

With a PB sammie and a cheese cake, Stanley Tucci really just solidified himself as one of our favorite foodie celebrities.

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Stanley Tucci’s Favorite 2-Ingredient Snack Is an Embarrassingly Simple Childhood Staple - Yahoo Life
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Butter Powder Is The Underrated Staple Ingredient You Should Know - Tasting Table

Buy butter powder from stores or make it for yourself at home by melting unsalted butter and blending the cooled batch with a nonfat dry milk powder to form a paste. Once this mixture is dry, you'll blend it into a fine powder to store. If you're familiar with powdered peanut butter, the idea is the same. Butter powder made in large-scale operations is dehydrated in a hot chamber until only that fine powder remains.

When stored in an airtight container in a cool place, butter powder can be kept for more than a few years; some companies even claim that an unopened package should remain usable for close to a decade. Regardless of whether you buy butter powder pre-made or make it yourself, the ingredient can be reconstituted with water at any time to create buttery sauces or be added to dishes for that extra sumptuous flavor. 

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Butter Powder Is The Underrated Staple Ingredient You Should Know - Tasting Table
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The Secret Ingredient in Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos - The Takeout

I love to read ingredient labels, especially on snacks. The label connects the dots between synthetic ingredients and the familiar flavors they create, but which consumers can’t quite place. It’s like watching a movie, seeing an actor, and going, “Oh yeah, that guy. What’s that guy’s name again?” (Hint: It’s always Fred Melamed.) However, sometimes a particular ingredient is more like a movie spoiler, in that once you know it’s in your favorite snack, it’s impossible not to taste it because you know exactly what’s coming. Case in point: Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos.

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These are a top Doritos flavor. I’d probably rank them third or fourth, right up there with Tapatío, Salsa Verde, and classic Nacho Cheese. What stands out (and is sometimes divisive) about Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos is that, true to their name, these chips are noticeably sweet. Really sweet, in fact. Like, you’re always tasting the sweetness. But they do have a subtle heat to them, as well as a deep savory flavor, all of which amounts to a uniquely mouth-smacking quality. In short, they’re addictive as hell, and it’s all due to one ingredient on the label.

What makes Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos taste so good? 

The secret’s out: Soy sauce is what makes these Doritos great.

Yep, these Doritos list soy sauce in the ingredients label, and once you know that’s what you’re tasting, you won’t be able to think of anything else. Soy sauce is the magic juice, man, the reason so many foods end up tasting awesome. In this case, it bridges the spicy and sweet notes gracefully, resulting in an umami flavor that is stronger in these chips than any other Dorito, which is why they’re such a fan favorite.

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That soy sauce also helps deepen the sweetness of the Doritos more; otherwise, they might just end up tasting like sugar. This is a complex tortilla chip, and one that benefits from great flavor alchemy. Good job, Frito-Lay scientists.

Not for nothing, soy sauce is also a common ingredient in powdered French onion dip, too. If you want to make your own Doritos at home, that powder would taste awesome dusted on some corn chips. In fact, soy sauce should be added to many more snacks to make them sing savory tunes.

These chips also contain MSG and hydrolyzed soy protein, two powerful flavoring agents. So, there’s really a full-court press of flavor enhancers here. Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos offer glaring proof of a universal truth: Good chip flavors are just good science.

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James Martin calls for 'dreadful, horrendous' cooking ingredient to be banned - The Independent

The One-Ingredient Method To Make Caramel In The Microwave - Tasting Table

To whip up homemade caramel without any headaches, turn to your microwave. The appliance has many uses beyond just reheating your leftovers, and it can even be used to make the sweet treat caramel from scratch.

The one ingredient you'll need for this super easy hack is sweetened condensed milk. The process of making caramel typically requires mixing melted sugar with dairy fats like cream and butter, this rich alternative serves as the perfect all-in-one. Just consider it starting a few steps ahead.

So, how do we actually turn condensed milk into caramel? Simply pour a can of the stuff into a bowl, cover it with a lid, and pop it into the microwave to cook in two-minute intervals. After each time segment is up, take it out and stir, then repeat. Keep this process going until the condensed milk has darkened in color and thickened to the consistency of caramel. Once you're happy with the result, keep the bowl out and enjoy. It's practically microwaveable magic.

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Halsey calls breast milk best skincare ingredient: `It`s full of antioxidants` - WION

Did you know the best skin care ingredient that Halsey recommends? It's breast milk. The singer welcomed their first child, Ender Ridley Aydin, and ever since the birth of their son, the singer has been following one skincare routine that is not only good for the skin but also for her little bundle of joy.

Recently, the 28-year-old singer revealed the skincare item that she has been using for a while now. During her interview with Nylon, the Grammy nominee said that after having a son, their skincare routine has really changed. 

"I've always been really conscious about what goes on my skin, but when your baby is kissing you or snuggled up against you, you become hyper-cognizant of what's on your face," the singer, who uses “she/they” pronouns, said. 

They added, "I love the Biologique Repecharge's colostrum VG serum, which I got into when I first had my son."

Further sharing, the singer explained how she discovered that breast milk is the best skincare ingredient ever. 

"I started breastfeeding, and I figured out that breast milk is the best skincare ingredient ever because it's so full of antioxidants and good fats and stuff that speed up the healing process," they said.

Earlier this month, Halsey shared some cute photos on their Instagram handle. Sharing the pictures, she wrote, "ces derniers temps 🐚 (lately in English). 

Halsey shares baby Ender with partner Alev Aydin, who is a screenwriter. Ender's full name is Ender Ridley Aydin. 

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Archaeologists discovered the secret ingredient that made Mayan plaster durable - arkeonews

Ancient Mayan masons had their own secrets for making lime plasters, mortars, and plasters, which they used to build their magnificent structures, many of which still stand today.

A team of mineralogists and geologists at the University of Granada has discovered the secret ingredient that made Mayan plaster so durable.

The team has analyzed samples of Maya plasters from Honduras and confirmed that the Maya added plant extracts to improve the plasters’ performance, according to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances.

The team collaborated with local Maya-descended masons in Copán, Honduras, which was a major Maya center prior to Spanish colonization of Central America, to learn how the plaster was made. The approach involves adding the sap from the bark of local tree species, Chukum and Jiote when the lime – the umbrella term for calcium oxides rather than the delicious fruit – is mixed with water, a process called slaking.

Maya plasters from Copan archaeological site (Honduras). (A) General view of Structure 10L-16 (Late Classic building dedicated in 776 CE) (22). Within this structure is located substructure “Rosalila” (540 to 655 CE), the best example of a complete Classic temple in the Maya area, whose surface is decorated with pinkish lime plaster and stucco masks (B). Samples MCopan-10 and MCopan-11 were collected from the latter location, shown (marked with a red star) in the site map (C). Samples MCopan-1 (D) and MCopan-2 (E) corresponding to coarse lime plasters from the interior wall of the central room of Structure 12, ca. 700 CE [blue star in (C)]. Samples MCopan-3 (F) and MCopan-4 (G) corresponding to a fine two-layer plaster (“stucco”) floor from the mid-Classic (500 to 700 CE) collected in tunnel 74 at Structure 10L-16. (C) adapted from (22) with permission from Springer Nature. Photo: Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf6138

A comparison of plaster and stucco from 540 to 850 CE and those created by the team today reveals a striking resemblance. Maya masons most likely used sap-infused plaster because of its increased durability, plasticity, and water resistance.

Since ancient times, and in some cases even earlier, plaster, cement, and concrete have been used. These now-ubiquitous building materials have been used and improved by numerous civilizations, but not always the exact recipes used by our forebears are passed on intact, as in this instance. Archaeologists occasionally have to put in a lot of effort to understand how these materials were made.

“Our study helps to explain the improvement in the performance of lime mortars and plasters with natural organic additives developed not only by ancient Maya masons but also by other ancient civilizations (e.g., ancient Chinese sticky rice lime mortars),” the authors wrote in the paper.

The study is published in Science Advances.

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf6138

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Halsey Says Their Breast Milk Is Their 'Best Skincare Ingredient': 'It's So Full of Antioxidants' - PEOPLE

Halsey is revealing their surprising must-have skincare item: their breast milk.

The 28-year-old singer, who gave birth to son Ender in July 2021, revealed their skincare routine and their go-to makeup looks in a new interview with Nylon.

Since having their son, whom they share with partner Alev Aydin, Halsey said their skincare routine has changed.

"I've always been really conscious about what goes on my skin, but when your baby is kissing you or snuggled up against you, you become hyper-cognizant of what's on your face," they told Nylon. "I love the Biologique Repecharge's colostrum VG serum, which I got into when I first had my son."

The "So Good" singer then revealed that they discovered the best skincare item ever after having a baby.

Halsey and son. Halsey/Instagram

"I started breastfeeding, and I figured out that breast milk is the best skincare ingredient ever because it's so full of antioxidants and good fats and stuff that speed up the healing process," they said.

Earlier this month, Halsey gave a rare glimpse into their son's life as a toddler.

The "Without Me" singer shared various photos on Instagram, some of which included rare and adorable new photos of Ender, 20 months.

The first photo in the carousel shows a sweet moment between the mother and son, as Halsey, in a beige v-neck shirt, smiles at their little guy while holding him up, so he can look in a mirror.

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Another snap is an overhead shot of Ender, who is seen sitting on the ground in a light blue sweatshirt, white and red striped pants and brown cowboy boots while holding pink chalk in his hand.

Halsey captioned the post "ces derniers temps 🐚," which translates to "lately" in English.

RELATED VIDEO: Halsey Celebrates Son Ender on His First Birthday: 'I Am So Lucky That You Found Me'

The pop star last featured Ender briefly in an Instagram Reel on March 23, showing the little boy smiling as Halsey held him in their lap while putting on makeup. They also shared shots of him climbing on top of their face.

A few weeks before that, Halsey shared various shots of Ender in another photo dump, where the singer hilariously captured a clip of him using a mini-blower to blow away paper leaves in various directions before walking away.

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