Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, M Ined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats

My wife has worked for years as a safety manager in the food industry, so I didn't expect too many surprises when I read this book. After all, I had been hearing about some of these products for about 15 years, in one fashion or another. And it didn't come as a shock that what is in snack cakes is also found in chips and cereal, as much of highly processed food is similar in content; it's just the arrangement that changes.Maybe I took these materials for granted, as I have seen them in their finished state in boxes which the companies were getting ready to use. Somehow a material that is labeled "... Company Concentrated Chip Spice (Sour Cream & Onion)" just does not seem as intimidating as the chemicals presented in this book.I was disgusted by the manufacturing technique of many of the chemicals, but realize that the science of chemistry is taking one molecule and making it into an entirely different molecule in the quickest and cheapest method possible. As long as the hazardous reactants are removed, I'm not really that terrified by eating most of these compounds, although I'm not that thrilled, either.I can't wait to show my daughter this book, as she insists that canned spray cheese is really cheese, even though I keep telling her it is cheese food product. Reading this book will make her realize the difference between cheese food product and real cheese!I did find the book fascinating and easy to read. The author did a wonderful job of blending the material with its source, its manufacture and then with its need within the recipe for the finished product. It was somewhat like reading a travelogue, a cookbook and a chemistry book rolled into one. Although the chemistry is fairly complex, the author does a wonderful job of digesting it into terms that even a chemistry dummy like me can understand and enjoy.While I will look at a lot of foods differently, this book won't change what I eat. It will change my ability to understand and appreciate just what went into the finished product. I would highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in what they eat, in chemistry or in cooking. It is incredibly well written and will certainly make you think about what you are eating and the cost associated with our love of junk food.

Teaches you things you wouldnt have thought of.

Ettlinger makes a heroic attempt to remain objective and hopeful while exploring the industrial, world-spanning, and often oily origins of many common processed food additives. His effort alone to track chemicals like polysorbate 60, artificial vanilla, and sorbic acid (just to name a few of the more heavily processed) from extraction through production to deployment earns from me at least 4 stars. This book demonstrates exactly how thorough one should strive to be when delving into something as complex as modern processed foods.If you wish for a complete primer on modern foods, however, do not read this book in isolation. Pair it with some of Michael Pollan's, Nina Planck's, and/or Marion Nestle's latest books, along with the China Study, or otherwise explore our modern system in greater depth. Ettlinger is an excellent investigator, and presents his ideas well, but seems to subscribe (as far as this book is concerned) to limited dietary recommendations and environmental perspectives.Though vital to consider, these dietary and environmental omissions are not all together relevant to his text, and appear, appropriately, as side-notes. In revealing how fantastically industrio-chemical our food system has become, which is exactly what it sets out to do, this book positively soars. I was impressed.~Ryan

I am a foodie, and I read cookbooks and recipes and cook sous vida at home, and play with texture, etc. This book is NOTHING about that level of cuisine, yet at the same time it is ALL about that level of cuisine. It goes through the ingredient list of a Twinkie (and explains why that list changes from time to time), and describes the cradle-to-grave progress of each item/additive... it's source, it's processing, the handling, it's purpose and the market. Twinkies are made in somewhat the same way that I make a meal using molecular gastronomy... the ingredients are all carefully chosen to create a final product in which each ingredient has a key role - not only flavor but also texture, water control, mouth feel, etc... The difference is that the Hostess company strives to achieve a constant level of mediocrity while I try to achieve greatness... yet in the end result who can say who is great and who is mediocre - they appeal to millions of people and have made billions of dollars. I appeal to a small number of people and lose money every time I cook !!!

If you have ever puzzled over those long chemical names found on the wrappers of processed foods, this book is just what you need. It is possibly the easiest chemistry course one could take. The author devotes a chapter to each of the 30some ingredients in a Twinkie and traces them to their source: deep under ground or right next door. One chapter leads seamlessly into the next, the whole unfolding like a good mystery. A highly recommended fun read for adults and teenagers alike. You will never look at a box of baking soda the same way again...