David Custer, Author at LifeWise

A Halloween staple, Candy Corn can be found in almost every retail establishment that carries food or snacks. Like it or hate it, this triangular shaped morsel has been around for more than 120 years.

According to the National Confectioners Association, Candy Corn was invented in the late 1880s by a Wunderlee Candy Company employee named George Renninger. Wunderlee was reportedly the first to produce the candy, followed by the Goelitz Candy Company (now the Jelly Belly Candy Company), which has been producing the candy since 1898.

Candy Corn was purposely designed to look like chicken feed and at one time that’s exactly what it was called. That came from an era when candy companies were mixing up slurries of mellow creme and molding the confection into the shape of pumpkins, chestnuts, turnips and other agricultural products. At the time, farmers made up about half of the American labor force and companies marketed agriculture-themed candies to children in farm country all year round, according to history.com.

Making Candy Corn

The basic ingredients of Candy Corn are sugar, corn syrup, and water. Later on, marshmallow and fondant were added and so was carnauba wax. However, since several brands make Candy Corn, their own ingredients are used. Some use corn syrup, others might have a sugar cane base or include different flavors for a taste twist.

The actual making of Candy Corn is a multi-step process. Per the National Confectioners Association, this is how candy corn used to be produced:

In 1900, it was the job of many men to produce candy corn several months of the year. Sugar, corn syrup and other ingredients were cooked into a slurry in large kettles. Fondant and marshmallow were added to give a smooth texture and bite. The 45 pounds of warm candy was poured into buckets called runners. Men dubbed stringers walked backwards pouring the candy into cornstarch trays imprinted with the kernel shape. It took three passes to make the white, yellow and orange colors. Originally, it was delivered by wagon in wooden boxes, tubs and cartons. The process is largely the same today, though now it involves more machine labor.

Since sugar is its main ingredient, Candy Corn tastes sweet. Candy makers have made Candy Corn more than just a Halloween treat; there is Christmas-inspired reindeer corn, Valentine’s Day cupid corn, and pastel colored Eastertime, bunny corn. However, each variation has the traditional vanilla undertones and buttery notes.

LifeWise has developed SimplySweet T for candies, snacks, cereals, beverages, pies and cakes. SimplySweet T increases tart flavor, masks metallic notes in high intensity sweeteners, makes products taste more like real sugar, assists in calorie reduction while achieving desired sweetness, improves overall sweetness, and brightens flavor.

Brunches and tailgates are just two of the many occasions where the Bloody Mary reigns supreme. The concoction has many variations and optional garnishments, including the Bloody Maria (with Tequila), the Bloody Joseph (with Scotch), the Bloody Maru (with sake), the Bloody Snapper (with gin), and the Bloody Caesar (with clam juice) to name a few. But the traditional or classic Bloody Mary is made with vodka, tomato juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and a dash of lemon juice and celery salt resulting in a complex blend of umami, sour, salt, and trigeminal sensations.

Although there are several variations on its origin, most accounts attribute Bloody Mary’s creation to bartender Ferdinand “Pete” Petiot, who concocted the drink in the early 1920s while working at the famed Harry’s New York Bar in Paris by combining vodka with canned tomato juice. Petiot brought the drink to the states after Prohibition ended, when he became the head bartender at the St. Regis Hotel’s King Cole Bar in Manhattan. Because some customers found the drink too bland, he adjusted the taste to be more savory.

How the Bloody Mary got its name also is uncertain with accounts ranging from Queen Mary Tudor, who executed hundreds during her reign in the 1500s to Chicago’s Bucket of Blood Saloon where a waitress named Mary worked prior to Prohibition, to a lady who would frequent Petiot’s bar and wait for a lover who would never show, to the late actor George Jessel who, in 1924, spilled it on a woman’s white dress. The woman’s name was Mary and she said, according to Jessel’s account in his autobiography, “Now you can call me Bloody Mary, George.”

No matter what the true origin of the name is, the Bloody Mary is a drink that has never lost its popularity. Cocktail aficionados can find Bloody Mary mixes ranging from the traditional to bold & spicey, to thick & savory. But the tomato-base in the drink does pose some challenges for beverage makers with its acidic notes.

A solution is to use a flavor modifier to mask the acidity. LifeWise provides SimplySavorT for not only tomato juice and Bloody Mary mixes, but tomato sauces, pizza sauces, salsa mixes, hot sauce, canned chili, and soups.

SimplySavorT is GMO free and free of allergen-label requirements. No added MSG, HVP, gluten, soy nucleotides, yeast, or other common allergenic ingredients.

Besides masking acidity, SimplySavorT brightens flavor profile, heightens tomato notes, increases savory profile, and enhances salt perception.

This summer has brought a lot of record-breaking heat across the U.S. The importance of staying hydrated in dangerous temperatures cannot be overstated. Water is the best way to stay hydrated but water often doesn’t cut it with children and teens, who prefer sodas, fruit juice, or energy drinks.

The issue is that these drinks are processed with other added sweeteners (sucrose, corn syrup, maltose, etc.) and if consumed in high quantity, they contribute to a child’s risk of excess weight gain and tooth decay, and preventable diseases such as obesity.

Kids as a rule aren’t too concerned about what ingredients are in the drink they are consuming. But increasingly their parents are. With an emphasis on healthy eating, there is a demand for low-sugar products, especially when it comes to children’s beverages.

However, there are challenges that many food and beverage companies face when it comes to producing low-sugar/no-sugar products: notably keeping the sweet taste, the flavor, and masking acidic notes, which happens when reducing sugar content. To keep those drinks tasting good, application specific taste modifiers are used.

For example, LifeWise SimplySweet reduces the sugar and/or other sweeteners without sacrificing flavor.

SimplySweet masks metallic notes in high intensity sweeteners and makes products taste more like real sugar. Less sugar also assists in calorie reduction, a plus in combatting obesity.

Chocolate products have been a treat for centuries. Early usage can be traced back to the Aztec word “xocoatl,” a bitter drink made from cocoa beans. When Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived around 1519, he found the beverage unappealing. Cortés added cane sugar and honey to it and brought the concoction back to Spain where it quickly became a popular drink.

Chocolate’s key ingredient is the fruit from the Theobroma cacao, a tropical tree whose name means “food of the gods” in Greek. Cacao (or cocoa) bean plantations are located 20 degrees north and south of the Equator. Harvesting the bean from the cocoa pod (fruit) is a multi-step process before it is ready for shipment to food processors worldwide.

While the refined processed product imports a smooth, velvety taste, the cocoa bean itself has natural bitterness and astringency. Manufacturers producing chocolate products, including snack bars, frostings, syrups and sauces, brownies, cakes, and beverages, are tasked with potentiating the flavor profile to its fullest.

LifeWise SimplySavor can help with this task. It is a natural flavor modifier which can be added to your formula to boost the decadent chocolate notes or even to replace some of the cocoa within it, while still maintaining the rich indulgent profile. The usage level (depending on application) of 0.1-1.0% by weight does not affect critical label claims.

At one time or another, you have probably been at a tailgate or other social gathering that included hummus – that popular Middle Eastern dip and spread that is composed of chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and lemon. Some hummus spreads can include red pepper, garlic, nuts, and a variety of other ingredients.

Hummus is considered a healthy food by nutritionists, high in fiber and protein and low in sugar. According to the USDA, a typical 100 gram serving of hummus contains 10.71 grams of protein, 7.1 grams of fiber, 71 milligrams of calcium and 2.57 grams of iron.

Hummus’ main ingredient, chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans, also have antioxidant properties and a low-glycemic index, which may help in managing blood sugar levels. They also are a source of healthy phytonutrients, including phytic acid, sterols, tannins, carotenoids, and isoflavones. The chickpea is also a source of folate, zinc, copper, iron and manganese.

And, according to a 2016 study from the National Institute of Health, “The Nutritional Value and Health Benefits of Chickpeas and Hummus,” chickpea and hummus consumption may help prevent or offset the development and progression of diseases like cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, as well as helping with weight management.

Although hummus is a “good for you,” food, it can also give off bitter notes. Chickpeas are earthy in flavor and have nothing to cover up bitterness. Too much tahini, too much garlic, too much lemon juice or blending paprika directly into the hummus can import bitter flavor. And when blending tahini with olive oil, the oil can react to the heat of the spinning blades and take on a bitter flavor.

SimplySweet & Smooth from LifeWise provides a solution to bitterness. It masks metallic notes, stops acidic and bitter aftertaste, improves mouthfeel with a full, rich texture, and enhances the overall flavor profile.

SimplySweet & Smooth also benefits plant/nut-based milks and dairy alternatives, nutrition shakes/smoothies, nutrition bars, and low-fat/low-sugar yogurts.

What’s the deal with inflammation? When and why does it happen? Inflammation occurs when your body’s white blood cells (and the chemicals they produce) help to protect you from infection and injury. That’s a good thing. However, in arthritis and some auto-immune diseases, your immune system triggers inflammation when there is no infection or a reason to do so. This is a bad thing. Chronic inflammation along with stress, a sedentary lifestyle and consumption of inflammatory foods can lead to weight gain and various health problems and diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and Alzheimer’s. Chronic inflammation is harmful to your body and can last for weeks up to years. Even low levels of inflammation on a chronic basis can lead to these diseases and others.

There are healthy foods that can help reduce inflammation and others that are associated with an increased risk of chronic inflammation. The choice is yours. Below are some examples of healthy foods you might want to consider and other foods you might want to avoid.

Healthy Choices

Vegetables (especially dark colored)
Fruits (especially dark colored and those high in fat, i.e., avocados)
Dark chocolate
Nuts
Fatty fish
Spices (turmeric and cinnamon)
Green tea

Increased Risk Choices

Sugar-sweetened beverages
Refined carbohydrates
Fried foods
Processed meats
Processed snacks
Desserts and sweets
Trans fats
Excessive alcohol

To reduce inflammation, you should focus on fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat foods that are rich in nutrients and antioxidants, and contain healthy fats. Plant-based foods are good sources of antioxidants. Exercise and sleeping well help to reduce inflammation as well.