Lying in the Food Business

A comment was left on the topic of olive oil being fake. This is what was said.

This article is kind of upsetting! There should be some US standards that ensure we get what we think we are getting. Now I'm going to be paying much closer attention when buying olive oil.

Sadly, these things happens all the time and in many forms. Over the years, Andrew Zimmerman has brought up a lot of what I will be discussing. You can find his blog here.
AZ Blog

Andrew has many times been vocal about lying in the food business; not just lying, but misleading people by what you say or don't say is quite common. I will mention some things I have seen as a result of the comment left. I only mention Andrew because he is well know and respected, where as I am not well known. I want people to beware of these issues and really give them some thought, though.

You will see some restaurants claim everything they make is "homemade". If you see a restaurant that says that and you like the food, then go and eat there. But, honestly, don't be surprised if something is not homemade. Also, places will advertise that something is made with only the "best" ingredients, or "real" butter or cream, or whatever. I know from experience that this is not true. I worked for a local family-owned restaurant here in the Twin Cities. They did and still are lying. Over 50 percent of their pastries are frozen or from a bag mix or out of a can or bucket, such as pie fillings and bread. Then, they claim to use real butter and cream in their caramel and cinnamon rolls. Yet, they use milk and margarine. That's flat out lying to the paying customer.

Now, here is another thing people never think about. Truffle oil, Truffle oil is pushed as something so great that it is really expensive. I was looking at a bottle of truffle oil and simply read the ingredients. There were only two listed: 1.) olive oil, 2.) flavorings. I thought, "Really? Olive oil and flavorings." So, instead of buying truffle oil, you're buying olive oil with flavoring. The worst part is that you don't know exactly what the "flavoring" really is. In reality, truffles come in black and white. The white truffles are far more expensive and are higher quality. You can spend up to $2000.00 per pound for good, white truffles. Black truffles can go as high as $500.00 per pound. Granted, the prices can go higher or lower depending of many factors. Now think about it. If you were to even pay $1000.00 for a pound of white truffles, just exactly how much oil do you think you would get from them?

I'm guessing maybe an ounce at best, since truffles are not naturally oily. So, if truffles were a $1000.00 per pound, then you would be looking at 1000.00 dollars per ounce of oil, but we all know they would raise the price to make money. A 14 ounce bottle would be more than gold, yet they sell them in stores, though the labels say, olive oil, not truffle oil.

To be fair, there are different brands and all contain different things. Some might have real truffle pieces in them. If you're in a restaurant, and they claim to be adding truffle oil to some food, it will cost a lot more for that dish. In reality, it is more likely to be olive oil with flavorings. Even if it is olive oil with truffle pieces, it will be so little truffle, the question is whether it is worth the price. If it is, then great, by all means buy it.

Another thing to be careful about wasabi. Wasabi is difficult to cultivate and that makes it quite expensive — as high as $70 to $100 per pound. Due to its high cost, a common substitute is a mixture of (western) horseradish (which normally costs less than $1/pound wholesale), mustard, and green food coloring. Although the taste is similar, they are easily distinguished. In Japan, horseradish is referred to as seiyō wasabi. Outside Japan, "real" wasabi is rare, and colored horseradish-based substitute is normally used instead; in the United States, wasabi is generally found only at specialty grocers and high-end restaurants.

Just be aware that you're most likely eating colored horseradish, and not real wasabi. If your thinking, "How can I find out about local restaurants, or foods or things of that nature?" It's really easy. If you have friends who cook in restaurants, ask them questions such as: "Do you know anything about said restaurant?" Read labels on bottles, or go to websites and blogs and ask questions. I know from all the restaurants I have worked in, we cooks and Chefs talk to each other. We share both good and bad stories about places we worked. We mention places we want to eat or work and places to avoid and why.

I just want people to be informed and know that they might not be getting what they pay for.