On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1244

majestic;herFaceoblong,fair,but
wrinkled;herEyessmall,yetblackand
pleasant;herNosealittlehooked;herLips
narrow,andherTeethblack;(adefectthe
Englishseemsubjectto,fromtheirtoo
greatuseofSugar)…
We now know that certain kinds of
Streptococcusbacteriacolonizethemouthand
clingtoundisturbedsurfaces,wheretheylive
onfoodresidues,convertingsugarsintosticky
“plaque” carbohydrates that anchor and
protectthem,andintodefensiveacidsthateat
away at tooth enamel and so cause decay.
Clearly, the more food there is for the
bacteria, the more active they will be, and
hardsugarcandiesthatslowlydissolveinthe
mouth provide a feast for them. But pure
sugar is not the only culprit in tooth decay.
Starchy foods like bread, cereals, pasta, and
potato chips are also harmful because they
stick to the teeth and then are broken down


into sugars by enzymes in the saliva. A few
other foods, notably chocolate, cocoa, and
licorice extract among candy ingredients, as
well as coffee, tea, beer, and some cheeses,
actually inhibit decay-causing bacteria.
There’s evidence that phenolic compounds
interfere with the adhesion of bacteria to the
teeth. The sugar alcohols in low-calorie

candies(p.662)aregenerallynotmetabolized
bybacteriainthemouthanddon’tcontribute
totoothdecay.
CaramelFoodColorings
Cooks have been confecting caramel
candiesandsyrupsformanycenturies,and
have been making “burnt” sugar for its
brown color since ancient times. The
commercial production of caramel syrups
asfoodcoloringsbeganinEuropeandthe
United States in the middle of the 19th
century. They’re now the most common
foodcoloring,andprovidethedeepbrown