UPFs: The Culinary Science View

With the controversy over so-called “ultra-processed foods” a.k.a. “UPFs”, still rattling cages (see An Unreality Pervasive in Food), Prepared Foods’ Executive Editor–Technical David Feder reached out to regular contributor and internationally accomplished chef Hinnerk Von Bargen for insight into the issue from the culinary side. Chef Von Bargen graciously invited Feder to interview him in the vast kitchen complex at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio where Von Bargen is a professor of culinary arts and sciences.

Von Bargen agrees that we’re being bombarded lately from all sides by hysteria over what’s misleadingly referred to as “ultra processed” foods. “The fact is, the term is completely meaningless the way it’s used,” he exclaims, stressing that, “The word ‘ultra-processed’ has a very negative connotation.” Von Bargen sagely suggests referring to foods and beverages composed of several stages of manufacture, or using more than five or so ingredients as having undergone “multi-step processing.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” he explains, “and there are many examples, even traditional examples. Start off with fermentation: It is a multi-step process. And what I like to bring as an example is sourdough. Think about rye bread…it doesn’t react well to yeast, and the rye itself is not particularly delicious or digestible—nobody cooks rye as a porridge or as a pilaf, but what we commonly do is ferment it into a sourdough. It is a multi-day process, almost a week from the grain to the flour. The first process is grinding into fine powder. This is fermented for several days and what that does it breaks down fiber chemicals which [also] enables us to enjoy the metabolic availability of all the nutrients in the rye.”

An irony pointed out in the interview is that many of the consumers who are stressing over ultra-processed foods are diving into fermentation and making it a huge trend. Chef Von Bargen cites tofu as another multi-step processed product from traditional foods that, if measured by the anti-UPF position would fail yet has a popular reputation for being very healthy.

“Think of what tofu actually is,” he observes. “[Derived] from the heart indigestible soybeans, it is crushed, soaked with water, crushed into a fine slurry, strained, boiled…potentially strained again, a coagulant added…and the coagulants are different—either magnesium sulfate or calcium sulfate, or now you can use acids to coagulate it, then it is pressed into a form. Nobody refers to this as an ‘ultra-processed’ food. And then on top of this in many cases the tofu is further fermented to make the proteins even more digestible.”

Von Bargen cites other examples, such as the nixtamalization of corn in Latin American cuisines, a complicated process involving an alkaline solution, commonly water mixed with food-grade calcium hydroxide. “What it actually does is make niacin, very abundant in corn, metabolically available to the body,” explains Von Bargen. He further mentions other multi-step processes ranging from dairy fermentation for yogurt, kefir, and other cultured products to curing of meats, all deigned to preserve, protect, and enhance the nutritional value of foods.

The culinary culture issue looms large in Von Bargen’s perspective on the misguided approach to processed foods. “Food is not just a meal, it’s a whole experience, a whole culture, and multi-step processing is just an important part of it,” he adds.

For product makers, rather than embracing the misinformation about so-called UPFs they should focus on education and good marketing. It’s a safe bet that UPF fad will die down once consumers realize that if UPFs are banished, they’re going to have to give up chocolate and virtually any other dessert, and confection, and also pretty much every source of highly bioavailable protein plus a good number of readily bioavailable vitamins, minerals and other nutrient sources.

Watch the video of the interview above or listen to the audio podcast here:

Want to know more? You can catch Chef Hinnerk’s other videos, podcasts, and articles on trends in authentic global and ethnic flavors right here.