Baking? Here’s Your Guide to Flours

From sourdough bread to scones to chocolate chip cookies, many people are doing more baking during the pandemic. Flour, which is finely milled wheat or other grains, is a key ingredient in baked goods because of its ability to create essential structure. There are quite a few different types of flours to choose from, so we’re here to help you find out which will work best for your baking needs. Before we dig into types of flours, it’s important to understand that the main differentiator among various kinds of flours is protein content. High-protein flours are referred to as “hard wheat,” and low-protein flours are referred to as “soft wheat.” The more protein a flour has, the more gluten it has. The more gluten a flour has, the more strength it gives a baked good’s structure. Don’t worry—we’ll also outline a few gluten-free options as well. Let’s get started. Wheat Flours All-purpose flour All-purpose flour is the most versatile flour. It’s a type of white flour, meaning it contains only the endosperm, not the bran or germ, of the wheat kernel. All-purpose flour is milled from a mixture of soft and hard wheat with a moderate amount of protein (8–11%). Quick breads, cakes, cookies and pastries can all be made using all-purpose flour. If a recipe calls simply for “flour,” you can bet it’s referring to all-purpose flour. Cake flour Cake flour, another white flour, has the lowest protein content (5–8%) of the wheat varieties. Cake flour is typically chlorinated, a bleaching process that further weakens the gluten protein and increases the flour’s ability to absorb liquid and sugar. As the name suggests, this flour is best suited for cakes (think sponge cakes and angel food cake). Cake flour can also work for scones, biscuits and muffins. Pastry flour Pastry […]

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Build Your Own Trail Mix [INFOGRAPHIC]

Welcome to the third installment of Food Insight’s Build Your Own Series! We are excited to share simple but tasty ways to spice up the healthiness of your favorite foods. Next up is Trail Mix — the portable option that’s perfect for any adventure. If you’re new to trail mix or just want to find more ways to enjoy it, keep reading. First things first: choose your favorite nut. Eating nuts as part of a balanced diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may help maintain heart health. Choose from salted or unsalted varieties and use one or more of your favorite nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts or almonds! Next up are seeds. Seeds contain fiber and heart healthy unsaturated fats, like polyunsaturated, which include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and mononunsaturated fats. There are lots of seeds to choose from, including flaxseed, sunflower, pumpkin and more! Try raw or toasted seeds for added crunch and flavor. Let’s turn to grains. Grains contain B vitamins, which play an important role in your body’s metabolism and nervous system. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend making half your grains whole, so for trail mix, great grain options are popcorn and whole grain cereals. If you prefer pretzels, look for whole grain varieties. Now it’s time to add some dried fruit — the sweetest part of your trail mix! Fruit is an important source of under-consumed nutrients like fiber, potassium and vitamin C. Did you know dried fruits come in sweetened and unsweetened varieties? Be an informed shopper and read labels to compare nutrition between dried fruits before purchasing. It’s time to finish your trail mix with a few extras because you don’t just want to have ordinary trail mix — you want it to be extraordinary! Add a touch of your favorite spice or […]

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Nutrition 101 Video Series: The Lowdown on Low-Calorie Sweeteners

This is the fourth installment of our video series in partnership with Osmosis, a group that focuses on health science education, highlighting the basics of several nutrition topics. The Nutrition 101 series also includes videos on dietary fats, carbohydrates, sugars and hydration. Most people love sweet foods. Originally, sweetness was nature’s way of identifying energy-dense foods that were safe to eat. This was particularly important throughout the long history of our species when food was scarce. But times have changed and nowadays, sweetness is mostly associated with the sugars added to foods and drinks. Unfortunately, many people consume too many calories from these sorts of added sugars. Over time, consuming more calories than the body needs can contribute to the onset of chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease. Low-calorie sweeteners can satisfy our taste buds while reducing the calories we eat from sugar. The good news is that randomized controlled trials have shown that replacing full-calorie foods and beverages with low-calorie sweetened versions can lead to modest weight loss, as long as the individual doesn’t overindulge on additional calories from other sources say, by ordering dessert because they had a diet soda with dinner. Low-calorie sweeteners don’t raise blood glucose or insulin levels, so they can help people with diabetes control their blood sugar and reduce the amount of total sugars they consume each day. Some low- and no-calorie sweeteners, like stevia and monk fruit extracts, come from plants. Others, like aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium are man-made. It’s important to note that all of them are sweeter than sugar, which means that only tiny amounts are needed to equal the sweetness of sugar. As a result, low-calorie sweeteners are often blended with carbohydrates like dextrose and maltodextrin or the sugar alcohol erythritol when […]

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Fast Take: The EAT-Lancet Report on Sustainable Diets

Key Highlights Report states that feeding 10 billion people by the year 2050 with a healthy and sustainable diet will be impossible without changing eating habits, improving food production and reducing food waste. There are some similarities between the current US Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the EAT-Lancet Report’s diet recommendations. However, they differ in their recommendation on the consumption of sugars, red meat and dairy notably. While this report calls for further sustainable food production practices, consumers should not overlook the environmentally focused techniques that are currently employed to produce a wide variety of healthy foods across the globe with natural resource conservation in mind. Feeding our ever-growing population will take the diligent work of many farmers and food producers. As we ponder how much food needs to be produced to feed us all, should we also consider the ecological demands that food production takes? Many of us do. This week, a globally represented group of scientists released a report on this topic. The EAT-Lancet Commission released the “Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems” report showcasing new dietary recommendations focused on enhanced plant-based food consumption to increase the health of our populations. The report also issues advice on altering food production practices to be more environmentally sustainable and increase the health of our planet. What is the EAT-Lancet Commission? EAT is a global non-profit that aims to connect science, policy, business and society to achieve their mission of transforming the global food system through sustainable diet and agricultural production practices. Their primary goal is “to achieve planetary health diets for nearly 10 billion people by 2050.” What Nutrition Recommendations Are in The Report? Let’s take a closer look at what the report recommends and how it compares to another well-known set of evidence-based dietary recommendations: The current US Dietary […]

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IFIC Spotlight Survey: Perceptions Of Nutrient Density, How It Impacts Purchasing Decisions & Its Connection To Health Goals

“Nutrient density” is a concept that is central to making healthy dietary choices, describing the balance of beneficial nutrients in a food (like vitamins, minerals, lean protein, healthy fats and fiber) compared with nutrients to limit (like saturated fat, sodium, added sugars and refined carbohydrates). IFIC’s consumer research has shown that while many people have heard of nutrient density, there may be room to grow in terms of its application toward helping people make food choices that benefit their health. This survey set out to learn more about how people think about nutrient density as it relates to making purchasing decisions and connecting the concept to personal health goals. In addition to demographic information like race/ethnicity, gender and age, this survey also examined the impact that weight status has on perceptions and behaviors related to nutrient density and health. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) commissioned an online research survey with consumers based in the US to measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about nutrient density. One thousand adults aged 18+ years completed the survey from June 5-8, 2020, and responses were weighted to ensure proportional results.  Key findings include:

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2022 IFIC Food & Health Survey: What Is A Healthy Food?

We often hear about the importance of making healthy food choices, but how do Americans define a “healthy food”? And how much of an influence does healthfulness have when we decide what foods to buy and eat? IFIC’s 17th annual 2022 Food and Health Survey explored Americans’ perspectives and behaviors surrounding the term “healthy”—read on for the ways this concept impacts our food choices. The Influence of “Healthfulness” Over the past decade, the idea of “healthfulness” has consistently ranked as the third most influential purchase driver for foods and beverages, and this year was no exception. Sixty percent of survey respondents said that healthfulness had “somewhat” of or “a great” impact on their decision to buy foods and beverages, falling behind taste (80%) and price (68%). Subgroups that were more likely to say that healthfulness was impactful included Millennials (at 65%, versus 53% of Gen Zers and 56% of Boomers); those with an annual income of $75,000 or more (73%, versus 50% of those who earn less than $35,000 a year and 56% of those who earn between $35,000 and $74,000 a year); parents of children under 18 (71%, versus 54% of those who do not have children under 18); and those who buy groceries online more than once a month (67%, versus 51% of those who never buy online groceries). Definitions of Healthy Food Despite Americans’ consistent emphasis on healthfulness in their food choices, this year’s survey also makes clear that there is a great deal of variation in consumer definitions and perceptions of “healthy.” When survey respondents were asked to select up to five different attributes that define a healthy food, the most popular responses were “fresh” (with 37% selecting this), “low in sugar” (32%), and “good source of protein” (29%). These top choices were followed by “contains […]

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IFIC Spotlight Survey: Americans’ Perceptions Of Food Ingredient Safety

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) commissioned an online survey among U.S. consumers to measure knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the safety of food ingredients. One thousand adults ages 18 years and older completed the online survey from June 6-10, 2024, and respondents were weighted to ensure proportional results. Key findings include:

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One-Third of Americans Are Dieting, Including One in 10 Who Fast … While Consumers Also Hunger for Organic, “Natural” and Sustainable

Download Full Survey FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 16, 2018 More than one in three U.S. consumers are following a specific diet or eating pattern, and they are increasingly averse to carbohydrates and sugar, according to the 13th Annual Food and Health Survey, released today by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. Given a list of diets to choose from, or the option to write in a response, 36 percent of Americans reported following a specific eating pattern or diet within the past year, about two-and-a-half times the number (14 percent) from 2017 when it was an open-ended question. The top eating pattern cited was intermittent fasting (10 percent). Diets considered at least somewhat restrictive of carbohydrates were well-represented, including Paleo (7 percent), low-carb (5 percent), Whole30 (5 percent), high-protein (4 percent), and ketogenic/high-fat (3 percent). Younger consumers (age 18 to 34) were more likely to follow a specific eating pattern or diet than those 35 and above. More Americans than in previous years blame carbs, and specifically sugars, for weight gain. While sugars continue to be the most cited cause of weight gain (33 percent), carbohydrates ranked second at 25 percent, up from 20 percent in 2017. Both of those numbers are the highest since 2011. Fats (16 percent), protein (3 percent) and “all sources” (17 percent) lagged behind when placing blame. Cardiovascular Health Is Top Desired Benefit, But Consumers Don’t Know How To Achieve It Almost all consumers are interested in getting specific health benefits from food or nutrients. However, the top two desired health benefits in 2018 changed places from 2017: This year, 20 percent ranked cardiovascular health as their top desired benefit, followed by weight loss or weight management at 18 percent and energy at 13 percent. In 2017, those numbers were 16 percent, 32 percent […]

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